Time:         twenty minutes

Lead-in:   Tell the students that they will be taking a close look at some of the individuals they have found or might find in their searching.

               Use the animal dramatic cards, upon which are written he names of individual animals, for this activity.

Procedures:       Divide the group into small groups of three people. Explain that they will be handed a card upon which will be the name of an animal. Their job is as follows: the group members are to "become” (act out) the animal and portray it as one unit, using only actions and sounds effects. NO WORDS! (e.g., BEE = all three people use their legs as the legs of the bee, while one person shapes his or her body to be the head, another the midsection where the wings are, and the third person becomes the abdomen where the stinger is located). Give the group three minutes to "get their act together.”

When the students are ready, have each group take a turn presenting its skit while the other groups watch until the performers are done and then guess what they are portraying.

Have the groups explain to which animal group (birds, insects, mammals, etc.) this animal belongs and what characteristics it has.

Wrap-up:          Ask detectives how they determined which animal each group was acting out. (e.g., It had wings, there were eight legs, ets.)

            Encourage them to continue looking closely at the different characteristics of the small creatures they find in their searching.