41

What you need

One pair of the Birds
and reptiles worksheets
for every pair of
children.
Write in gapped
answers for the children
to complete before
photocopying.
Photocopy the MC
version and follow the
MC instructions.
Materials for poster
making.
Why Do Monkeys Chatter?
Topic 1: Birds and reptiles
Key language
wing feather ap up/down change direction evolve
habitat predator claw U/V-shaped snout jaw
saltwater venomous toxic venom prey squeeze to death
First ideas
See Introduction for suggestions on how to introduce the Factbook for
the rst time.
Mixed ability teaching
See Introduction for suggestions on how to use the activities identied by
the and icons.
Before reading
Here are examples of how you might introduce some of the key language,
writing new vocabulary on the board throughout:
Flap your arms up and down like a bird and say Can you ap your arms up and
down like a bird? Flap them up and down again. Do birds have arms? No, they
have wings. And the wings have feathers. Who can draw a feather on the board?
Draw a letter U on the board and turn it into a snout by adding eyes, a mouth
and teeth. Say This is an alligator. Look at its long snout. Its a U-shaped snout
because it looks like a U. Now draw a V and turn it into a snout. This is a
crocodile. What letter does its snout look like? Do birds have snouts? No, they dont.
Then draw a snake. Ask What is this? Can they be dangerous? Yes, some are
venomous and its dangerous if they bite you. Draw some dripping teeth.
Then teach or revise predator, prey and habitat. Write the names of various
animals that are familiar to the children on the board and ask them what sort
of places or habitats they live in. Then write the two headings Predator and Prey
and get the children to help you sort them into animals which eat other animals
and animals that are eaten by other animals. Some may go in both groups.
Reading
Worksheet: Birds and reptiles
Put the children into pairs and get them to decide who is Partner A and who
is Partner B. Get the As to work together in small groups and the Bs to work
together in small groups. They then read their pages and compare their answers
to the questions their partners are going to ask them. If you like, go over the
answers with the groups before telling the children to go back to their original
partner. The children then ask and answer their questions in their original pairs.
Answers:
Partner A:
a) The feathers close together.
b) The feathers separate to let
air through.
c) Its tail feathers.
d) Because their habitat did
not have many predators.
Partner B:
a) It has a U-shaped snout.
b) Saltwater.
c) The beaked sea snake.
d) Yes.
42
The As read all the pages in small groups and then think of good questions
to ask the Bs about reptiles, while the Bs read all the pages in small groups and
then think of good questions to ask the As about birds. You will probably have
to give them quite a lot of help. Make sure that the answers are in the Factbook.
If you like, go over the questions (and answers) with the groups before telling
the children to go back to their original partner. The children then ask and
answer their questions in their original pairs.
After reading
Poster-making: The As now read together about reptiles and the Bs now read
together about birds.
The As take it in turns to read about reptiles to each other and the Bs take it
in turns to read about birds to each other.
In pairs, the Bs make posters about birds, choosing Why do birds have feathers?
or Can all birds y? as their subject. They can draw pictures and write captions
in English.
In pairs, the As make posters about reptiles, choosing What is the difference
between an alligator and a crocodile? or Which is the most venomous snake?
and How a python swallows an animal as their subject. They can draw pictures
and write captions in English.
The children do further research on the Internet and include extra
information on their poster.
Additional activities
Simplified questions and answers (page 55): See Introduction for suggestions
on how to use these.
Native animals: Ask the children to brainstorm the birds and reptiles that are
native to your region. Ask them to describe their habitats.
43 Cambridge University Press 2010 PHOTOCOPIABLE
Name
Partner A:
You are going to read about birds on pages 4 and 5 of the Factbook.
Your partner is going to read about reptiles.
1. Work in small groups. Your partners are going to ask you these questions so you need
to nd the answers.
a) What happens when a bird aps its wings down?

b) What happens when a bird aps its wings up?

c) What does an eagle use to help it slow down or change direction?

d) Some birds cannot y. Why did they evolve like that?


