AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK Teacher Resources & Activities GRADES PRE-K TO 3
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CONTENTS Welcome from Zookeeper Rick Schwartz Animal Profiles Aussie Animals (Pre-K and K) Compare, Contrast, and Classify (Pre-K and K) Gumdrop Koala (Grade 1) Home Sweet Habitat (Grade 1) Aussie Babies (Grade 2) Life Cycle Match-up (Grade 2) Neat Feet (Grade 3) Australian Animal Adaptations (Grade 3) Online Resources Glossary
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Rick Schwartz G’DAY MATE! I invite you to come along as we explore the unique animals and diverse habitats found on the continent of Australia. The “Land Down Under” is home to koalas, kookaburras, and Tasmanian devils; just a few of the more than 760 bird and mammal species found nowhere else in the world. Also widespread across Australia are the eucalypt forests that flourish along the hillsides. These gum trees provide food and shelter for koalas, wallabies, echidnas, and many more animals.
In 2012, I was lucky enough to visit koalas living on a small Australian island called St. Bees. Memories of my adventure still stay with me today. I was thrilled to be able to work with staff from San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy along with researchers from Queensland University on a wild koala study. In early October, I flew from San Diego to Brisbane, a large city on Australia’s eastern coast, and then on to Keswick Island. Our final destination was St. Bees to study the resident population of koalas. The goal of our weeklong trip was to gather medical and behavioral information on the koalas. We weighed and measured a total of 23 koalas! We took their temperature and pulse, plus used an X-ray to get a radiograph of their hips. We also used an ultrasound machine to see images of their internal organs. After the medical checkup, we applied an ear tag and a radio collar on each koala. Information gathered from our expedition will help koalas stay healthy in Australia and here at the San Diego Zoo.
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The activities in this book will help you explore Australia’s habitats and animals with your students. There are two activities per grade level: one at an introductory level and another at a content-application level. You can use them independently or pair them with a visit to the Zoo to see the new Conrad Prebys Australian Outback exhibit. Here you’ll watch kookaburras, wallabies, and Tasmanian devils along with seeing the largest breeding colony of koalas outside Australia.
Australia is the world’s sixth largest country and close to the same size as the continental United States. It has six states and two territories. The capitol is Canberra. About 22 million people live in Australia. In comparison, about 312 million people live in the United States. In Australia, 86 percent of the people live in cities. In addition to Canberra, the biggest cities are Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth. Australia is famous for its coral reefs, marsupial wildlife, Aboriginal art and culture, and the Outback. © SDZG 2014
KOALA Phascolarctos cinereus
SIZE Adult koalas can weigh from 9 to 33 pounds (4 to 15 kilograms) with males about 50 percent heavier than females. They are about 2 to 3 feet (60 to 85 centimeters) long. A baby, called a joey, is the size of a Tic Tac® when born and must crawl up to the mother’s pouch. Mammals with pouches are called marsupials.
HABITAT Koalas live in eucalypt forests. They depend on the gum trees for food and shelter. Koalas rest or sleep in the trees and are most active between 5 p.m. and midnight. Sharp, curved claws on their forefeet help them climb up and down trees.
DIET Koalas are vegetarians. They eat young leaves from the branches of eucalypt trees. Koalas have big jaws with powerful muscles. They also have sharp teeth to tear and chew the tough leaves.
COMMUNICATION Mostly quiet, koalas can have a big voice. Males bellow to attract a mate. When a koala encounters another, the two may squawk, snarl, or scream. When in distress, females or young may wail.
crocodile Crocodylus porosus
SIZE This crocodile is the world’s largest reptile; reaching up to 20 feet (6 meters) long and 2,600 pounds (1,200 kilograms). Females are smaller, often reaching 10 feet (3 meters).
HABITAT Saltwater crocodiles live along the coastal regions of northern and northeastern Australia. They often swim up rivers or inhabit brackish swamps. Unique to Australia, they are seen in billabongs, pools of isolated water that form when a river changes course.
DIET Most active at night, this crocodile hunts fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Its heavyset jaw has anywhere between 64 and 68 teeth. Generally, larger prey is torn into chunks that are swallowed whole.
COMMUNICATION Crocodiles are generally solitary and quiet, but they can hiss, grunt, and growl. When hatching from their eggs, young crocodiles chirp, which signals the female to dig them out of the nest.
