I teach 5th grade Science and Social Studies. I lived in Australia for a year prior to teaching. Here is a slideshow about Australia's history and wildlife.

1. Australia

3. The first inhabitants of Australia were Aboriginals.
During the 18th
and 19th
centuries, large numbers of
convicts were transported to Australia in exile.

5. • On May 13, 1787, the First Fleet of 11
ships and about 1530 people (736
convicts and families)
• Australia is a part of the British
Commonwealth:

14. Marsupials

16. Marsupials
• mammals that give birth to their young
prematurely and then carry the young, in
their pouch, kind of like an protective
incubator and nursing station, until the
young have fully matured.
• Gestation period of 4-5 weeks
• Kangaroos, Koalas, wombats, possums,
sugar gliders, squirrel gliders

19. Mammals
Air-breathing, vertebrateswith hair and mammary glands(feed
their young); givebirth to liveyoung
Placentals
• Carry young until fully
developed
• Haveaplacenta-The
placentaprovidesthebaby
with asupply of blood,
oxygen and nutrients; it also
carrieswasteincluding
carbon dioxideaway from
thebaby.
• Ex: Horse, cat, dog, human
Marsupials
• Givebirth to under-
developed young
• Haveaplacenta, but the
baby (joey) fully develops
in thepo uch
• Ex: Koala, kangaroo,
wombat, possum, wallaby

22. Mammal Gestation
(Gestation- carrying of an embryo/fetus in female)
Placental Gestation
• Horses- 48 weeks (11
months
• Humans- 40 weeks (9
months)
• Lions- 15 weeks
• Dogs- 9 weeks
• Cats- 8.5 weeks
Marsupial Gestation
• Koala- 5 weeks
(3 weeks shorter than cats, so
development continues- 6
months in pouch)
• Kangaroo- 4.5 weeks
(AND 7.5 months in pouch)
• Wombat- 2.5 weeks
(AND 6-7 months in pouch)

23. Gestation Periods
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
H
orse
H
um
an
Lion
D
og
C
at
K
oalaK
angaroo
W
om
at
Animals
Length(wks)

25. Koalas(not Koalabears)
• Koalassleep around 18 hoursaday.
• Koalasonly eat eucalyptus leaves
• Thejoey ishairless, earless and blind.
• At birth, thejoey climbsinto thepouch, latcheson to a
teat. (only 1 joey at atime)
• Theyoung koalawill feed on milk and stay in thepouch
for around 6 months.
• Then for thenext 6 months, thejoey will start to venture
out of thepouch, riding on themother’sback

27. Kangaroo Joeys
• Kangaroos can have up to 3 joeys at a time
• When the egg is fertilized, it develops into a
neonate (about the size of a jelly bean)
• After only 33 days, it emerges, hairless, blind
and earless, (like a Koala) with only stumps as
hind legs.
• The neonate uses its forearms to climb across the
abdomen of its mother to reach the pouch and
attach to one of the four teats to feed.
• Can you believe the neonate instinctively knows
to crawl to the pouch, at such a small size? I’m
surprised he doesn’t get lost in the fur or fall off.

28. Kangaroo
Joeys
• This is a
Kangaroo
Neonate (tiny
joey on a
mother’s teat)

29. Did You Know?
Australians drive on the left side of the road.
Their money looks like Monopoly money (all
different colors)
They say things like “g’day” and “how ya’
goin’ “no worries”
They have different constellations from us
The toilets flush the opposite way
They are 15 hours ahead of us
It takes 19 hours on a plane to get there
from Austin
90% of the population lives along the
Eastern coast (primarily in Sydney and
Melbourne)
There used to be a ranch the size of Texas
Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Heath
Ledger,Chris and Liam Hemsworth, and
Cate Blanchet are all Australians
The stars on the flag are the Northern Cross
(the constellation above Australia)

30. Marsupial Quiz
• What is a baby marsupial called?
• How big is a neonate?
• Do marsupials have placentas?
• How long is the gestation period of a marsupial?
• How long is the gestation period of a human?
• Which marsupial is your favorite?
• How many joeys could a kangaroo have? (the most at
one time)
• Is Australia in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere?
• Name 3 different marsupials.
• Is a marsupial a mammal?
• Australia is a part of the British _________.
• How big is Australia?
• Who lived in Australia first?