Old MacDonald Had A Farm

Age Level(s):
Babies through Early Elementary Grades (maybe older elementary)

Subject(s):
Reading, Music, Art, Writing, & Science
Babies: Music

Materials:
Flannel Board Story Supplies or Book You Created
Book about a farm or farm animals

Teaching Procedure:
1.  Anticipatory Setting: Read a book about a farm or farm animals.
2.  Sing The Song: Let's pretend to live on a farm with lots of animals.  What kind of animals live on a farm? What sounds do those animals make?
Sing the song using either the flannel board story or book you made.
Have the children sing the song with you if they can sing (if they can not sing, have them make the noises each animal makes).
 

Use one of the barn coloring pages located at: Sheep USA: For Kids: Coloring Page  (pig, sheep, cow, dog, cat, and chicken) or KiddyHouse: Animals by a farm (horse, cow, pig, rooster, chicken, pig, sheep, duck, dog, and turkey), Scratch 'n' Sniff Farm Coloring Book, or any of the coloring pages of the farm animals.  Color the pictures.  Laminate.

Old MacDonald Had A Farm
Go in the order the children say the animals.  If the children say other animals, make up the sounds of those animals.

Old MacDonald @ NIEHS
oldmac.htm

Listen to the sound each animal makes in different countries at Alextoys - Animal Talk

Old MacDonald Had A Farm
Author: Unknown

Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O!
And on his farm he had a (some) duck(s), E-I-E-I-O!.
With a quack, quack here and a quack, quack there,
Here a quack, there a quack, everywhere a quack, quack.
Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O!

Replace these animals and sounds in the song:
cat - meow
chicks - peep
chicken - baak
cow - moo
dog - bow-wow
horse - neigh
pig - oink
rooster - cock-a-doodle-doo
sheep - baa
turkey - gobble

Picture Resources:
Note:  You can color the below pictures for the song and put them on a paper bag, paper plates, stick puppets (you might need to reduce the size of the animals), laminate or place clear contact paper on them, or use them as a flannel story or book.

Farm Theme Find other animals and puppets.
Nite-Owl - Old MacDonald Had a Farm They have the words of the song with pictures of a cow, goat, pig, chicken, duck, and horse.
Duck Coloring Page @ Scratch 'n' Sniff Farm
Pig nursing piglets
Pig @ Scratch 'n' Sniff Farm
Sheep @ Scratch 'n' Sniff Farm or Sheep Coloring Page
Holstein Cow @ Scratch 'n' Sniff Farm or Kiddyhouse.com Cows on a Farm (These are small cow images so they can be used for puppets.)
Rooster @ Scratch 'n' Sniff Farm
Horse Coloring Page @ thekidzpage
Dog Coloring Page @ igrandparents.com or Alphabet-soup: Dog Coloring Page
Alphabet-soup: Cat & Kitten Coloring Page
Turkey Coloring Page @ Scratch 'n' Sniff Farm or Alphabet-soup: Turkey Coloring Page
Scratch 'n' Sniff Farm Coloring Pages have lots of other farm animals.  You will have to cut the words off the bottom of these pictures).

Other Resources:
You can see real pictures and sounds of: Horses, Cattle, Dogs, Sheep, Goats, Ducks, Turkeys, Geese, and Chickens if you go Farm Animals @ Kidsfarm.

3.  Art & Writing Activity
Go to a farm or zoo and see farm animals.

Note: Drawing is considered to be writing for children who can not write yet.

Toddler: Color a animal or barn with animals listed on this page.
Preschoolers - Kindergarten (maybe early 1st grade):  Draw a picture of what farm animals you saw at the zoo or farm.
2nd & 3rd Grade: Write about your visit at the zoo or farm. Draw a picture to illustrate what you saw.
All ages: Give them a picture and have them try to draw it on another paper.