Kangaroos

Summary
This lesson introduces students to kangaroos.

Objectives
• To be able to explain what marsupials are and some examples of them.

• To be able to describe the characteristics and habitats of kangaroos.

• To be able to describe the process of birth and development of joeys or baby kangaroos.

Suggested Grades
4th Grade
5th Grade
6th Grade

Excerpt
Kangaroos are the largest mammal marsupials and they belong to the Marcropodidae family. Marsupials are animals that carry their young up to a certain age in a pouch. Examples of marsupials besides kangaroos are koalas, wombats, and opossums. Some marsupials have their pouch on their back; whereas kangaroos have their pouches in the front. The name of the family to which they belong comes from macropods, which means large or big foot. Kangaroos are to be found mainly in Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea.

There are around 63 species of kangaroos and they vary in size as well as in the type of habitat in which they live. Depending on the specie, kangaroos can live in forests, woodlands, grasslands, plains, rocky hills, and even deserts. When people talk about kangaroos, they are usually referring to one of four types.

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