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Teaching notes for Logs Have Life Inside activities

Environment Australia, 2002

Woodland Wildlife

Topic

Identify native animals that are threatened by the removal of dead wood from woodlands.

Resources

Activities

Ask students to research woodlands and their wildlife. What is a woodland? Where are they found in Australia? What native animals live in woodlands?

Students can take turns to search the web sites for information on woodland species, and can report back to the class or write a report about their favourite woodland animal. This could include information on where it lives (e.g. in hollow trees or logs), what it eats and why collecting wood might threaten its survival.

Give each student a copy of the Woodland Wildlife Activity Sheet. Read the text aloud and ask students to match each animal with its respective shelter type, using the picture as a guide. Students can then colour in the woodland scene and compare answers.

Answers

Red-tailed Black Cockatoo - Tree Hollows
Spider - Tree Bark
Carpet Python - Rocks and Logs
Quoll - Hollow Logs
Echidna - Hollow Logs
Eastern Long-eared Bat - Tree Bark
Squirrel Glider - Tree Hollows
Gecko - Rocks and Logs

Lizard Lounge

Topic

Discover the role that logs play in the lives of lizards.

Resources

Activities

Ask students what they already know about lizards. Where do they live? What do they need to survive? List their answers on the board.

Give each student a copy of the front page of the Lizard Lounge activity sheet. Students should read the text and then colour in the picture. While doing so, they should try and imagine the landscape without logs and how this might affect animals that depend on logs. Upon completing this exercise, students should be able to answer the questions: 'why are logs important to lizards?' and 'what impact might the removal of dead wood have on lizards?'

The Buid Your Own Lizard Lounge activity (on the reverse side of the Lizard Lounge sheet) could be completed in small groups or individually. Students should begin by researching lizards (in books and on the internet) so that they understand the food and shelter that lizards require. Students can then design a 'lizard lounge' on paper that incorporates these requirements (e.g. rocks, logs and plenty of sun!). Funally, students can present their designs to the class and decide on which design they will collectively build.

Gathering Wood

Topic

Discovering how firewood collection can deprive animals of their homes.

Resources

Activities

Give each student a copy of the Gathering Wood Story and ask them to read it carefully. Once students have finished reading, make a list on the board with the following headings:
Setting: Ask students to identify the setting (e.g. winter, farmhouse, paddock).
Characters: Who were the characters in the story and where did they live?
Theme: What happened in the story and how were conflicts resolved? Why couldn't Mum, Sophie and Lou collect the hollow log or cut down the old tree?

 

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