Friday, March 6, 2020

COLLECTIVE ANIMAL NAMES

These collective names for animals tickle me for some reason. I mean, whoever came up with calling a group of giraffes a TOWER? And how about owls being named a PARLIAMENT? Certainly a CRASH of rhinoceroses is descriptive in a funny way. 




It’s interesting that some of these animals don’t even live in groups, yet there is a “collective noun” for them.

I’m always looking for something unique and different to share with you, and that’s why I decided to do this blog.

How could you use these? 


*Play a guessing game.  Put up pictures of the animals and challenge children to identify which collective name goes with each animal.

*Choose one word each day and introduce it to your class.  Do they think it is a good name? Why? Why not?

*Let children look for these animals online and do a little research. Where does the animal live? What does the animal eat? 

*Give each child a different animal to illustrate. Put these together to make a class book.

There are many lists of animal names, but here are a few of my favorite collective names.  What's your favorite descriptive word?

• Bats: a colony

• Bees: a swarm

• Camels: a caravan

• Cats: a clowder and Kittens a litter or a kindle

• Crows: a murder

• Dogs: a pack and Puppies a litter

• Elephants: a parade

• Fish: a school

• Flamingos: a stand

• Fox: a charm

• Geese: a gaggle

• Giraffes: a tower

• Gorillas: a band

• Lions: a pride

• Mules: a pack

• Owls: a parliament  

• Parrots: a pandemonium

• Porcupines: a prickle

• Rhinoceroses: a crash

• Skunk: a stench

• Tigers: an ambush

• Whales: a pod

• Wolves: a pack 


What's your favorite?  I like "tower," "parliament" and "stench" the best!