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ringtail possum Pseudocheirus peregrinus
SIZE These possums are 12 to 14 inches (30 to 35 centimeters) from head to rump. Their prehensile tail is almost as long as the body. They weigh about 2 pounds (1 kilogram).
HABITAT Native to eastern Australia, common ringtail possums live in rain forests, shrubby woodlands, eucalypt forests, and coastal shrub habitats. They are often at home in suburban gardens, too.
DIET When foraging, ringtail possums prefer the young leaves on eucalypt trees but will also eat flowers, fruits, and leaves from other trees and shrubs lower in the rain forest canopy. Like most possums, ringtails are nocturnal, resting during the day and searching for food at night.
COMMUNICATION Ringtail possums are generally quiet. Occasionally, they use a soft, high-pitched twittering chirrup or a chattering alarm call and make harsh grunts when fighting. The young sometimes make a repetitive shrill chirruping call, which sounds almost bird-like.
kookaburra Dacelo novaeguineae
SIZE Laughing kookaburras are the largest members of the kingfisher family. They are also the largest of four species of kookaburras, about 7 to 16 ounces (190 to 460 grams) and about 17 inches (43 centimeters) from head to tail.
HABITAT The laughing kookaburra is native to the eastern part of the Australian continent. Eucalypt forests and woodlands provide homes for laughing kookaburras. Just as the song says, it’s typical to see a kookaburra “on an old gum tree.”
DIET Laughing kookaburras eat small animals—both vertebrates and invertebrates—living on or near the ground. They typically eat millipedes, grasshoppers, other insects, spiders, and small reptiles. Worms, crabs, crayfish, frogs, fish, snakes, small mammals, and birds are less common prey. Sometimes a kookaburra beats its prey against its perch to stun, immobilize, or kill the animal before swallowing it whole.
COMMUNICATION The kookaburra’s famous “laugh” is a social call that’s typically done by more than one bird. Each day before dawn, a group of kookaburras starts the day with a loud chorus of “laughter,” and they often say goodnight the same way at dusk. Young kookaburras begin to laugh when they are about six weeks old, and by the time they reach three months, they sound like adults.
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devil Sarcophilus harrisii
SIZE Tasmanian devils can be 23 to 26 inches (57 to 65 centimeters) long with a tail that’s about 10 inches (26 centimeters) long. They weigh between 11 and 31 pounds (5 to 14 kilograms). Males are typically heavier than females.
HABITAT Tasmanian devils live on the island state of Tasmania, which is part of Australia. They can be found in forests, woodlands, and agricultural areas that have coastal scrub and eucalypt forests.
DIET A meat-eater with powerful jaws and sharp teeth, the Tasmanian devil searches at night for dead animals to eat. They make the most of their meals, able to crush and eat bones too. They also hunt live prey such as small mammals and birds.
COMMUNICATION Usually solitary, Tasmanian devils sometimes come together over a carcass. While feeding, they scream and snarl, fighting for a position to eat.
wombat Lasiorhinus latifrons
SIZE Short and stocky, the southern hairy-nosed wombat stands about 15 inches (40 centimeters) tall at the shoulder. Adults weigh between 39 and 80 pounds (18 to 36 kilograms) and are 33 to 43 inches (84 to 111 centimeters) long.
HABITAT These wombats live in dry or semi-dry grasslands and woodlands found in South Australia and the southern part of Western Australia.
DIET An herbivore, wombats graze on perennial grasses, especially spear grass. Wombats don’t travel far to eat. They forage close to their burrow openings. Their feeding habits may create a “lawn” or grazing halo around the openings of their burrows.
COMMUNICATION Generally solitary unless raising young, the wombat communicates through scent and scratch marks in addition to vocals. They may mark territory by leaving droppings or drops of liquid from scent glands. When defending territory or under attack, individuals may make growls or even a high-pitched scream. Mother and young may keep in touch by grunting.
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woma Aspidites ramsayi
SIZE One of the larger pythons in Australia, womas usually grow to 6.5 feet (2 meters) but individuals have been seen as large as 10 feet (3 meters).
HABITAT Womas live in dry, sandy areas around sand dunes and sand hills in central Australia. If nearby woodlands or shrublands have sandy areas, womas can survive there too. These snakes seek shelter in rock crevices and empty fallen logs, but also may dig burrows.
