Nocturnal animals are fun and exciting to study in your homeschool or classroom. Learn about owls using all different learning styles when you pick and choose activities from our owl unit study. Build your own owl lesson plans using age-appropriate activities from our list.
Building owl lesson plans is easy. Pick a few great books, a couple of science lessons like dissecting an owl pellet, and do a couple of projects like artwork, crafts, or games. Write about owls. Tie as many of your subjects for the week as you can back to owls using the activities and ideas on our list. At the end of the week (or two weeks) you will have amazing memories and new-found knowledge about these amazing creatures of the night.
Great Books to Learn About Owls
Every good unit study begins with a great book list. Choose as many of the books from this list as you’d like to read, create a book basket, and enjoy great literature while you learn about owls. Most can be found at your local library.
Owls by Gail Gibbons. If you’ve never read a book by Ms. Gibbons before you are in for a treat. It’s like a picture book, but with tons of information. If you are working with younger children, you can just read the first sentence on each page and enjoy the illustrations. As children get older, they can enjoy the wealth of information she shares. Use this book as the basis for your scientific studies about owls.
Owls of the World: A Photographic Guide by Heimo Mikkola. Gorgeous photography of several different species.
The Barn Owls by Tony Johnston. A gentle poem tells the story of how the barn owls live and have lived for centuries.
Owl: A Year in the Lives of North American Owls by Paul Bannick. A journey through an entire year following the lives of owls. A gorgeous book.
Snowy Owls by Gail Saunders-Smith. An informational book about this specific species.
The Hidden Lives of Owls: The Science and Spirit of Nature’s Most Elusive Birds by Leigh Calvez. Take an adventure into the world of owls: owl-watching, avian science, and the deep forest – often in the dead of night.
These last five are fictional owl picture books.
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen. A sweet picture book about a little girl who goes on a long walk with her Dad at night when the owls are out.
Owl Babies by Martin Waddell. The little owl babies miss their mother and are afraid. A joyful reunion answers all their questions.
Oliver the Curious Owl by Chad Otis. Everyone in Oliver’s family asks who all the time but never seeks out the answer. Oliver wants answers.
The Happy Owls by Celestino Piatti. Two owls are happy no matter what. All the other animals want to know why. But will they listen?
Pistachio the Owl by Kristi Shimada. This heartwarming story is about three little owls who venture away from home, alone.
Learn About Owls with Science Activities
Use these owl science activities as a sprinboard for so much more! Learn all the science, and get ideas for writing prompts and crafts and games to play as you go.
Kids learn a ton about owls and have so much when they Dissect an Owl Pellet with owl lesson plans from Gift of Curiosity. This activity is one of the most memorable of our homeschool. When Ben and I dissected owl pellets, we used black construction paper to piece together the bones we found and arranged them into the skeleton of the animal the owl consumed. We even glued them down. This piece of “artwork” hung in on our homeschool wall for years!
Learn all about Owl Eyesight with Stem Exploration from J Daniel 4s Mom.
Label and learn about Owl Life Cycles from Firstie Land.
Document what you’ve learned using these Free Owl Science Printables from Homemade Heather.
Owl Arts and Crafts
Cute crafts from origami to process art you can spend a little time creating as you learn about owls.
Make an adorable folded bookmark with Owl Origami from Red Ted Art
Teens can make their own Squishy Owl Stress Ball with these instructions from Steam Powered Family.
Decorate the fireplace mantle or table with these super cute Pinecone Owl Ornaments from Little Bins for Little Hands
Explore creativity with Owl Inspired Process Art from The Keeper of the Memories.
Owl Writing Prompts and Projects
Take your owls unit study even further with writing activities and projects to help you learn about owls.
Fill out these different mini books about owls to learn all kinds of details you didn’t know with this Owls Animal Study from A Dab of Glue will Do.
Assign your own writing assignments and story starters using the Owl Notebooking Pages from Simple Living Creative Learning
Connect writing with books using these Owl Babies Writing Prompts from Jodi Durgin or these A Not So Wise Owl Writing Prompts from Artistry of Education.
Create a Nocturnal Animals Lapbook from Homeschool Share.
Owl Worksheets for Preschool
Be sure to include your sweet preschoolers and little tots as you learn about owls. Pick and choose a few of these owl-themed activities and let them participate in other activities as much as you can.
Help your little ones start learning to read with these Owl Emergent Readers from Fluffy Tots.
Practice scissor skills and build fine motor skills with Free Owl Cutting Strips from Living Montessori Now.
Explore all kinds of activities using this post of Owl Week Activities for Preschool from Virtual Book Club.
Create a cute Owl Babies Lapbook with your preschoolers from Homeschool Share.
Owl Worksheets for Math
When you are working on your owl lesson plans, don’t forget math! You can find a wonderful selection of owl math worksheets on Pinterest. Here are a few of our favorites.
Practice adding and counting with these Owl Counting and Addition worksheets from Preschool Powol Packets.
Study the magic of ten with these Owl Ten Frames Worksheets from Sarah Chesworth
Build up your child’s math sense with these Owl Number Sense Worksheets from Kindergarten Worksheets and Games.
Owl Theme Snacks
Make your owl unit study super fun with these delightful owl-themed snacks.
Pudding Owl Snacks from Artsy Mama
Graham Cracker Owls from Tammi Lee Tips.
Owl Rice Cake Snacks from Mess for Less.
Don’t miss out on the wonderful opportunity to learn about owls in your homeschool. These fascinating creatures will leave an impact on your children for years to come.
