Lesson 2 | Features of animals | Field of Mars EEC
Lesson overview
Students closely investigate animals and their observable external features, such as body parts, movement, coverings and behaviours. Through comparing and sorting activities, students learn how scientists classify living things using descriptive language and observable evidence.
Learning intention
- We are learning about the features of animals.
Success criteria
- We can label the external features of a possum and lizard.
Activity 1 - Animals that live in the trees
Ringtail possums live in shrubs and trees. They have a long prehensile tail that can hold onto branches.
Tasks
- Watch the Features of a ringtail possum video.
- What features help ringtail possums move through the trees?
Features of a ringtail possum | Field of Mars EEC (0:54min) | YouTube
Activity 2 - Animals that live on the ground
Blue-tongue lizards live on the ground. They have flat body to help move though thick ground cover plants and under rocks and logs.
Tasks
- Watch the Features of a blue-tongue lizard video.
- Name three features that help blue-tongue lizards stay safe from predators.
- Find out more in our reptile fact sheets.
Features of a blue-tongue lizard | Field of Mars EEC (1:07min) | YouTube
Ringtail possums are nocturnal animals that live in the shrubs and trees. This means that they only come out at night time to find their food and in the daytime they like to sleep in what's called a drey.
Behind me in this tree I can see a drey already. It's a nest made out of sticks and leaves. Ringtail possums have large eyes so they can see in the dark.
They also have browny grey fur for camouflage and claws and a long prehensile tail to help them climbing in trees.
End of transcript.
Blue-tongue lizards have amazing camouflage to live on the forest floor.
Look at his beautiful pattern on his scales. That gives him excellent camouflage amongst the leaf litter.
Blue-tongue lizards use hollow logs for protection. This means they can escape from predators.
Blue-tongue lizards use rocks to heat up in the sun. This gives them lots of energy to go about their day.
Blue-tongue lizards have in fact a blue tongue and that's to scare away its predators.
They have a long body and short legs so they can't climb trees but they are pretty swift on the ground to escape from danger.
End of transcript.
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