DIET Womas eat reptiles such as lizards and other snakes, along with small mammals, especially young rabbits. They usually hunt at night. Unlike most pythons, the woma does not have heat-sensing pits on its face.
COMMUNICATION This snake communicates primarily through smell and touch, although it may occasionally hiss. Womas are solitary, meeting only to mate.
wallaby Macropus parma
SIZE A smaller relative of kangaroos, Parma wallabies are 17 to 20 inches (44 to 53 centimeters) long and weigh about 7 to 13 pounds (3.2 to 5.9 kilograms). Females are generally shorter and weigh less than males.
HABITAT These wallabies are found in dense, shrubby understory in the high-rainfall areas of eastern Australiaâ€™s New South Wales. They generally hide and rest during the day and forage at night.
DIET Parma wallabies feed among the grasslands, grassy woodlands, heathlands, and sedge swamps bordering dense forests. They graze mostly on grasses such as tussock grass and blady grass. They also eat various herbs and fungi.
COMMUNICATION Mostly quiet, these wallabies may make noises during courtship; males produce soft clucks while females hiss. Different postures may also communicate intent. For example, an aggressive wallaby may rush forward with its head stretched out.
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cockatoo Probosciger aterrimus
SIZE Palm cockatoos are the heaviest of all 21 species of cockatoos. As adults, they weigh between 19 and 35 ounces (550 to 1,000 grams). They can grow to be 24 inches (60 centimeters) long.
HABITAT This cockatoo lives in the rain forests of far northern Queensland, Australia. It can also be found on the island of New Guinea.
DIET Cockatoos gather in large, noisy flocks—which sometimes include two or three different cockatoo species—to feed on berries, seeds, nuts, and roots.
COMMUNICATION Cockatoos are noisy. They are arguably the loudest of all the parrots and squawk loudly to communicate with one another. In addition, this cockatoo has a special talent. Palm cockatoos break off a small branch and strike it against a hollow tree. The drumming may alert others of the their territory, or it may be a bonding activity between mates. No one knows for sure.
echidna Tachyglossus aculeatus
SIZE Adult short-beaked echidnas are about 14 to 21 inches (35 to 53 centimeters) long, with a 3.5-inch (9-centimeter) tail and weigh 5.5 to 15 pounds (2.5 to 7 kilograms). The echidna and the platypus are monotremes, the only two egg-laying mammals.
HABITAT Short-beaked echidnas can be found in the forests, rocky areas, hilly ground, and sandy plains on mainland Australia and Tasmania. They also can live in central and southern New Guinea. They burrow for shelter or hide among rocks.
DIET Echidnas like ants and termites. They forage in the late afternoon or at night, resting during most of the day.
COMMUNICATION When threatened, echidnas roll up into a ball, tucking in their snout and feet and raising their spines. Most communication is through scent; echidnas don’t vocalize very often.
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platypus Ornithorhynchus anatinus
SIZE Adults reach 17 inches (45 centimeters) with a tail as long as 6 inches (15 centimeters). These creatures weigh about 4 pounds (2 kilograms). The echidna and the platypus are monotremes, the only two egg-laying mammals.
HABITAT These unusual animals live in and around freshwater streams, lakes, and lagoons of eastern Australia. When swimming underwater, the platypus is blind and deaf; skin folds protect and cover its eyes and ears. It uses its sensitive bill to explore the river bottom.
DIET A bottom feeder, the platypus forages during the early morning and late afternoon. It probes the gravelly river bottoms for animals like crayfish, shrimp, worms, snails, and tadpoles.
COMMUNICATION Mostly silent and solitary, the platypus can growl. Adults usually meet once a year to mate.
emU Dromaius novaehollandiae
SIZE One of the largest of all birds, the emu stands 5 feet (1.5 meters tall) and weighs between 66 and 120 pounds (30 to 55 kilograms). Emu eggs are also large, as big as 1.5 pounds (650 grams). Females lay between 5 and 15 eggs.
HABITAT Emus live in coastal and inland areas, inhabiting grasslands, woodlands, and open areas. They avoid dry land that has an annual rainfall of less than 20 inches.
DIET These large birds eat a variety of items from plants, seeds, and fruits to various insects. Emus spend most of the day searching for food. They may eat items from the ground or pluck leaves from trees such as the acacia. Like most birds, they also need to drink water.
COMMUNICATION Emus have many different calls, but generally females “boom” while males “grunt.” Females and males make their calls during courtship and mating. Both sounds may also be used to defend territory or nesting sites.
