Level 2
Level 2 Nov 2014
Reading Level: Yr 4
Science Goal
Describe how natural features are changed and
animals are affected by human actions.
Our Planet Earth: Animals endangered
Ugly.
Pp 26-31
by Paul Mason.
Chris objects to the kakapo being on the
“world’s ugliest” list. He crafts an email, with
his Dad’s help, to the organisation asking for
the kakapo’s removal from the list. The
organisation responds quickly saying that the
list is their way of drawing attention to
endangered animals.
Literacy Goal
To record notes by identifying and
summarising main ideas that meet the
reading purpose.
Specialised vocabulary
Kakapo, Aye-Aye, Proboscis monkey, Warthog, Marabou stork.
Interest vocabulary
feathery , parrot,
Purpose: Task 1: To find out why each of the animals has become endangered
http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/nativeRead the story “Ugly”
animals/birds/birds-a-z/kakapo/
This is a comprehensive site with the most
Choose three of the animals on the “ugly” list.
current information. It covers why the
Kakapo became endangered. Scroll to the
bottom of the page for a range of images.
Locate and read several articles or websites
that explain why each of these animals has
become endangered.
Take notes using a graphic organiser
See Fig 1 below
Make clear notes about the reasons each
animal has become endangered.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HNb7Q
GGY4o
Fun cartoon that highlights one of the
characteristics of the Kakapo that has led to
its near extinction.
http://www.ask.com/pets-animals/aye-ayesendangered-412d73db0cc69235
This link explains why the Aye-Aye is
endangered.
http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/nativeanimals/marine-mammals/seals/elephantseal/
This link explains why Elephant seals are
endangered.
Scroll down the page, until you come to
Threats.
http://www.monkeyworlds.com/proboscismonkey/
Scroll to the bottom of the front page to find
out why Proboscis monkeys are endangered.
Task 2: To compare the reasons why the animals have become endangered
Compare the reasons for the “ugly” animals
becoming endangered.
Review your notes in the graphic organiser.
 Do you notice that the reasons for each
animal becoming endangered are
similar?
 Complete a summary statement about
what you have learned
I noticed that animals on the endangered ugly
list were all …..
Discuss and compare your findings with others
who are conducting the same investigation.
Are there pieces of information you want to add
to your notes as a result of your discussion with
others?
Task 3 : To communicate what I have learned to others.
Plan a way of communicating to other people in
your class what you have learned about how
animals are becoming endangered. Help others
to understand why these animals are becoming
endangered and at risk of extinction.
Here are some possible solutions
 Make digital postcards of the three
animals and pretend you are the animals
and tell their story of how they became
endangered.

Create a poster as Chris did, to show
what is causing these creatures to
become endangered. You may want to
include photographs and sketches to
catch people’s attention. Include on
your poster what you think needs to
happen to stop these animals from
becoming endangered.
Review:
How effective was I in achieving my literacy goal?
What did I do well?
What do I still need to work on?
Was my note-taking helpful?
Was I able to find and use the most
important words and facts from the
resources to help me achieve the science
purpose?
Was I able to combine the key ideas together
to effectively communicate my learning to
the audience?
How effective was I in achieving my science learning
goal?
Was I able to describe how natural features
are changed and animals are affected by
human actions?
FIG 1
Reasons there
are low
numbers of
this animal.
What is being
done to
protect this
animal?
Things I have
noticed that
are different
about how
the animal
has become
endangered
Things I have
noticed that
are common
about how
the animals
have become
endangered.
Animal 1
Animal 2
Animal 3