Our inquiry around Aotearoa New Zealand has moved onto investigating our native species and the problems they face.
Our writing and inquiry over the last few weeks has focused on endangered native animals. We researched a range of native species, finding out a description of each animal, what it eats, all about the habitat where it lives and interesting facts about them. Then we found out about the issues it is facing, such as their habitat being damaged, or predators which may injure or kill them. We wrote our own information texts about each animal to share what we had discovered. The animals we researched included the Kiwi, Tuatara, Kākāpo, Yellow-Eyed Penguin, Kea and the Māui Dolphin.
Did you know:
The Tuatara has a third eye on the top of it's head, but it is not used for seeing.
There are only about 50 Māui Dolphins left.
Takahē have wing spurs hidden in their wings which they use to fight off predators and defend their territories from intruders!
The Kea is has 4 toes on each foot – two that point forward and two that point backward!
Hoiho is the Māori name for Yellow Eyed Penguins.
The Kiwi has the second largest egg for body size of any bird!
After writing about each animal, we chose one that we wanted to focus on in more detail. We made a diorama of the animal's habitat and made a poster of the information we had found to go with it.
Check out our assembly in Week 9, where we will share our learning with you. See you there!