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Pre-k & K
aussie animals Correlates with the California State Science Content Standards
Similarities and Differences
OBJECTIVE • Students learn similarities and differences between reptiles, birds, and mammals.
I WONDER? Describe how it would feel if you were covered with scales? Describe how it would it feel if you were covered with feathers?
INTRODUCTION Australia is home to many interesting reptiles, birds, and mammals. Reptiles are coldblooded animals covered with scales. Young reptiles are born either alive or by hatching from eggs. Reptile eggs are soft and leathery. The young are usually independent at birth. Birds are warm blooded and covered with feathers. All birds hatch from hard-shelled eggs that must be incubated to promote the growth of the embryo. All young birds require care after hatching. Mammals are warm blooded and covered with hair. Most mammals are born alive with two exceptions; both the echidna and platypus found in Australia hatch from leathery eggs. The young of all mammals receive parental care before they become independent. Mammal mothers provide milk to nourish their babies.
MATERIALS • World map • Go to sandiegozoo.org/teacherresources and download pictures of the koala, kookaburra, wombat, wallaby, palm cockatoo, Tasmanian devil, saltwater crocodile, and woma. Print pictures. • Aussie Animals worksheet copy for each student • Crayons
ACTIVITY Step 1: On a whiteboard, write the headings “reptile,” “bird,” and “mammal.” Place the picture of the woma under the reptile heading. Place the picture of the kookaburra under the bird heading. Place the picture of the koala under the mammal heading. Step 2: Point to the woma and ask, “What are reptiles covered with?” Point to the kookaburra and ask, “What are birds covered with?” Point to the koala and ask, “What are mammals covered with?”
Step 3: Have students name some kinds of reptiles, birds, and mammals. Spell, draw, or post pictures of their answers under each heading.
Step 4: Ask students to discuss and answer: How are reptiles and birds the same; how are they different? How are reptiles and mammals the same; how are they different? How are birds and mammals the same; how are they different? How are you like reptiles; how are you different? How are you like birds; how are you different? How are you like mammals; how are you different?
TEACHER’S KEY To download the curriculum PDF with the Teacher’s Key visit: sandiegozoo.org/ teacherresources
Step 5: Show students a map of Australia and explain that they are going to learn about some of the reptiles, birds, and mammals that live in Australia.
Step 6: Show pictures of the Australian animals. Ask the students if each animal is a reptile, bird, or mammal; then ask why they think it is so. Post the pictures under the correct heading.
Step 7: Distribute Aussie Animals worksheets. Have the students follow your directions to color the animals. 10
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Color the reptiles with a red crayon. Color the birds with a blue crayon. Color the mammals with a yellow crayon.
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Pre-k & K
compare, contrast, and classify Correlates with the California State Science Content Standards
Similarities and Differences
OBJECTIVE • Students compare and contrast 12 Australian animals, then sort into groups.
I WONDER? What other ways can you sort animals? Choose a way to sort your animals and share with your class. In what groups would you be included?
INTRODUCTION Scientists who study animals often look for a unique or special characteristic that sets one animal apart from another. They may sort animals with feathers, fur, or scales into different groups. They may sort animals by what they eat—carnivore, herbivore, omnivore. Some animals may be sorted by the way they move—walk, swim, climb, or fly. Scientists may also sort animals by location—desert, ocean, forest, grasslands, or lake. There are many ways to compare and contrast animals in order to sort them into groups.
MATERIALS • Copy of Australian animal cards for every student pair. Cut cards apart and collate into sets; keep one set for yourself. • Crayons • Go to sandiegozoo.org/teacherresources and download pictures of the koala, kookaburra, and woma. Print pictures.
ACTIVITY Step 1: On a whiteboard, write the headings “reptile,” “bird,” and “mammal.” Place the picture of the woma under the reptile heading. Place the picture of the kookaburra under the bird heading. Place the picture of the koala under the mammal heading. Have the students review the characteristics of birds, reptiles, and mammals. Ask students if they can give an example of each. Step 2: Divide students into pairs and distribute a set of cards and crayons to each pair. Ask students to color the animals.
Step 3: Have each team sort their colored cards into bird, reptile, or mammal categories. Step 4: Show each card from your set and have the class decide together if the animal is a bird, reptile, or mammal and discuss why.
