grade 1
gumdrop koala Correlates with the California State Science Content Standards
Animal Needs
OBJECTIVE • Students identify that a koala needs food, water, air (oxygen), and shelter to survive.
I WONDER? What does it take to make a koala feel at home? Zookeepers must take good care of koalas, and that means meeting their needs for food and shelter. If you were designing a place for koalas to live, what would you include?
INTRODUCTION Koalas make their home in the eucalypt forests growing in eastern Australia. They eat the young leaves of various kinds of gum trees and nothing else. They rarely drink water and get most of the moisture they need from the leaves that they eat. They breathe air (oxygen). A koala may rest or sleep up to 20 hours each day, nestled into a fork in the branches of a tree for shelter.
MATERIALS • Australia Map • Go to sandiegozoo.org/teacherresources and download picture of a koala in a tree. Print picture. • Gumdrop Koala worksheet copy for each student • Crayons • Optional: real eucalypt leaves
ACTIVITY Step 1: Post a map of Australia in the classroom. Step 2: Post the image of a koala in a tree. Ask students if they can name the animal. After correctly identifying it as a koala, tell students that koalas live only in Australia and only in eucalypt forests located in the eastern part of Australia. Point out eastern Australia on the map.
Step 3: Ask students what koalas need to survive. Do humans need the same things to survive? Have them guess what koalas drink, eat, and what kind of shelter they live in.
Step 4: Read the Gumdrop Koala story. Step 5: Test students’ listening skills by asking, “Where does Gumdrop make his shelter?” “What does he eat?” “What does he breathe?” “Where does Gumdrop get the water he needs?”
TEACHER’S KEY To download the curriculum PDF with the Teacher’s Key visit: sandiegozoo.org/ teacherresources
Step 6 optional: Distribute real eucalypt leaves. Have students describe what they see, feel, and smell. Have them break apart the leaves to see if there is any moisture. Do not eat these leaves. Why? Would students live in a tree? Have students discuss what they like to drink and eat. Have students describe the shelters that they live in. Step 7: Distribute Gumdrop Koala worksheets and crayons to each student. Have the students follow your directions as you read them out loud. Students can color the pictures once they are done.
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