A guide for using our resources

Children will explore groundhogs and what they do.

Vocabulary: hibernar, madriguera, peligro, roer, silbar

Science Focus: animal behavior

Simple, spectacular ideas to boost your lessons.

Paired Text: El señor Marmota quiere el día libre by Pat Stemper (Bilingual edition)

  • Groundhog is tired of being blamed for six more weeks for winter. He wants to give someone else his responsibilities!
  • Grounhog's friends will let him know why he's perfect for the job. Will he learn to enjoy it?

Knowledge-Building Dice Game: Marmotas

  • Play this game in small groups. Print out the skill sheet and give children a number cube. Let children take turns rolling the cube and following the directions.
  • This is a great interactive way to build knowledge!

Scavenger Hunt: Páginas 2-3

  • Use pages 2-3 of the issue to do this scavenger hunt as a group.

1. Encuentra la foto en que la marmota está durmiendo. Márcala con una ✓.

2. Encuentra el titular. Subráyalo.

3. En el cuadro marrón, encuentra la palabra que significa "casa bajo tierra". Rodéala.

4. Mira el cuadro anaranjado. ¿Qué come la marmota?

Hands-on Activity: ¿Vio la marmota su sombra?

Skill: gross motor, shadows

Materials: flashlight; long table or something else to crawl under

  • Remind children of the legend: En el Día de la Marmota, una marmota sale de su madriguera. Si ve su sombra, habrá seis semanas más de invierno. Si no ve su sombra, ¡se acerca la primavera!
  • Have kids line up behind a long table or something they can wiggle through or under. (This is the “madriguera.”) Dim the classroom lights and stand at the other end of the burrow, flashlight at the ready.
  • Have children crawl through the burrow one at a time. As children come out the other end, shine the flashlight on some but not on others. Your little groundhogs can predict the weather depending on whether they saw their shadow or not!
  • TIP: To make a clear shadow, shine the flashlight at an angle directly over the child. It may take a little angling on your part to get it just right!