TEACHER’S KEY To download the curriculum PDF with the Teacher’s Key visit: sandiegozoo.org/ teacherresources
Step 5: Ask students to sort their cards again, this time by the way the animal moves: hop, fly, swim, climb, dig, walk, or slither.
Step 6: Again, show each card and have the class decide together if the animal hops, flies, swims, climbs, digs, walks, or slithers.
Step 7: You can continue this exercise by having the students sort by habitat, body parts, diet, or any other category you decide.
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wombat ÂŠ SDZG 2014
duck-billed platypus ÂŠ SDZG 2014
gumdrop koala Correlates with the California State Science Content Standards
OBJECTIVE • Students identify that a koala needs food, water, air (oxygen), and shelter to survive.
I WONDER? What does it take to make a koala feel at home? Zookeepers must take good care of koalas, and that means meeting their needs for food and shelter. If you were designing a place for koalas to live, what would you include?
INTRODUCTION Koalas make their home in the eucalypt forests growing in eastern Australia. They eat the young leaves of various kinds of gum trees and nothing else. They rarely drink water and get most of the moisture they need from the leaves that they eat. They breathe air (oxygen). A koala may rest or sleep up to 20 hours each day, nestled into a fork in the branches of a tree for shelter.
MATERIALS • Australia Map • Go to sandiegozoo.org/teacherresources and download picture of a koala in a tree. Print picture. • Gumdrop Koala worksheet copy for each student • Crayons • Optional: real eucalypt leaves
ACTIVITY Step 1: Post a map of Australia in the classroom. Step 2: Post the image of a koala in a tree. Ask students if they can name the animal. After correctly identifying it as a koala, tell students that koalas live only in Australia and only in eucalypt forests located in the eastern part of Australia. Point out eastern Australia on the map.
Step 3: Ask students what koalas need to survive. Do humans need the same things to survive? Have them guess what koalas drink, eat, and what kind of shelter they live in.
Step 4: Read the Gumdrop Koala story. Step 5: Test students’ listening skills by asking, “Where does Gumdrop make his shelter?” “What does he eat?” “What does he breathe?” “Where does Gumdrop get the water he needs?”
TEACHER’S KEY To download the curriculum PDF with the Teacher’s Key visit: sandiegozoo.org/ teacherresources
Step 6 optional: Distribute real eucalypt leaves. Have students describe what they see, feel, and smell. Have them break apart the leaves to see if there is any moisture. Do not eat these leaves. Why? Would students live in a tree? Have students discuss what they like to drink and eat. Have students describe the shelters that they live in. Step 7: Distribute Gumdrop Koala worksheets and crayons to each student. Have the students follow your directions as you read them out loud. Students can color the pictures once they are done.
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is Gumdrop, and I’m a G’Day Mate! My name in the eucalypt forests koala. I make my home of eastern Australia. st of the day. My bed I like to rest and sleep mo a eucalypt branch! is comfortable to me, it’s and sit in the space I hang on with my feet branch for shelter. between the trunk and
gumdrop koala © SDZG 2014
it, bugs, popcorn, I also like to eat. Not fru eucalypt leaves! pizza, or ice cream, but the trees; I can just They are close to me in them. I rarely drink reach out and nibble on the moisture that I water, as I get most of at I eat. I breathe air, need from the leaves th just like you.
Gumdrop koala is hungry. Help Gumdrop climb the tree to find his favorite food. Draw a line to what koalas eat.
home sweet habitat Correlates with the California State Science Content Standards
OBJECTIVE • Students identify where Australian animals might find shelter in different habitats.
I WONDER? How do you think humans can find air to breathe, water to drink, food to eat, and shelter in the ocean habitat?
INTRODUCTION In order to survive, all animals need to find food, water, air, and shelter within their habitat. Animals need shelter to hide from predators, to rest, or to raise their young safely. Some animals find shelter in woodland trees, like koalas, kookaburras, and palm cockatoos. Some animals burrow in the grasslands, like wombats. Womas live in sandy areas near dunes and hide in rocky crevices, saltwater crocodiles find shelter in water, and wallabies live in and near forests, hiding in the shrubby understory.