2. Find your partner and ask your partner these questions:
a) Does an alligator have a U-shaped snout or a V-shaped snout?
b) Does a crocodile usually live in freshwater or saltwater?
c) Which is the most venomous snake in the world?
d) Can a python swallow an animal?
Worksheet: Birds and reptiles
44 Cambridge University Press 2010 PHOTOCOPIABLE
Name
Partner B:
You are going to read about reptiles on pages 6 and 7 of the Factbook.
Your partner is going to read about birds.
1. Work in small groups. Your partners are going to ask you these questions so you need
to nd the answers.
a) Does an alligator have a U-shaped snout or a V-shaped snout?

b) Does a crocodile usually live in freshwater or saltwater?

c) Which is the most venomous snake in the world?

d) Can a python swallow an animal?

2. Find your partner and ask these questions:
a) What happens when a bird aps its wings down?
b) What happens when a bird aps its wings up?
c) What does an eagle use to help it slow down or change direction?
d) Some birds cannot y. Why did they evolve like that?
Worksheet: Birds and reptiles
45 Cambridge University Press 2010 PHOTOCOPIABLE
Name
Name
Partner A:
1. Read about birds on pages 4 and 5, and about reptiles on pages 6 and 7 of the Factbook.
Work in small groups. Think of some questions to ask your partners about reptiles.
Write them here.
a.
b.
c.
2. Find your partner. Ask and answer your questions.
Partner B:
1. Read about birds on pages 4 and 5, and about reptiles on pages 6 and 7 of the Factbook.
Work in small groups. Think of some questions to ask your partners about birds.
Write them here.
a.
b.
c.
2. Find your partner. Ask and answer your questions.
Worksheet: Birds and reptiles
46
What you need
A pair of the worksheets
The platypus and the
echidna for every pair
of children.
A map of the world.
Optional: milk and
eggs.
Topic 2: Mammals
Key language
mammal lay eggs rare lung
warm-blooded suckle hatch from an egg
First ideas
See Introduction for suggestions on how to introduce the Factbook for the
rst time.
Mixed ability teaching
See Introduction for suggestions on how to use the activities identied by
the and icons.
Before reading
Here are examples of how you might introduce some of the key language,
writing new vocabulary on the board throughout:
Show the children the milk or draw a carton of milk on the board, and ask
them what kind of animals produce milk. Say We call them mammals. Tell
the children that mammals also have hair, even if it is only a little, and that
mammal mothers produce milk for their babies, who suckle from them. They
are also warm-blooded (they produce their own body heat), breathe with lungs
and almost always give birth to live young. Ask the children to brainstorm all
the mammals they can think of in English and write the names on the board.
Then show the children your eggs or draw some on the board, and ask them to
brainstorm animals that lay eggs (and whose babies hatch from their eggs).
Reading
Read pages 8 and 9 of the Factbook, pausing to discuss and explain the
concepts, for example, by showing the children where Australia and New
Guinea are on the map and then pointing to other countries and asking Do
any mammals which can lay eggs live here? Alternatively, play the CD (track 26)
instead of reading, pausing where necessary.
The children could then reread the sections to themselves or in small groups.
Ask some of the more condent children to read a short section aloud
to the class.
After reading
Worksheet: The platypus and the echidna
Put the children into pairs and ask them to decide who is Partner A and who is
Partner B. Then ask all the As to work together in small groups and all the Bs to
work together in small groups. Hand out the worksheets. The children try to ll
in the missing words and they also draw pictures of the animals in the spaces
provided. Encourage them to refer to the Factbook for help with their drawings
and to check their answers. (The text is similar to but not the same as the text in
the Factbook.)
Answers:
The platypus and the echidna
Some unusual mammals live
in Australia and New Guinea,
but they are very rare. They
are called the platypus and the
echidna. Most mammals dont
lay eggs, but these two animals
do. After the eggs hatch, the
mothers feed (or suckle) the
babies with their milk.
47
The platypus
This animal has adapted to
live in water. It has webbed
feet and waterproof fur. It also
has a bill like a duck and a
at tail.
The echidna
This animal looks like a
porcupine and an anteater.
It eats ants and termites with
its beak.
Then ask them to check their answers again with their original partner. The
children will nd that they have different gaps from their partner and that the
missing words appear on their partners worksheet. Make sure Partner B knows
that feed or suckle is correct. Also accept any alternative answers that make sense.
Finally, read the text aloud to the children.
The children take it in turns to read to their partner. They will need help
with the pronunciation of the proper names.
Additional activities
Simplified questions and answers (page 55): See Introduction for suggestions
on how to use these.
Animal classification: Encourage the children to research animal
classication, perhaps by visiting the website mentioned in the Factbook.
Native mammals: Ask the children to brainstorm the mammals that are native
to your region. Ask them to describe their habitats.
48 Cambridge University Press 2010 PHOTOCOPIABLE
Name
Partner A:
Write the missing words and draw pictures.
Look at page 8 of the Factbook.
Some unusual mammals live in Australia and New Guinea, but they are very .
They are called the platypus and the echidna. Most mammals dont lay

