Fun Penguin Activities for Kindergarten – Free Printable
- By Deedee Wills
- Updated on January 1
- 6 Comments
Table of Contents
Fun Penguin Activities Kids Love!
The winter months are the perfect time to dive into a penguin unit of study! This winter theme on flightless birds adds such a fun layer of nonfiction learning to your classroom.
Penguins might look like a bunch of fancy, tuxedo-wearing birds, but oh my goodness… they know how to have a good time! These cool critters are not only adorable, but they also make such an engaging theme for young learners.
Whether you’re exploring different penguin habitats and behaviors or just adding a little winter fun to your day, there’s so much you can do. From penguin puppet shows to simple art projects and matching games, these waddling friends bring instant joy to your classroom. Your kids will be smiling from ear to ear!
Whenever possible, we love weaving other subject areas into our literacy block. Take a peek at some of these cool penguin theme activities that make cross-curricular learning a breeze!
Penguin Activities – Reading Comprehension
We absolutely love The Emperor’s Egg by Martin Jenkins (affiliate links).
This sweet book is all about the Emperor Penguin, and it’s the perfect addition to any informational text study. It brings so much excitement and wonder to the week… your kiddos will be hooked from the very first page!
This sweet book is all about the Emperor Penguin, and it’s the perfect addition to any informational text study. It brings so much excitement and wonder to the week… your kiddos will be hooked from the very first page!
We use this book in our lesson plans to dig into a variety of reading comprehension strategies all week long. It gives us so many wonderful opportunities for deep, meaningful conversations with our students!
Penguin Activities – Schema Building
Whenever we begin a nonfiction unit, we love starting with what students already know about the topic. So for this one we ask: What do you already know about penguins?
Then, as we move through our penguin unit studies, we add all the new learning to our chart. It’s such a powerful way for students to see how their understanding grows throughout the week!
Penguin Anchor Chart
We also love using can–are–have charts to support our young writers as they begin collecting penguin facts. These charts give students an easy peasy structure to follow, and the confidence boost is huge!
For example, students might write:
Penguins are black and white.
Penguins have feathers.
Penguins are birds that swim underwater.
It’s amazing to see how quickly their writing grows when they have these visual supports in place!
You can also grab a few extra penguin books from your local library or school library. Drop them into a cozy little book basket, and your kiddos can keep exploring these unique birds all week long. They love having a special spot filled with “just-right” books!
Penguin Life Cycle
This book is also a wonderful springboard for teaching the life cycle of a penguin. Your students will be fascinated by each stage!
Students also create their own penguin life cycle worksheets.
Penguin Vocabulary Work
Each of our Engaging Readers Reading Comprehension
books highlights rich vocabulary words pulled straight from the text. Students get to explore the meaning of these words and practice using them in their own language. It’s such a powerful confidence booster!
For your youngest learners, you might choose to complete this vocabulary page together as a class. OR you can do what this kindergarten teacher did—she wrote the meaning of each word on the page before making copies for her students. This gave her little learners a clear starting point.
This simple step can make the vocabulary sheet much more accessible for your little guys. Then students can draw a picture to match the word and try using it in a sentence. Their illustrations are always the sweetest!
Penguin Craft Activity
These adorable penguins are such a fun way to talk about the different parts of a penguin. You can even add labels to the craft for a little extra learning! Students also get a great fine motor skills workout as they cut and assemble their cute construction paper penguins. This is a great addition for fine motor practice for your students.
This craft is also a perfect spot to add a mentor sentence to their penguin masterpiece. This example says, “The Emperor chick hatched from an egg.” It’s such a sweet way to connect writing and art!
You can find all of these learning resources, including the penguin art project, by clicking below. Your kiddos are going to have so much fun with these variety of penguin-themed activities!
Penguin Stem Activities
Students learn that Emperor Penguins balance their precious egg on their feet while it’s incubating. So of course… we had to explore balance, too! This is such a simple fun way to connect science concepts to hands-on play.
For this STEM Challenge, you’ll use just a few simple materials:
cups
popsicle sticks
a few wooden blocks
The challenge is to get the popsicle stick to balance on the block, then build a structure above it. Wow… the engagement during this activity is incredible! It’s fantastic fun and such a great way to stretch those little problem-solving skills.
Kids of all ages will have such a great time with this engaging activity. The teamwork. The problem-solving. The giggles when it finally balances. It’s all just so much fun!
You can find the detailed directions by clicking on:
More Penguin Activity Fun
We also practiced balancing a ball on our feet and waddling just like penguins. Oh my goodness… the laughter during this activity is priceless! It’s such a simple way to bring the penguin world to life for your kiddos.
Penguin Video
The Emporer’s Egg Video
Since we read these books together each day, it’s always helpful to give students another example of reading fluency and intonation. Hearing someone else read the story can make such a difference! This is a great place to find videos that pair perfectly with our Engaging Readers book series.
Additional Penguin Activities
Penguin Poems for Kids
Students have always loved this little original poem I wrote about ten years ago! It’s one of those classroom favorites that just keeps coming back year after year.
We hunt for our high-frequency words in the poem, then add the poem to our poetry notebooks. After that, students complete the emergent reader that goes along with the poem. It’s such a sweet way to build fluency and confidence!
You can find these penguin poems by clicking:
The Emporer’s Egg Math and Literacy Activities
To stay in the spirit of All Things Penguins, we also have some cute penguin-themed centers your kiddos will adore.
These centers were originally created to pair with the book, but honestly… they work beautifully with any penguin unit you’re teaching!
We’ve included two different puzzles in this set:
short vowel sound e
-old word family
This gives you such an easy way to meet all of your students right where they are. It’s so nice having options that support everyone’s needs!
Penguin Worksheets
These penguin-themed worksheets were a big hit to sharpen your student’s math skills!
We also have some additional, easy-to-prep worksheets. There’s even a sight word version that’s editable, so you can pop in your own words. Such a lifesaver when you’re trying to differentiate on the fly!
You can find all of these engaging activities by clicking:
Additional Penguin Activities for Math and Literacy Centers
I’m sharing a few different math and literacy centers you can use during your little penguins unit. If you click on the images, you’ll be taken straight to the resource. Your kiddos are going to have so much fun with these!
Penguin Activities and Lesson Plan Download
Looking for an editable lesson plan template for your penguin unit? Just click the image below to download your editable version. It’s simple, flexible, and ready to use for an easy and stress-free penguin week!
Want to see more weekly lesson plans like this?
If you’d like to explore additional lesson plan posts filled with hands-on activities and classroom inspiration, click below to keep the ideas flowing:
Free Penguin Worksheets
Here are some free penguin worksheets for you. Just add your email to the box below.
Other Winter Blog Posts
You may be interested in a few of these other winter related blog posts:
Other Polar Animals Blog Posts
You may be interested in a few of these other icy waters polar creatures
Deedee Wills
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6 Responses
Lol! Love your "dones" to the moon and back <3
Thanks so much for sharing all of this! I love the snowman poem! And your focus wall!
Michelle
We are creatures of habit! A little shake up in the schedule is HUGE in Kindergarten. I need reminders and a little hand holding too. I'm also glad to see I'm not the only one who flubs an anchor chart here or there. Sticky notes are life savers! Thanks for having this great link up, I always find great ideas here. 🙂
Lots of great ideas! Thanks for sharing! Julie Green Apple Lessons
This is great! Thanks for sharing. Tell me about that cool dice in penguin play, please 😉
Yes! We love these dice! They are called differentiated cubes! You can find the actual cubes on Amazon: Differentiated Cubes