Unit 8-lesson 4- Extinction.

Welcome back! In this last post for this level, we are going to talk about extinct animals. In our last post we showed some unusual and incredible species. This time you will learn about animals that don’t exist anymore. Here are a few of them.

The Dodo bird.

Poor dodo. The bird that couldn’t fly. Native to the island of Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean, was known to mankind for less than 100 years … but that’s all it took for us to finish the species.

Mankind did their part to end with their habitat and food. And then there are the pigs, dogs and other predators that we introduced to the isolated island, where they destroyed the birds’ nests.

The last dodo died sometime in the late 17th century. Since then, the bird (a relative of pigeons and doves) has become a poster child for extinction and a reminder of the havoc we can wreak as human beings.

Tasmanian Tiger

It looked like something of a cross between a tiger and a dog. It was a carnivorous marsupial, complete with pouch.

Native to Australia, the Tasmanian tiger was last seen on over 2,000 years ago. The tiger was hunted to extinction by the indigenous population, but had a safe haven of sorts in the island of Tasmania … or at least it did until Europeans showed up.

The last one was caught in 1933 and died three years later in a zoo in Hobart, Australia.

The Quagga

The caramel brown zebra subspecies has been missing from the planet since the 19th century, but that hasn’t stopped some from trying to resurrect it.

Since 1987, the South Africa-based Quagga Project has been using selective breeding among plains zebras to mimic the animal’s unique markings — most notably, its distinctive striping pattern, which starts at the head but extends back only as far as mid-body.

Native to South Africa, the original quagga was hunted to extinction for its meat. The last one died in an Amsterdam zoo in 1883.

We should all try to do our part to stop animals from becoming extinct. Visit your local library or ask your Biology teacher to find out what you can do.

If you noticed, all of the pictures you saw here are illustrations. It’s hard to find pictures of extinct animals. If you want to see the complete list of extinct animals where this information was taken from, visit:

http://science.discovery.com/creatures/10-extinct-species.htm

And if you would like to see actual pictures of other extinct animals, you can go here:

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/rare-photographs-now-extinct-beasts/14727?image=0

Unit 8-lesson 3- Animals through out the world.

In any language, learning about animals is something that you have to do. And English is not the exception. You may already know most of the animals you will see in this lesson, but here are a few animals you might not know. The following are some of the world’s most amazing animals.

The Red Panda

The (Ailurus fulgens)is also known as the Shining Cat. Native to the Eastern Himalayas and Southwestern China. It is the only member of it’s genus Ailuirs. It eats bamboo, but it is an omnivore, and eats anything the woodlands provide. It’s ability to eat bamboo rests with it’s strong, curved, sharp claws. A distant relative to the giant panda, there are no more than 10,000 adults left in the world, though it is protected by several countries.

Giraffe Weevil

Native to Madagascar, the Trachelophorus giraffa gets its name from its jointed extended neck that is similar to a Giraffe. The majority of the body is black with red patterns covering the wings. The extended neck help with nest building and fighting. The Giraffe Weevil is the longest weevil in the world at around 2.5 cm.

Stick Bug (or Stick Insect)

The Phasmatodea (or Phasmida), are known around the world as walking sticks, stick bugs, stick insects, and ghost insects. Their natural camouflage make them very difficult to see. There are over 3000 known species around the world, but are found in tropical areas most of the time.

Giant Isopod

Isopod, means crustacean. This creature is related to shrimp and crabs. First discovered in 1879 by French zoologist Alphonse Milne Edwards, it was the first proof of life at the azoic (deep ocean) level. They are of little interest to commercial fisheries as there numbers are too low to market. Mature adults reach up to 14 inches(35cm) , and weigh almost 4 pounds(1.8kg).

They live in areas over five hundred and fifty feet below the surface in the darkness, they search for the carcasses of dead whales, fish and squid. They are known to survive up to two months without any food.

These are just a few of the amazing animals we have in our planet. If you would like to see the full list of 25, you can visit this site:

http://hubpages.com/hub/25-Most-Amazing-and-Unique-Animals-On-Earth

Unit 8-lesson 2- Traveling the world.

When traveling, it’s important to check online the places you would like to visit. The internet has a lot of information and you can call your travel agent to get tips and recommendations.
In this lesson we talk about a few places you could visit on your next vacation.

One of those places is Italy. So here are some suggestions to consider if you visit this country.

Florence, in the Tuscany region of Italy, is home to approximately 366,000 inhabitants. It was home of Leonardo Da Vinci, Machiavelli and Michelangelo among others, it has earned the title of ‘the Renaissance capital of the World.

Venice is a city defined by all those who have seen it as one of the most beautiful in the world. It has more than a hundred tiny islets, packed closely together around canals. The city is in a lagoon, protected by the longer island of Venice Lido.

Venice is on the north-west of Italy. Because of its popularity amongst tourists, the best season to visit the “City of Gondoliers” is probably winter, when hotel rates are more accessible and the city streets are a little less full. There are also two major events in Venice such as the Venice Carnival in February and the “Biennale” (a world famous modern arts festival that takes place in summer every two years). August is definitely not the best time to go because it gets really hot and humid.

Lucca, capital city of Lucca province, is located in Tuscany, in the northern part of central Italy. Situated on the Serchio River, Lucca is near the Tyrrhenian Sea. With a population of around 85,900 inhabitants, it is one of Italy’s finest tourist spots.

The purpose of this blog publication is that you get to know a few places that you can visit in Italy. There are many more places you can visit in that country, but we would need a lot more space to describe them all. If you want to learn more, please visit this site, which is where part of this information was taken from:
http://www.placesonline.com/europe/italy/places.asp

Unit 8-lesson 1- My school or your school.

Unit 8-lesson 1- My school or your school.
In this lesson you will learn a little about schools in other countries. All schools have teachers, students and a place to study and learn. But, in most cases, there are differences that make every school unique.

Please watch the following video about a school in England. Pay attention and answer the questions that follow.

Now that you have seen how that English school works, why don’t we move on to the next part of this lesson? Watch the video again, if you need to, and answer the questions.