kidcyberQuest Australian Animals 3

kidcyberQuest www.kidcyber.com.au

Australian Animals

Name:

Setting the Scene

A tourism company conducts tours for people interested in animals. The tours take people into different areas to see wild animals in their habitat. You are part of a team preparing animal information for use in the Australian tours.

Your task
You will select 3 Australian animals: a carnivore, a herbivore and an omnivore. You will make a complete report on each, in the form of an information brochure about each animal. Include the following information:

What is the animal, and to what animal group does it belong?	Is it a mammal, reptile, bird, insect, or fish?
Habitat where the animal may be found	The tours will go to those areas. Let people know what conditions to expect: for example, rocky ground, hilly, thick bush, very hot, and so on.
The animal's adaptations to its environment	Features that help it survive in its habitat
Diet	What the animal eats in the wild and how it finds its food
Covering	Fur, feathers, scales, skin?
Features and behaviours	Interesting features, particularly to overseas visitors. Animal behaviours: eg nocturnal, curls up in defence etc
Conservation status and threats to survival	Reasons for status. What threats are there to its survival? What can we do?

Resources
kidcyber Animals index (Australian animals are marked with *)
http://www.uen.org/utahlink/activities/view_activity.cgi?activity_id=4783
http://australian-animals.net/
http://www.amonline.net.au/factsheets/

You may also find other websites and books.

The Process
You may already have some favourite animals you'd like to choose, but make sure they fit the categories required: a carnivore, a herbivore, an omnivore. Browse through the sites in the resources, reading about Australian animals and then select your 3 to report on.

Once selected, go here to get a data chart on which to make your notes. Print as many as you need. Remember to note the sources of your information in a bibliography.

Presentation
Your written report on each animal will take the form of illustrated information brochures to be given to tour groups. You will give a talk to the class about one of your selected animals: the class will be a group of tourists listening in preparation for looking for that animal in the wild the next day. They will of course be able to ask you questions at the end of your talk.

Evaluation
Go here to find a form to fill in as part of your self-assessment of your work.