Tiger Preschool Lesson Plan

Most toddlers and preschoolers can recognize tigers but they may know little about these magnificent big cats. Although tigers are endangered this concept is beyond the scope of a preschooler’s understanding. Instead, the activities for this lesson plan engage kids as they learn about the characteristics and behaviors of tigers.

Facts about Tigers

Although you could introduce a lot of information about tigers, these facts from NationalGeographic.com highlight some key characteristics. Don’t overwhelm kids with information, select a few details. Many of the hands-on activities below connect the facts with actions.

Tigers can weight 240 – 500 pounds with the males being larger. They are six feet long. Tigers are nocturnal. Tigers can swim and will spend time in and near the water. Tigers live in India and Southeast Asia. A tiger’s roar can be heard two miles away. No two stripe patterns are the same … a tiger’s stripe pattern is on its skin. Male and female tigers only come together to mate and the separate. On average, two or three cubs are born and they will stay with their mother for a couple of years.

Tiger Size

Explain to your students that tigers can be six feet long. Set down pieces of orange construction paper (each is approximately 12″) in a line as the students count to six. You could have all or some of the students lay down beside the paper to compare their length to that of a tiger. Then, add on another three feet for the tiger’s tail.

Tigers can weigh 240 – 500 pounds. Set down a sheet of orange paper (or several pieces of orange and black construction paper set in a stripe pattern). Estimate the weights of your students and call them up one at a time to stand on the paper. Continue to call students up until their weight is somewhere in the range of a tigers weight and point out to the students how many kids equals one tiger.

Tiger Food

Tigers kill their prey with their sharp teeth and claws. A tiger’s canine teeth can be three inches long, as long as an adult human’s finger. Cut out a canine-shaped tooth (or two) from a piece of white paper. Have the children hold these paper teeth up to their mouths to compare teeth size. Tigers will eat large animals such as buffalo and deer, but they will also eat smaller creatures such as turtles and frogs.

A tiger can eat twelve pounds of food at one meal. Leftovers will be hidden under leaves and dirt so the tiger can return to that food later until it’s gone. To give the children an idea of what twelve pounds of food looks like, set out a bathroom scale and have the kids stack boxes of food items on the scale until they reach twelve pounds. (You should do this activity after the kids eat a substantial snack so they don’t ask for the food.) If it is too difficult for the children to stack that many items on a scale, use the weights on the packages and have the children pile the items in one location.

Tiger Hunting Skills

Tigers stripes are believe to help the animal camouflage, or blend in with, the tall grass. Take two sheets of tan paper. Cut one in half the long way and cut fringe into the strip (to represent grass). Mount the bottom to a full sheet of paper. Draw or print out different patterns (stripes, spots, dots, etc) and slide them behind the strip of paper grass so the kids can see how the stripes blend the best with the grass.

Tigers sneak up on their food and then sprint as they get closer. Play a game of tag with the kids that allow them to act out this behavior. Have the group pretend to be wild boar, deer, or another prey animals milling about the play area. One child is the tiger and sneaks up on the group until she gets close enough to try to tag the other players. Remind the children that tigers move close to the ground to stay hidden. To speed up the game, add tigers.

While your preschoolers participate in these activities, repeat the fact that the kids are learning with each activity. Have the kids make tiger face masks from paper plates so they can have more fun pretending to be tigers.


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