MATERIALS • Go to sandiegozoo.org/teacherresources to download pictures of water, forest, grassland, woodland, and sandy habitats. Print pictures. • Go to sandiegozoo.org/teacherresources to download pictures of wallaby, koala, palm cockatoo, kookaburra, echidna, woma, saltwater crocodile, Tasmanian devil, and wombat. Print pictures. • Home Sweet Habitat worksheet copy for each student
ACTIVITY Step 1: Begin by having students review what animals need to survive. Ask students, “Do humans need food, water, air, and shelter to survive, too?” Ask how shelter might help animals survive. Step 2: Discuss how animals find shelter in a variety of different habitats. Post pictures of habitats on a bulletin board or whiteboard. Have students identify the different habitats.
Step 3: Have students name some animals that live in water, forests, grasslands, woodlands, or in a sandy area.
Step 4: Show the picture of each Australian animal and have students guess which habitat(s) it might live in and why. Post the animal pictures under the correct habitat pictures. Point out that some animals live in more than one habitat. Step 5: Have students decide which of the habitats humans can live in. Have each student decide which habitat they would like to live in and tell why.
Step 6: Distribute Home Sweet Habitat worksheets to each student. Have the students follow the directions as you read them out loud.
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HOME SWEET HABITAT
Draw a line from the animal to the correct habitat.
crocodile ÂŠ SDZG 2014
aussie babies Correlates with the California State Science Content Standards
Plant and Animal Life Cycles
OBJECTIVE • Students learn which Australian animals hatch from eggs and which are born alive.
I WONDER? Describe what it would be like to hatch from an egg and take care of yourself.
INTRODUCTION Birth is the first stage of a life cycle. Birds always hatch from eggs. Upon hatching, birds are either precocial (prepared for life, but usually still requiring some parental care) or altricial (helpless at birth, requiring a great amount of parental care). Some reptiles hatch from eggs (oviparous) and some hatch from eggs inside the female’s body and then appear to be born alive (ovoviviparous). Once young are born, reptiles are usually on their own. Most mammals are born alive, with the exception of the echidna and the platypus that hatch from leathery eggs. Egg-laying mammals are in a group called monotremes. Australia is also home to marsupials—mammals (such as the koalas) that are raised in a pouch. One of the things that makes mammal babies (especially humans) different from all other animals is that they require a lot of parental care as they grow and change.
MATERIALS • Go to sandiegozoo.org/teacherresources to download pictures of koala, kookaburra, palm cockatoo, echidna, salt-water crocodile, wallaby, wombat, woma, and Tasmanian devil. Print pictures. • Aussie Babies worksheet copy for each student • Crayons
ACTIVITY Step 1: On a whiteboard write the headings: “Hatch from Egg” and “Born Alive.” Step 2: Ask students these questions: How are birds born? How are reptiles born? How are mammals born? How were you born?
Step 3: Have students name some birds that hatch from eggs. Have students name some reptiles that hatch from eggs. Have students name some mammals that are born alive. Have students name some mammals that hatch from eggs.
Step 4: Show each picture of the Australian animals and have students decide if they hatch from eggs or if they are born alive. Post the pictures on the whiteboard under the headings. Show the echidna last. Once they guess that the echidna is born alive, explain that while most mammals are born alive, that there are two that hatch from eggs—echidna and the platypus. Step 5: Distribute the Aussie Babies worksheet and crayons to each student. Have the students follow the directions as you read them out loud. Students can color the pictures once they are done.
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Draw a line from the animal to how it is born.
HATCH FROM EGG
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life cycle match-up Correlates with the California State Science Content Standards
Plant and Animal Life Cycles
OBJECTIVE • Students sequence the life cycle stages of a plant, bird, reptile, and marsupial mammal.
I WONDER? Most young mammals look like their parents. How do you look like your parents? How do you look different from your parents?
INTRODUCTION Most living things have a four-stage life cycle: birth or hatching, growing and changing, adulthood, and reproducing or having babies. Plants and animals have various strategies for moving through these stages. For example, mammals give live birth and nurse their young, while birds lay eggs and regurgitate food for their chicks. Plants produce fruits and seeds, or may grow long roots that then sprout new plants elsewhere. Studying the stages of an animal’s life cycle helps scientists determine the best way to help animals that are in danger of extinction.
