Who’s Hooting?

Nocturnal animals are fascinating! Find out Who’s Hooting in a nearby field or forest. Your creature of the night calls out from a torn-paper collage.

• 1.

  Study the nocturnal animals in your area. A common North American nocturnal animal is the owl. Choose one kind of owl or other nocturnal animal that fascinates you. Learn as much as you can about it. Adapt these owl directions to make an image of your favorite nocturnal creature.

• 2.

  Owls and other nocturnal animals have very large eyes to make use of the minimal light. They are natural predators. List an owl’s physical characteristics that help it to hunt (talons, strong wings, heavy beaks).

• 3.

  Outline a large owl on construction paper with Crayola® Construction Paper Crayons.

• 4.

  Create your owl’s feathers by tearing feather-shaped pieces of realistic colors of construction paper. With Crayola Glue Sticks, attach the feathers to your owl in layers.

• 5.

  Tear paper, or use Crayola Scissors to cut, a beak and a branch for your owl to sit on. Glue these on your collage.

• 6.

  Use crayons to add details to your nocturnal animal. Display it to show Who’s Hooting in your neighborhood.

Benefits

• Children closely observe images of nocturnal animals, noting their physical characteristics.
• Children relate nocturnal animals’ physical characteristics to their functions.
• Children create a torn-paper collage to represent their understanding of a nocturnal animal.

Adaptations

• Make a variety of owls. Look carefully at illustrations to match their colors with construction paper. Make them the correct size and shape for the type of owl you are studying.
• If possible, observe live or preserved nocturnal animals. Even toy animals help children gain a sense of their sizes and shapes. Encourage young children and those with special needs to choose one animal to sketch in detail before creating a collage.
• Study other nocturnal animals. Choose several favorites. Closely observe their fur and feathers, claws, beaks, teeth, and other features. Create torn-paper collages of each, simulating the textures and colors observed.