http://www.collaborativelearning.org/mexicananimals.pdf

Mexican Animals - Role Play ActivityI have chosen a range here: all vertebrates including rain forest, desert and sea animals.

AnacondaJaguarToucanArmadilloPygmy OwlCoquette HummingbirdMantled Howler MonkeyMacawCommon OpussumManateeGila Monster LizardVaquita Porpoise

I have tried to write clear notes but please tell me if there is anything you need to be clarified.

http://www.collaborativelearning.org/mexicananimals.pdf

Mexican Animals - Teachers’ notesThis is an Introduce Me activity or Character Card activity. The idea here is for individuals to read a card with a picture and some information. They should memorise some of the information. They should then meet another individual (we put coloured dots on the cards so that they have to find a person with the same coloured dot on their card) and introduce themselves in the role of the character/item on the card without reading the card out, but in their own words. It is important to emphasise that it is not a guessing game, but the item should be presented clearly with its name. The other person should do the same in turn. So now they know about each other. You might want to model this first with two adults before children try it out. You could do classical story characters like the giant or Jack. We say that if you get stuck you can look at the card, but you should put it away before you continue your presentation. This needs modelling too! Later on we encourage children to add any extra knowledge they may have about the character/item.

At this stage you might want to ask some individuals to present their character to the whole class.

The next step is more difficult, but with practice can work very successfully in helping children to use presentational talk confidently. This is the learning objective by the way! It is also very good preparation for writing later - better quite a lot later once they have got the hang of presenting. We prepare the cards so they are in sets of four with the same coloured dots. This means that the pair who have met can meet another pair who have been roleplaying different ‘character’. They then have to introduce each other to each other.

Hello!I am an Anaconda.

I am a giant snake.

Hello!I am a bird with a

big beak.

My friend is a bird, a toucan!

And my friend is a

vampire bat!

Step One Step Two

http://www.collaborativelearning.org/mexicananimals.pdf

I am an anaconda. I can grow up to nine metres long. I wrap myself around my prey

and squeeze.

I am a pygmy owl. I am quite small. I live in the Mexican desert and I have made a hole in a cactus. I hunt at night and eat insects.

I am a big lizard. I live in the desert. I have a powerful venom but I move very slowly. I am endangered and you must not kill me.

I am an armadillo. I have a hard scaly skin. I can’t see very well but I have a good sense of smell. I am good at digging. I eat insects

and grubs.

http://www.collaborativelearning.org/mexicananimals.pdf

I am a common opussum. I am a mammal and about the same size as a cat. I live in the tropical forest. I like to burrow. I am

happy to eat whatever I can find.

I am a macaw. We all have different bright coloured feathers. We live in the tropical rain forest and eat nuts and fruit.

I am a toucan. I live in the Mexican rain forest. My beak is big but is not heavy. It helps me to keep cool and I use it to eat fruit. I can’t fly well, but can hop from branch to branch.

I am a jaguar. I am a big cat and at the top of the food chain. I have a very strong bite. I am endangered because humans are

destroying my habitat.

We are popular as pets. We are endangered and many of us are now extinct.

http://www.collaborativelearning.org/mexicananimals.pdf

I am a manatee or sea cow. I can grow up to two metres. I live in marsh land and eat plants. My habitat is being destroyed by

humans.

I am a tufted coquette hummingbird. I am very small. I weigh 2.3 grams. Some people think I am a large bee. I eat the nectar in

flowers.

I am a vaquita - a kind of porpoise. I am becoming very rare. I eat small fish and squids. I am not hunted but I am often

caught and killed in fishing nets.

I am a mantled howler monkey. I eat leaves. I spend a lot of time resting and sleeping. I live in group. The rainforest is getting smaller so I am endangered.