MATERIALS • Go to sandiegozoo.org/teacherresources to download four pictures of the koala life cycle. Print pictures. Also download pictures of the kookaburra, saltwater crocodile, and eucalypt tree. Print pictures. • Single-sided copies of animal cards on page 22 and 23 for each student pair • One sheet of construction paper for each student pair • Glue or glue sticks • Scissors
ACTIVITY Step 1: Ask for student volunteers to bring in pictures of themselves when they were babies. Show the pictures one by one and have the class guess who is in each picture. Discuss how students have changed since they were younger. Step 2: Have the class discuss the definition of a life cycle. Leading questions might include: “How do you describe a life cycle?” “Why is it called a cycle?”
Step 3: On a whiteboard write the four headings: birth, growing and changing, adulthood, and reproducing or having babies. Post pictures of the koala life cycle on the whiteboard under the correct heading. Step 4: Post the picture of the kookaburra and have students describe its life cycle. How is it born? What might it look like as it’s growing and changing? What stage is the kookaburra in the picture? After it reaches adulthood, what is next?
Step 5: Post the picture of the crocodile and repeat the same questions as discussed with the kookaburra in Step 4. Repeat the sequence again with the photo of the eucalypt tree.
Step 6: Divide students into pairs and distribute life cycle sheets, construction paper, glue, and scissors to each team. Allow students to cut apart squares. Have students work together to match the four-stage life cycle of each animal and the eucalyptus tree. Paste matching life cycle squares on construction paper. Teams can share and explain their life cycles with the class.
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neat feet Correlates with the California State Science Content Standards
OBJECTIVE • Students match different animal feet to their functions.
I WONDER? Do all animals have feet? Can you name an animal that doesn’t? How does it move?
INTRODUCTION To find food, animals may dig, paddle, crawl, fly, or do other behaviors to catch prey or gather edible plants. Depending on the different environments that the animal inhabits, its feet may have webbed toes for swimming, claws for scratching or burrowing, talons for grabbing, or soft pads for sticking to surfaces. Looking at an animal’s feet can tell you about its lifestyle and where it lives.
MATERIALS • Go to sandiegozoo.org/teacherresources to download drawings of feet or paws from a koala, wallaby, kookaburra, wombat, crocodile, and human. Print pictures. • Go to sandiegozoo.org/teacherresources to download picture of a koala, wallaby, kookaburra, wombat, and crocodile. Print pictures. • Neat Feet worksheet copy for each student • Colored pencils, crayons, or pens
ACTIVITY Step 1: Ask students to think about their feet. How do we use our feet. What can we do? What about an animal’s feet? Ask students to name or describe an animal and its feet. How do these different feet help the animal thrive in its home? Step 2: Show drawings of the feet of the koala, wallaby, kookaburra, wombat, and
crocodile. Ask students how these feet might be used (climb, dig, swim, hop, grab, or walk). Ask if they can guess which animal these feet belong to. After guessing, show animal pictures and have students match the feet with the animal pictures. Have students mimic how these animals use their feet.
Step 3: Distribute Neat Feet worksheet. Ask students to match the animals to the feet, and then the feet to the action words, working from left to right across the sheet.
Step 4: When students have completed the worksheet, review answers with the class. Step 5: Have students discuss the function of other Australian animals’ feet.
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Match the animal name to the foot. Match the foot to the action word.
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australian animal adaptations Correlates with the California State Science Content Standards
OBJECTIVE • Students learn that animals have structures that serve different functions in survival.
I WONDER? Choose one of your adaptations and describe how life might be different without it.
INTRODUCTION An adaptation is a characteristic of a living thing that helps it survive in its environment. Adaptations may be physical, like camouflage for hiding, talons for grabbing prey, gills for breathing under water, wings for flying, or whiskers for touching. Adaptations may also be behavioral, like scent marking, nest building, protecting young, or hiding from danger.
MATERIALS • Go to sandiegozoo.org/teacherresources to download pictures of koala, kookaburra, palm cockatoo, echidna, saltwater crocodile, wallaby, wombat, woma, ringtail possum, and Tasmanian devil. Print pictures. • Australian Animal Adaptations worksheet copy for each student • Pencils, crayons, colored pencils, or pens
ACTIVITY Step 1: Write “Adaptation” on a whiteboard. Explain that animals have adaptations (physical and behavioral) for surviving in their environment. Call on students to list some physical and behavioral adaptations of people. Write their answers in a column on the left side of the board. For example, feet for walking, hands for grabbing or touching, eyes for seeing, nose for smelling, ears for hearing, and tongue for tasting. Step 2: Post the animal pictures across the whiteboard and write the name of the animal
above each picture. Call on students to list some physical and behavioral adaptations and write their answers under each picture. For example: a koala has claws for climbing, eyes for seeing, a nose for smelling, ears for hearing, tongue for tasting, scent glands for marking territory, and a pouch for carrying young.
