Australian animals

by Kerrie Mead
(Penrith, NSW)

There are wonderful collections of toy Australian animals readily available.

*A great way to teach the names of the animals is to play the old favourite, "Kim's Game". Place the collection on a tray and ask the children to remember the animals. Cover the tray with a cloth and then remove one of the animals carefully. Remove the cloth and ask the children to tell you which one is missing. If the guess is incorrect, you can point out where that animal is for reinforcement.

*Use ice cream container lids or similar to separate your collection into categories for the Australian animal groups: marsupials, reptiles, birds, mammals,etc

*Make up a grid on a sheet of cardboard with vertical headings: I am a marsupial, I am a reptile etc, and horizontal headings: I have spines, I eat gum leaves etc. Place the Australian animal on its special grid reference.

*Create a new marsupial! Having listed the characteristics of marsupials, ask the children to draw a "new" one with all those requirements. What would you call it? (Possibly refer to indigenous language banks for inspiration!)