Animals

Animal Crackers

Here's a collection of very strange animal pictures. At first, they look like real pictures, but if you look carefully, you can see that there's something strange about them. The animals seem to be in the wrong place!

Your Turn:
Find your favorite picture. Why do you like this picture? Why is this picture unusual? Write a description of the picture. How would you change the picture to make it a "normal" picture?

Animal News Center

Are you an animal lover? At this site, you can read about bullfights, pit bulls, and cloned sheep. In fact, you'll find lots of short news stories about animals. There are stories about pets, wildlife animals, farm animals, and lab animals. The stories have links where you can find more information about the subject.

Your Turn:
Make your own animal news notebook. Look at newspapers and magazines and try to find articles about animals. Put the most interesting ones into a notebook. Add new stories whenever you find them. Be sure to check any vocabulary you're not sure about.

Echo the Bat

Learn about bats and satellite pictures. Read the story of Echo the Bat. It's written in EASY English. After you finish the story, begin the Adventure of Echo the Bat.
Your Turn:
After you finish reading about Echo and helping to find him, write a short Fact Sheet. What new facts did you learn about bats? What new facts did you learn about satellite pictures?

Exotic/Alternative Pets

Dogs and cats are "traditional," or "conventional" pets. At this site, you can see some very unusual pets. For example...skunks, tigers, foxes, etc. These are "exotic," or "alternative" pets.
Your Turn:
Write a short report about your pet. Why is your pet special? Would you like to own an exotic pet? What kind of problems might you have with an exotic pet?

Headless Mike

This is the amazing (but true) story of Mike, a chicken who lived for 4 years AFTER his owner cut his head off back in the 1940's.
Your Turn:
Before you read the story, try to guess the answers to these questions:
1) Is this really possible? How is it possible?
2) What do you think Mike's owners did with this amazing chicken? What would YOU do if it was your chicken?
3) In Mike's hometown, they had a special "Mike the Headless Chicken Day" last year. What kind of special events do you think they had?
Now read the story to check the answers. To read more strange (but true) stories, click on READ MORE USELESS STORIES.

Library Cats Map

It's a kind of tradition in the U.S. to have a cat that lives in a library! At this site, you can meet some of those cats. Just choose a state and then click on the name of the cat!
Your Turn:
Investigate this site a little more closely.
-What's the name of the company that made the website?
-What does the company do?
-What is the purpose of the site?
Meet Mei Xiang and Tian Tian
Two new giant pandas, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, recently arrived at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington D.C. They came all the way from China!
Your Turn:
Click on the ALL ABOUT PANDAS link to learn some interesting facts about pandas.

Owl Cam

At this very interesting site, you can visit a family of Northern Barred Owls who live in Massachusetts in the U.S. There is a small camera hidden inside the Owl House, so you can see what happens day-by-day. You can watch as baby owls are born, and the family gets bigger.

Penguins Around the World
At this site, you can find out about all the different kinds of penguins. Just click on the part of the world that you want to find out about.
Your Turn:
After you read about all the penguins, take this Penguin Quiz. How many of the penguins can you identify?

Penguins Misconceptions

-Penguins are fish.
-Penguins have fur.
-Most penguins live in cold weather.
These are some examples of misconceptions about penguins. Misconceptions are things that most people think are true, but are NOT true. This site will tell you about those misconceptions and others, too!
Your Turn:
Make a list of some common misconceptions about your home country or people from your home country. What are some things that people think are true, but are NOT true?

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