Our study of a few of the continents and countries next went to Australia, which happens to be where my Raisin was born! We lived in Melbourne until he was 12 months old. Here are some of the Australia resources and activities we enjoyed!

Since Raisin was born there, I have a special place in my heart for the country, even though we really only saw a smidgen of the country: a few scenic places within five hours of where we lived in Melbourne.

We began our study of Australia by coloring a map with the geographic features (mountains and land with vegetation as opposed to the desert). Then I copied Small World at Home’s idea and we made a giant cookie in the shape of Australia. We added frosting and green sprinkles for the coastal/forested lands, chocolate chips for the mountains, and gel for the major cities. Then we cut it up into the various states and ate it!

Raisin loved this project. He was excited to tell his friend, “Guess what? We ate Queensland this afternoon!” He thought it was so funny. Given his age, I’m not surprised that he’s forgotten the names of the states and cities. But weeks after the fact, he still can find the city he was born in (Melbourne) and he remembers about Uluru, which we talked about briefly.

We read the books below, and we learned a lot about the Great Barrier Reef after we watched Finding Nemo. For weeks we played the Finding Nemo Game in the swimming pool (i.e., my son was a shark and he came to eat me, a lowly clown fish! or we acted out other scenes from the movie.)

I also made a game in which a clown fish must return home. It’s for sale as part of larger product (with ebook and worksheets) about Coral Reef Systems. Although the product is geared toward older children, I used the game at a more basic level for my son. (This product is available at my Shop, TeachersPayTeachers, and Teacher’s Notebook.)

For the sake of this blog, I also created another “Reading Comprehension” page for you. It’s good to have a freebie! If you find this freebie worksheet helpful, please leave me a comment.

Books

• Are we There Yet? by Alison Lester.  A child’s perspective of a month-long road trip around Australia. Raisin enjoyed learning about the various landmarks and began to understand the vast scope of the country since the road trip lasted so long for their family. He liked following their progress on the map.
• Koala Lou by Mem Fox. Animals.
• Wombat Stew by Marcia Vaughan. Animals.
• Snap! by Marcia Vaughan. Animals.
• My Grandma Lived in Gooligulch by Graeme Base. Animals.
• Big Rain Coming by Katrina Germein. Aborigine style artwork. I liked the subtle way the book introduced the young reader to the Aboriginal sensitivity to the land.
• Whale’s Canoe by Joanna Troughton. A fairytale based on Dreamtime tradition.

Internet Links

• Finding Nemo lesson ideas
• Food web pictures for Finding Nemo
• More Food Webs and more

Read a short paragraph about Australia and answer some questions about the continent. Click on the image to download this freebie.