, but these
two animals do. After the eggs hatch, the mothers the babies with their milk.
The platypus
This animal has adapted to live in water. It has feet and waterproof fur.
It also has a bill like a and a at tail.
The echidna
This animal like a porcupine and an anteater. It eats ants and termites
with its beak.
Worksheet: The platypus and the echidna
49 Cambridge University Press 2010 PHOTOCOPIABLE
Name
Partner B:
Write the missing words and draw pictures.
Look at page 8 of the Factbook.
Some unusual mammals in Australia and New Guinea, but they are very rare. They
are called the platypus and the echidna. Most mammals dont lay eggs, but these two animals do.
After the eggs

, the mothers feed (or suckle) the babies with their milk.
The platypus
This animal has adapted to live in water. It has webbed feet and fur. It also has a bill
like a duck and a at

.
The echidna
This animal looks a porcupine and an anteater. It eats ants and termites
with its beak.
Worksheet: The platypus and the echidna
50
What you need
Pictures of primates.
A set of the three
worksheets Lemurs,
Why do monkeys
chatter? and Birut
Galdikas and the
orang-utans for every
group of three children.
Partially complete
the worksheet making
it into a gap ll exercise
before photocopying.
Topic 3: Primates
Key language
primate chatter squawk communicate
relative sense of smell adult male range
First ideas
See Introduction for suggestions on how to introduce the Factbook for the
rst time.
Mixed ability teaching
See Introduction for suggestions on how to use the activities identied by
the

