Activity Introduction

Quick summary: Students are asked to invent their own animal using their knowledge of the features that animals have.

Learning goals:

  • Students understand that animal features can be used to interpret how animals live.

Australian Curriculum Mapping

Content descriptions:

Years 1 & 2 Visual Arts

  • Explore ideas, experiences, observations and imagination to create visual artworks and design, including considering ideas in artworks by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists (ACAVAM106)
  • Use and experiment with different materials, techniques, technologies and processes to make artworks (ACAVAM107)
  • Create and display artworks to communicate ideas to an audience (ACAVAM108)

Year 1 Science

  • Living things have a variety of external features (ACSSU017)

Year 1 English

  • Use comprehension strategies to build literal and inferred meaning about key events, ideas and information in texts that they listen to, view and read by drawing on growing knowledge of context, text structures and language features (ACELY1660)

Year 2 English

  • Use comprehension strategies to build literal and inferred meaning and begin to analyse texts by drawing on growing knowledge of context, language and visual features and print and multimodal text structures (ACELY1670).

Year 2 Science

  • Respond to and pose questions, and make predictions about familiar objects and events (ACSIS037).

Syllabus Outcomes: ST1-10LW, EN1-4A, EN1-4A, ST1-4WS, VAS1.1, VAS1.2.

Topic: Biodiversity

Year levels: 1 and 2

Indoor or outdoor activity: Indoor

Time required: 45 mins

Learning areas addressed: Science, The Arts.

Level of teacher scaffolding: Lead students in a discussion around animal features, making notes on the board.

Resources required: Art materials.

Keywords: Biodiversity, features, adaptations, ecosystems.

Cool Australia’s curriculum team continually reviews and refines our resources to be in line with changes to the Australian Curriculum.

Worksheets

Teacher Worksheet

Teacher preparation

Explain to students that animals are a big part of biodiversity. There are all sorts of animals in nature – some big, some small, some hairy, some pink and wrinkly, some with claws, and some with no feet at all.

Make a list on the board of all the animals that your students can think of. Discuss if they all look the same. Why do't all the animals look the same? 

Invent an animal!

Then ask your students to close their eyes and imagine a pretend animal. What might it look like? Is it scaly and scary like a dragon? Or does it have a long horn like a unicorn or a rhino? Does it have lots of eyes or two noses? Think about some of the following things to help your students in imagining their animal:

  • Does it have fur, feathers or scales?
  • Does it have ears?
  • Does it have teeth or a beak?
  • Does it have claws, paws or toes?
  • What colour(s) is it?
  • Where does it live? Does it live in an old log or in a tree? Where else might it live?
  • Can you draw a picture of y
...
 
- or - to view worksheets

Student Worksheet

1. Close your eyes and think of a made-up animal. Ask yourself:

  • Does it have fur, feathers or scales?
  • Does it have lots of eyes or two noses?
  • Does it have ears?
  • Does it have teeth or a beak?
  • Does it have claws, paws or toes?
  • What colour(s) is it?
  • Where does it live? Does it live in an old log or in a tree? Where else might it live?

2. Draw a picture of your animal

Once you have finished drawing, write a few sentences about what sort of things your animal might eat and drink. Also, ask them to think about what sort of noises it makes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Create your animal with Build Your Wild Self

Visit the Build your wild self website and create a wild version of yourself. You can choose to have ears or horns, feathers or wings, scales or a mane!

...
 
- or - to view worksheets

Leave your Feedback

We appreciate your feedback. Let us know what you like or don't like about this activity:

Sorry. You must be logged in to view this form.