Kangaroos 

by Mrs. Rowland's First Graders

Kangaroos are really cool animals that live in Australia.  They are marsupial mammals.  That means they have a pouch.  Some kangaroos are nocturnal, which means they sleep during the day.  There are more than fifty types of kangaroos.

        Kangaroos can be red, blue, white, gray, black, yellow, or brown.  Red Kangaroos can be six feet tall.  The quokkas are only twelve inches long.  Some tails can be three feet long and they are used for balance.  Some kangaroos have large ears.  Their feet can either grip rocks or they are padded.

        Kangaroos can live in rocky places, grasslands, and the outback or in forests.

        Some kangaroos eat lots of grass, like 14 pounds a day!  Other kangaroos eat bark, insects, leaves, fruits and roots.

        Some kangaroos can jump up to forty feet.  Males fight by kick-boxing to be the leader of the mob.  Some lick themselves to keep cool.  Some kangaroos swim.  Tree kangaroos climb.  Rock kangaroos can climb and jump on rocks.

        Baby kangaroos are called joeys.  They are about the size of a bee when they are born.  They live and eat in their mama’s pouch for eight months.  After that they still eat in there and ride in the pouch until they are twelve months old.

Teacher Notes:  This is a class shared write based on research done by first grade students.  The purpose being to model fact collection and report writing so that students can successfully accomplish the process independently.