All about Koalas. Sample file. Third through Sixth

Transcription

1 All about Koalas Third through Sixth

2 Introduction to All about Koalas Welcome to Teacher Book Bag s All about Koalas lapbook and activity kit. We believe the activity kit is an excellent way to display information that you are learning as you study the cute and cuddly looking koala and have fun as you do it. The contents of this ebook are as follows: Detailed information about koalas Koala vocabulary Map of Australia Extra images of the koala Koala puzzle Koala maze Koala Game with cards You can use the information for notebooking or lapbooking. Tailor it to your homeschooling needs. We hope you enjoy this ebook as much as we did creating it. Enjoy! Donna Bathalter Teacher Book Bag dlbathalter@insightbb.com

3 The Koala The koala is native to Australia. It is a marsupial in that it carries its babies in a pouch attached to its abdomen. It lives mainly in trees and therefore is an arboreal animal. It is herbivorous which means it eats plants. It prefers to live alone and does not live in groups. The koala gets its name from the scientific word Phascolaractos which comes from the Greek word phaskolos which means pouch and arktos which means bear. Although it may look like one it is not a member of the bear family. The koala's historic range stretches across Australia. Today they can be found only in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. Koalas have long, thick, soft fur that is mainly grey with white underneath and with brown coloring on its forearms and back. Their fur is mostly white on the underside below the neck. It has white fluffy tufts of fur around its ears with long hair at the tips.

4 The koala is small and round. They grow to about 2 feet tall. Female, grown koalas weigh about 19 lbs. (8.5 kg.) while male koalas are heavier and weigh about 26 lbs. (12 kg.). Different types of koalas can weigh less, lbs. (5 6.5 kg.) and have different colored fur (golden brown to even white). The koala is fond of the leaves of the eucalyptus tree. There are twelve different kinds of these trees. They also eat mistletoe and leaves and bark from box trees. Koalas have adapted well to climbing the trees with their long, sharp claws. They have five fingers including opposable thumbs just like a human. They are one of the few mammals in the world that have fingerprints. In fact, it is hard to tell the difference between koala fingerprints and that of humans. The koala s teeth are sharp in the front which makes it easier to tear leaves and bark from trees and their back teeth are great for grinding.

5 Above, a mother koala carries her baby, called a joey, on her back. The koala s brain is rather small. It can make a cry that sounds much like that of a human baby. It is thought that the koala can live to be as much as 18 years old. Female koalas can have only one baby a year although there are twin koalas at the University of Queensland in Australia that were born in That is indeed rare. They are identical twins. Once a koala becomes pregnant, the joey is born 35 days later. That s just a little over a month. A human baby is carried in its mother s womb for nine months. Baby koalas are born blind and without ears or hair. They remain in the mother koalas pouch attached to one of her teats. The pouch is upside down and is drawn

6 together at the bottom so that the baby does not fall out. The baby remains in the pouch for about five to seven months. During this time they develop sight, ears, and fur. After this period of time, they come out of the pouch and cling to their mother. For the next six months they live on their mother s milk and eucalyptus leaves until they are weaned at about the age of one year. Koalas are nocturnal animals which means they roam at night. They rest and sleep a lot. They can do this from 16 to 18 hours a day. Their metabolism is very low which makes them slow. They spend from 3 to 5 hours eating. They eat about 18 oz. (500 g.) of eucalyptus leaves a day. Their powerful jaws grind the tree parts into a fine paste which is then swallowed. The koala prefers to live in arid places where there is little water. It is illegal in Australia to keep a koala as a pet. Koalas were once hunted for their fur. The U.S. government considers it to be an endangered animal.

7 Take a crayon and color in the areas where koalas are located in Australia. Go back into the report for a list of the locations

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9 Vocabulary 1. native originally from a location 2. marsupial mammal that carries its young in a pouch 3. arboreal lives in trees 4. herbivorous plant eater 5. phaskolos Greek word for pouch 6. arktos Greek word for bear 7. tufts clumps of long hair 8. eucalyptus Australian evergreen tree 9. misteletoe plant with thick leaves, yellowish flowers, and berries 10. box tree leafy Australian tree eaten by the koala 11. opposable capable of being placed against one or more of the digits of a hand 12. nocturnal active at night 13. metabolism the burning off of cells for energy 14. arid dry places where there is little water 15. endangered threatened with extinction

10 Vocabulary 1. native 2. marsupial 3. arboreal 4. herbivorous 5. phaskolos 6. arktos 7. tufts 8. eucalyptus 9. mistletoe 10. box tree 11. opposable 12. nocturnal 13. meatabolism 14. arid 15. endangered

11 Koala Puzzle

12 Across 4. clumps of long hair 7. plant eater 9. active at night 10. lives in trees 12. mammal that carries its young in a pouch 13. leafy Australian tree eaten by the koala 14. dry places where there is little water Down 1. Australian evergreen tree 2. plant with thick leaves, yellowish flowers, and berries 3. capable of being placed against one or more of the digits of a hand 5. Greek word for pouch 6. originally from a location 8. threatened with extinction 10. Greek word for bear 11. the burning off of cells for energy

13 Answers Across 4. tufts 7. herbivorous 9. nocturnal 10. arboreal 12. marsupial 13. box tree 14. arid Down 1. eucalyptus 2. mistletoe 3. opposable 5. phaskolos 6. native 8. endangered 10. arktos 11. metabolism

14 Other Images of the Koala Both the hands and feet have opposable fingers. Above is a newborn opossum. The newborn koala looks very similar. It is the size of a dime. After it is born, it crawls into its mother s pouch and remains there feeding on its mother s milk for six to seven months.

15 Other Resources about Koalas urefeature/koala/ Koala Lou by Mem Fox and Pamela Lofts Can You Cuddle Like a Koala? by John Butler The Koala Book by Ann Sharp Why Koala Has a Stumpy Tail (StoryCove: A World of Stories) by Martha Hamilton, Mitch Weiss and Tom Wrenn Life Cycle of a Koala by Bobbie Kalman and Heather Levigne

16 Koala Maze

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18 The koala is native to what country? Australia What do you call an animal that carries its young in a pouch attached to its abdomen? a marsupial What kind of animal lives mainly in trees? What type of animal eats plants? an arboreal animal The koala gets its name from this scientific word? herbivorous The word for pouch in Greek is? Phascolaractos Phaskolos The word for bear in Greek is? Arktos Where can koalas be found today? Queensland, New South Whales, Victoria, and South Australia

19 Koala s are mainly what colors? grey, white, and brown Approximately how tall do koala s grow? 2 ft. Koala s love the leaves of what kind of tree? What helps a koala to climb trees? eucalyptus long, sharp claws What does a koala have How many fingers does a that few mammals in koala have on its hand? the world have on their five fingers? fingerprints What do koalas have in order to tear leaves and bark from trees? sharp teeth What does the sound of a koala crying sound like? a human baby

20 Koalas can live to be approximately how old? eighteen years old What is unique about a koala s pouch as far as the baby is concerned? it s upside down Koalas are nocturnal animals. What does this mean? they roam at night Approximately how long do koalas rest and sleep each day? 16 to 18 hours Approximately how many What is it illegal to do hours a day do koalas with koalas in Australia? spend eating? keep them as a pet 3 to 5 hours The US Government lists koalas as what? endangered animals Although it may look like it, the koala is not a member of this family? the bear family

21 Marsupial Coloring and Research Pages 1. wombat 2. numbat 3. possum 4. sugar glider 5. Tasmanian Devil 6. koala

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