Step 3: Distribute Australian Animal Adaptations worksheets to each student. Have each student choose one of the Australian animals to illustrate. Explain that they should choose two adaptations listed on the board to write two sentences about how the animal uses those adaptations. Have students help you demonstrate using the koala as an example: Koalas have claws that help them climb trees.
Step 4: Have students share their work with the rest of the class.
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AUSTRALIAN ANIMAL ADAPTATIONS My animal is
Choose two adaptations and write two sentences about how the animal uses those adaptations.
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download the app today! Experience expanded content, interactive, multisensory activities, vocabulary-building glossaries, insightful animal profiles, and unique ways to continue your Aussie exploration! Download at sandiegozoo.org/kidsapp
online resources To learn more about the Australian Outback exhibit at the San Diego Zoo sandiegozoo.org/koalafornia To watch koalas live on “koala cam” sandiegozoo.org/koalafornia/koalacam.html To learn more about koalas and other animals at the San Diego Zoo animals.sandiegozoo.org library.sandiegozoo.org/factsheet.htm To have fun exploring the San Diego Zoo Global Kids’ website kids.sandiegozoo.org To learn more about the San Diego Zoo Safari Park sdzsafaripark.org To learn more about research and conservation sandiegozooglobal.org To download the Wildlife Learning Adventures teacher brochure sandiegozoo.org/zoo/education ZOONOOZ on iPad. Get the latest news on all our animals and find more information on koalas here. Go to sandiegozoo.org/zoonooz to download the app for iPad.
other sources 400 bird and 360 mammal species australia.com/about/key-facts/australias-animals.aspx Current conservation efforts in Australia koalaland.com.au
PHOTO CREDITS: Shin Yoshino/Minden Pictures D. Parer & E. Parer-Cook/Minden Pictures Glen Threlfo/Minden Pictures
like this resource guide? Go to sandiegozoo.org/teachersurvey for a quick online feedback form. We appreciate your comments!
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Mike Parry/Minden Pictures Jakkrit Orrasri/Shutterstock arka38/Shutterstock ©iStock.com/ozflash Dreamworld, Gold Coast Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary
glossary Aboriginal — people, animals, or plants native to Australia.
Marsupial — several orders of mammals characterized by the presence of marsupial bones. In most species females carry newborn offspring in a pouch (such as the koala).
Adaptation — a characteristic of a living thing that helps it survive in its environment.
Monotreme — an order of mammals that includes the echidna and platypus which hatch from eggs.
Altricial — helpless at birth, requiring a great amount of parental care.
Nocturnal — most active at night. Arboreal — describing an animal that lives in trees. Omnivore — an animal that feeds on plants and animals.
Australia — a country and continent in the southern hemisphere, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.
Precocial — prepared for life immediately upon hatching or being born, but usually still requiring at least some parental care.
Billabong — pool of isolated water that forms when a river changes course. Carnivore — an animal that eats other animals.
Oviparous — reproduction by producing eggs that hatch outside the female’s body. Young are nourished by yolk sacs.
Characteristic — a typical quality or feature. Endangered species — a plant or animal that is seriously at risk of becoming extinct.
Ovoviviparous — reproduction by producing eggs that hatch inside the female’s body. After hatching, young are born alive. Young are nourished by yolk sacs, not through a placenta.
Environment — the natural world of the land, sea, and air.
Pouch — folds of skin or a pocket-like opening on the underbelly of female marsupials that covers the teats where young are raised and nurtured.
Eucalypt — (YOO-kuh-lipt) any of the several trees in the genera Eucalyptus, Corymbia, and Angophora, also called gum trees.
Predator — an animal that hunts other animals for food.
Habitat — the place and natural conditions in which a plant or animal lives.
Prey — an animal that is hunted by another animal for food.
Herbivore — an animal that eats only plants. Joey — a baby marsupial.
Viviparous — reproduction by giving live birth. Embyros are nourished by a connection to the female’s placenta.
Life cycle — the development stages a living thing goes through from birth to death—birth, sprouting, or hatching; growing and changing; adulthood; and reproducing. Mammal — warm-blooded, vertebrate animals that have hair or fur on their bodies and feed milk to their young.
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