and icons.
Before reading
Here are examples of how you might introduce some of the key language,
writing new vocabulary on the board throughout:
Display your pictures of primates. Ask What can these animals do? Are they
intelligent? What are their hands and feet like? What can they do with them?
These animals can all do clever things with their hands and brains. They are
primates. Have they got voices? What sort of sounds does a monkey make? Show
me. Yes, it sounds like chattering. And what about if they are frightened? Yes, they
squawk. What do you think the other monkeys do when one squawks in fear? They
communicate, dont they? One monkey can tell another there is danger. Now why
do you think these ones have long pointed noses? Do you think they are good at
smelling things? Do you think they have a good sense of smell?
After reading
Worksheets: Lemurs, Why do monkeys chatter?, Birute Galdikas
and the orang-utans
Put the children into groups of three and decide who is A, B and C. Then ask all
the As to sit together, the Bs to sit together and the Cs to sit together. Give out
the worksheets, showing the children how they can fold the pictures under so
that when they go back to their groups and talk to their partners, their partners
will be able to see the pictures. The children work in twos and threes to nd the
information and practise talking about their animals, using their completed
worksheets to help them. Encourage them to get ideas from the pictures as well
as the texts and to practise pointing to the pictures and talking about them. Go
over the answers with each group and help with pronunciation problems.
Then ask the children to go back into their original groups and take it in turns
to show each other the pictures on the worksheets and to talk about their
animals.
The children could then read their partners sections to themselves or in small
groups, or you could read all the sections to the class. Alternatively, play the CD
(tracks 27 and 30) instead of reading, pausing where necessary.
Ask some of the more condent children to read a short section aloud
to the class.
Suggested answers:
Partner A:
1. They have long, pointed
noses and round eyes.
They are good at smelling
things.
2. Madagascar and the
Comoros Islands.
3. Off the East coast of Africa.
4. Tropical rainforests and
places like deserts.
Partner B:
1. To tell other monkeys
about food or danger.
2. They cry and squawk.
3. Its an island between the
USA and South America.
4. They chatter to their
relatives in a different way
than to other monkeys.
51
After reading
Poster-making: The children could make posters based on their worksheets.
They could either copy the pictures from the Factbook or the worksheet or nd
some in other books or on the Internet. They could then copy out sentences
from their worksheets after you have corrected them.
Additional activities
Simplified questions and answers (page 55): See Introduction for suggestions
on how to use these.
Partner C:
1. She was born in Germany,
but grew up in Canada.
2. Orang-utans.
3. They like to be alone.
4. In the forests of Borneo.
52 Cambridge University Press 2010 PHOTOCOPIABLE
Name
Partner A:
Work with other Partner As. Read about lemurs on page 11 of the Factbook and answer
the questions in the boxes.
1 What do lemurs look like? What are
they good at?
2 Which islands do lots of lemurs live on?
3 Where are the islands? 4 What kinds of habitats do the lemurs
live in?
Practise talking about lemurs. Dont forget you can talk about the map and the pictures.
Worksheet: Lemurs
A f r i c a
M a d a g a s c a r
C o m o r o s I s l a n d s
Fold
53
Name
Cambridge University Press 2010 PHOTOCOPIABLE
Partner B:
Work with other Partner Bs. Read about why monkeys chatter on page 10 of the Factbook and
answer the questions in the boxes.
1 Why do monkeys chatter? 2 What sort of noises do they make?
3 Where is Puerto Rico? 4 What is special about the rhesus
macaque monkeys on an island near
Puerto Rico?
Practise talking about why monkeys chatter. Dont forget you can talk about the map
and the pictures of the rhesus macaque monkeys.
Worksheet: Why do monkeys chatter?
C a n a d a
U S A
M e x i c o
P u e r t o R i c o
S o u t h
A m e r i c a
Fold
54 Cambridge University Press 2010 PHOTOCOPIABLE
Name
Partner C:
Work with other Partner Cs. Read about Birut Galdikas and the orang-utans on page 16
of the Factbook and answer the questions in the boxes.
1 Where was Birut Galdikas born and
where did she grow up?
2 What animal has she studied for over
34 years?
3 What did she discover about
orang-utans?
4 Where do the orang-utans live?
Practise talking about Birut Galdikas and the orang-utans. Dont forget you can talk about
the map, the picture of Birut and the orang-utans and the picture of the male orang-utan
who is all alone in the forest.
Worksheet: Birute Galdikas
and the orang-utans
C a n a d a
G e r m a n y
B o r n e o
Fold
55
Simplified questions and answers
Q: Why do birds have feathers?
A: Feathers help birds to y. Wing feathers
are a light but solid surface that can push
against the air.
Q: Can all birds y?
A: No, there are some birds that cannot y.
They dont need to because their habitat
does not have many predators.
Q: What is the difference between
an alligator and a crocodile?
A: Alligators have wide, round, U-shaped
snouts, but crocodiles have longer,
V-shaped snouts. Alligators prefer
freshwater, but crocodiles usually live in
saltwater habitats.
Q: Which is the most venomous snake?
A: The beaked sea snake has a really nasty
bite, but its habitat is very remote so
people are not often bitten by it.
Q: Can mammals lay eggs?
A: Not usually, but there are some very rare
mammals which only live in Australia
and New Guinea which lay eggs.
Q: Is a dolphin a mammal?
A: Yes it spends all its time in water,
but has lungs and breathes through
blowholes in the top of its head.
Q: Why do monkeys chatter?
A: Monkeys chatter to communicate with
other monkeys about food or danger.
Q: Where do lemurs come from?
A: Nearly all lemurs live on Madagascar
and the Comoros Islands.

Cambridge University Press 2010 PHOTOCOPIABLE
56
Its quiz time! ideas and answers
You will nd a quiz on pages 2023 of the Factbook. Here are some ways you could use the quiz:
Take each activity in turn, with the children working in pairs or threes, checking the answers as a class
before going on to the next activity either immediately or in a future lesson.
The children work in small mixed ability teams to complete as many of the answers in the entire quiz
as they can before checking the answers as a class and seeing which team has won keeping this as
light-hearted as possible, of course!
The children work in pairs or threes to complete as many of the answers in the entire quiz as they can
before checking the answers as a class.
The children work individually on the entire quiz and then compare their answers in pairs or threes
before checking them as a class.
Exploit the quiz as extension activities for your fast nishers.
Answer key
Activity 1
1. A beaked sea snake.
2. A platypus
3. Lemurs
4. Emperor penguins
5. Crocodiles
6. Orang-utans
Activity 2
Reptiles: crocodile, python
Birds: eagle, emu, penguin
Mammals: dolphin, echidna, monkey
The monkey is also a primate.
Activity 3
1. F Dolphins are mammals.
2. T
3. T
Activity 4
2. c) 3. a) 4. d)
Activity 5
Students own answers