On Duck Pond

On Duck Pond by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Bob Marstall

On Duck Pond Book Cover

The On Duck Pond – Teacher’s Guide (8 pages, free download) features activities that target national science, math, writing, and art education standards for grades K-2. This website provides background information and digital content to complement the printable Guide.

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Supplemental Materials for the Activities in the Guide:

Activity 4: The Life of a Duck

Use this Story Board organizer to create a numbered sequence of the life cycle of a duck. Invite children to draw and/or write what happens in each square of the organizer.

Activity 5: Similar Sightings

Use the PDF images of ducks to examine how males and females of various species differ. Print out the pictures and challenge children to match the pairs. Some are trickier than they seem! Pay attention to details such as body shape, bill shape, and size.

Activity 6: Waddle and Wade

For an exclusive underwater look at how webbed feet work, check out these videos with your students:

Activity 7: Quacking Concerts

Listen to these various types of duck calls to get some inspiration for your class’s pond chorus:

National Education Standards

Science Connections (SCI; Next Generation Science Standards)

  • K: VA:Cr1.1.Ka, VA:Cr1.2.Ka, VA:Cr2.1.Ka, VA:Cr2.2.Ka, VA:Cr2.3.Ka, VA:Re.7.2.Ka, VA:Re8.1.Ka
  • 1: VA:Cr1.1.1a, VA:Cr1.2.1a,
  • 2: VA:Cr1.1.2a, VA:Cr1.2.2a, VA:Cn10.1.2a

English Language Arts (ELA; Common Core State Standards)

Reading: Informational Text

  • K: RI.K.1, RI.K.2, RI.K.3, RI.K.10
  • 1: RI.1.1, RI.1.3, RI.1.7, RI.1.10
  • 2: RI.2.3, RI.2.4, RI.2.7, RI.2.8

Reading: Literature

  • K: RLK.1, RLK.3, RLK.7, RLK.10
  • 1: RL1.1, RL1.3, RL1.7, RL1.9, RL1.10
  • 2: RL2.    1, RL2.3, RL2.6, RL2.7

Speaking and Listening

  • K: SL.K.1, SL.K.1.A, SL.K.1B, SL.K.2, SL.K.3, SL.K.5, SL.K.6
  • 1: SL.1.1, SL.1.1A, SL.1.B, SL.1.1C, SL.1.2, SL.1.3, SL.1.4, SL.1.5, SL.1.6
  • 2: SL.2.1, SL.2.2, SL.2.3, SL.2.4, SL.2.6

Writing

  • K: W.K.2, W.K.3, W.K.7, W.K.8
  • 1: W.1.2, W.1.3, W.1.5, W.1.7, W.1.8
  • 2: W.2.5, W.2.7, W.2.8

Mathematics (MATH; Common Core State Standards)

  • K: K.CC.B.5, K.CC.C.6, K.MD.A2, K.MD.B.3
  • 1: 1.MD.C.4, 1.MD.A.1, 1.MD.C.4
  • 2: 2.OA.C.3, 2.MD.D.10

Science Connections (SCI; Next Generation Science Standards)

  • K: K-L-S1-1, K-ESS3-3,
  • 1: 1-ESS1-1, 1-ESS1-2,
  • 2: 2-LS4-1, 2-LS2-2