If you have read any of the What if You Had Animal Teeth, Hair, Ears, Nose, and Eyes books by Sandra Markle with your students, you know that your kids will automatically begin thinking about which kind of part would be best for them. They love hearing the interesting factual tidbits shared about each animal, and picturing what it would be like if they really had that animal part. But what would it be like if they combined all of their favorite parts from each book? When I posed this question to my kids, they were intrigued...and a little grossed out, so I decided this would make a fun writing activity!
 | Every time we read one of the What if You Had... books, I had my students pick the animal teeth, hair, nose, etc. that they thought was best for them. They wrote down their pick and then developed reasons for each of their selections. We continued this process after each book. After we got through all the books, we turned it into a story and wrote our final copy. |
| After our final copy is complete, then we get to build our faces with these animal parts. To make sure they draw a face big enough to fit all of the parts they wrote about, I guide them in drawing lines on the side of the paper, to make a big "U." We then focus on adding one part at a time until our face is complete! (I have a 1:1 iPad classroom, so my kids were able to take pictures of the pages to help them generate ideas for drawing/creating their animal parts.) After that, they add a poster to the side naming the animal parts they picked. Before handing it in, my students also take a picture and record themselves reading their story on Seesaw, sharing it with their family members at home as well. |  |
 | If you would like to do this activity, you can grab all of the reproducible materials here for free, just by signing up for our newsletter/email list! I hope you and your students enjoy this activity and have as much fun reading, writing, and creating their animal people as my students!  |
