Owl Activities for Kindergarten and First Grade
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Themed learning can be so helpful for student engagement during the busy fall months! One of my favorite themes for kindergarten and first grade is an owl theme. In this post, I’m going to share some of my favorite owl activities for kindergarten and first grade lesson plans.
10 Owl Activities for Kindergarten and First Grade
When you think about fall — and lesson plans for fall — what comes to mind? Is it fall leaves, pumpkins, and scarecrows? One of the icons of fall that kids really love is the owl!
Owls are majestic symbols of wisdom, and mystery, like an owl moon at Halloween! And don’t even get me started on how cute owl babies are, right? Plus, there are so many fun owl crafts that younger children (and older children too!) really enjoy working on.
1. White Owl, Barn Owl Read Aloud
I’m always happy when I can recommend some great mentor texts that have been a hit in my own classroom, as well as the lesson plans, owl activities, and ideas I created to go with them. This fall, I’m excited to recommend a highly engaging read-aloud text that’s perfect for teaching several reading skills. It’s a small but power-packed book called White Owl, Barn Owl.
I sort of LOVE Nicola Davies, the author of White Owl, Barn Owl. She is a zoologist, and she weaves fascinating facts into the intriguing narrative of a grandfather and granddaughter. The illustrations are both dreamy and authentic, a great combo to capture the imagination of your kindergarten readers.
We chose this book as an interactive read-aloud because it has so much useful content! It’s a great text for teaching various reading skills to early readers.
We spend a week reading White Owl, Barn Owl because each day we are reading for a different goal and a different purpose. This enables us to take an even deeper look into the meaning of the book. You’ll be amazed to see, in action, how student engagement goes through the roof!
If you would like to know more about using interactive read aloud books in kindergarten and first grade, check out this blog post:
2. All About Owls Anchor Chart
One reason why I love White Owl, Barn Owl is that it’s full of owl facts! Since students are learning about owls, this is a great opportunity to teach students about how we build our schema using informational text.
Kids love the visual aid and SEEING what they’ve learned, as well as what they may already know.
This anchor chart’s headings, which are labeled HAVE, CAN, and ARE, easily guide students as they add to their schema. Anchor charts are great for showing your students how to organize their thinking in preparation for writing.
3. Owl Comprehension Activities
In addition to learning interesting facts about owls, we also work on developing reading comprehension skills.
A story retell is a great way to go back and better understand the events of the story. These kindergarten friends had fun retelling the story in a whole-group setting.
We also respond in writing throughout the week. Students practice inferring to better understand the story. This is a skill we practice throughout the entire year in several different books.
We add in some visualizing, too! Visualizing is such a great reading comprehension skill that kindergarten and first grade readers build over time.
If you would like to use these owl activities for White Owl, Barn Owl in your classroom, you can find the reading response printables here:
4. Owl Crafts
This printable craft can be found in the White Owl, Barn Owl lesson plans. I love that teachers can easily print the patterns and make copies on colored paper for this adorable craft. Crafts are the perfect way for students to practice following directions and work on fine motor skills, too.
You can have students color the patterns that are printed on white paper or you can also easily copy the patterns onto light brown paper. Whatever works best for your class!
These little owls from Deep Space Sparkle are so precious! Her art lessons are simply amazing!
One more craft… because I love craft projects! This cute paper plate owl is from Simple Everyday Mom.
5. Dissecting Owl Pellets
Another fall favorite – an owl hands-on science activity! Most kids LOVE dissecting owl pellets.
Students are always fascinated by each pellet and what it may contain. Click HERE to check out a virtual owl pellet dissection. You can also purchase your own owl pellets from Amazon! Here is a link for you:
6. Owl Snack
We made this scrumptious owl snack out of chocolate cookies, chocolate frosting, yellow cake decorating frosting, M & M’s, and candy corn. Little kids love all the creative ways to make owl snacks!
7. Owl STEM Activity
This STEM project is a great activity for your owl themed lesson plans. Students were both eager AND able to build an owl nesting box, just like the one they learned about in the book! We used brown construction paper and glue.
8. Owl Math and Literacy Centers
The owl fun can continue into centers time with themed math and literacy stations! These engaging math and literacy owl activities are a great way to help your students review important literacy and math concepts.
These owl activities for centers are included in a resource along with the nesting box STEM challenge mentioned above. Just click below to take a closer look:
9. Owl Videos
Since owls are nocturnal animals, students may not get to see them in their natural habitat often. Showing videos of owls can help bring the learning to life. Here are a couple to check out!
10. More Owl Read Alouds
I shared one of my favorite books for learning about owls at the beginning of this post, but here are a few more you can read with your students.
Owls by Gail Gibbons
I love books by Gail Gibbons!
“The book covers basics of owl behavior, information on how they hunt, and the many factors that have led some types of owls to become endangered.”
Incredible Owls by Justin McMcory Martin
This book is listed for way too much on Amazon right now… BUT if you have it in your school library, it’s a great one to share with students. I love the close-ups to show the different parts of an owl.
Owls by Laura Marsh
National Geographic Readers are always great!
Owling: Enter the World of the Mysterious Birds of the Night by Mark Wilson
This book has a TON of information about different owls. It explains about owl behaviors and abilities – perfect for kids!
I hope you were able to find a good idea or two for your owl theme in kindergarten or first grade! Click the links below for some more engaging activities for fall:
Free Owl Lesson Plan Template
Would you like to grab this free lesson plan template to help you plan your owl lessons? Just click on the lesson plan image below and you’ll be able to easily download the file from my Google Drive. It’s as simple as that! Plus, the PDF version of these lesson plans is conveniently linked to the resource for quick access.
To see additional Lesson Plan Posts like this, click
Free Owl Anchor Chart
If you’d like to help your students record what they’re learning about owls, be sure to grab these free owl anchor chart pieces!
Enter your email below to have them sent to your email inbox.
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Deedee Wills
My teaching career allowed me to experience teaching in different classroom environments and grades. My heart belongs to early childhood education. My job is to make teaching FUN, ENGAGING, and EASIER. Welcome!
Hi, I'm DeedeE.
My teaching career allowed me to experience teaching in different classroom environments and grades. My heart belongs to early childhood education. My job is to make teaching FUN, ENGAGING, and EASIER. Welcome!
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