G'day Mates!

Yet again the scholars of Room 9 are jet-setting across another ocean, this time for Australia, the land down under! Australia is home to many unique animals, landmarks, and types of climates. To begin our unit, we discussed together what we already know about Australia. Most of our ideas included things about kangaroos and koalas. Next, we brainstormed questions we have about Australia. We have done this in the past - it's known as a KWL chart. We list what we Know, Want to know, and Learned (at the end).

For our first activity, we took a trip to the zoo! Students were split into 5 different groups. At each station, as they opened numbered envelopes including photos and information about a certain animal, they made predictions about which animal they were learning about. 

At the end, after each group rotated to all 5 spots, we came back together and reviewed some of the facts we learned. Did you know that the platypus is a mammal that lays eggs? Ask your child what we call that!

Next, we spent time conducting research on different landmarks, famous places, and important aspects of Australia. As groups rotated around the room watching different videos, reading nonfiction texts, or looking at photographs, they recorded factual information on a poster. There was one catch - your fact must be original! There cannot be repeated facts on the poster. To make things more challenging, students ended the activity in the same spot they began, making it more difficult to add a fact not yet written by another group!