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Animal Report Note Taking

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Animal Report Note Taking

Help a wildlife reporter prepare a clear animal report. Read the fact file, then collect short, useful notes. Use keywords and phrases instead of copying whole sentences. You can use these notes to write your own report later.

Fact file: The beaver

The North American beaver is a large rodent found in Canada and the United States. It lives near freshwater such as rivers, streams, ponds and lakes. Beaver fur keeps the animal warm in cold water. Its broad, flat tail helps it balance and steer while swimming. Strong front teeth keep growing throughout its life, so the beaver must gnaw on wood to wear them down. Beavers eat plants, not fish. In summer they eat leaves, grasses and water plants. In colder months, they often eat the bark and twigs of trees such as willow and aspen. They use their sharp teeth to cut branches. Beavers may use branches and mud to build a lodge, where they rest and raise their young. They also build dams in some places. A dam slows water and can create a pond, but not every beaver family builds one. Beavers can stay underwater for several minutes. When a beaver spots danger, it may slap its tail on the water to warn other beavers. Wolves, bears and coyotes can prey on beavers. Roads and pollution can also make life harder for them. Beaver ponds provide wet places where other animals, including frogs and ducks, can find food or shelter.

Collect the clues

Write brief notes from the fact file. Include key facts, not copied sentences.

1.Where do beavers live? Note the country and the kind of place they need.

2.Make a food note with two things beavers eat in summer and two things they eat in colder months.

3.A reporter has room for only one short note about how a beaver gets food. Which is the best note?

Uses sharp front teeth to cut branches and eat plants
Catches fish with its flat tail
Filters tiny animals from the water
Uses claws to dig up roots only

4.Choose two body features from the fact file. For each one, note how it helps the beaver.

5.Mark each statement True or False. (a) Beavers eat fish. (b) Some beavers build dams. (c) A tail slap can warn other beavers.

TrueFalse

6.Finish the note: Beavers may be hunted by wolves, bears and . Roads and can also make life harder for them.

7.Which details belong under “Beaver behaviour”? Choose all that fit.

Can stay underwater for several minutes
May slap its tail on the water to warn others
Has fur that keeps it warm
May build a lodge using branches and mud

8.A student wrote: “Beavers build dams, and the ponds they make help other animals.” Improve this note so it does not sound as if every beaver builds a dam.

9.Sort these notes into the best report headings: warm fur; willow bark; freshwater pond; tail slap warning. Use Habitat, Food, Body features or Behaviour.

warm fur
willow bark
freshwater pond
tail slap warning

Food
Body features
Habitat
Behaviour

10.Write two short notes about why beavers matter to their ecosystem. Include one fact about the habitat they can create.

11.Create a mini note plan for a beaver report using four headings: Habitat, Food, Body features and Behaviour. Add at least one brief fact under each heading.