1. EXTERNAL FEATURES
TEACHER RESOURCE BOOKLET
Koala, Phascolarctos cinereus.
Saltwater crocodile, Crocodylus porosus.
Poinciana Longicorn Beetle, Agrianome spinicollis.
Soldier Crab, Mictyris longicarpus.
THIS BOOKLET COMPLEMENTS THE EXTERNAL FEATURES KIT WHICH CAN BE BORROWED FROM QUEENSLAND
MUSEUM LOANS. Ph (07) 3406 8344 or http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/Learning+Resources/QM+Loans
Images on this page: QM, CC licence 3.0, BY-NC-SA.

2. This booklet supports several topics within the Australian Science Curriculum.
Year 1
The Features of Living Things
Living things have a variety of external features.
• recognise common features of animals such as head, legs and wings
• describe the use of animal body parts for particular purposes such as moving and feeding
• identify common features of plants such as leaves and roots
• describe the use of plant parts for particular purposes such as making food and obtaining water
The Habitats of Living Things
Living things live in different places where their needs are met.
• recognise that different living things live in different places such as land and water
Year 3
Characteristics of Living Things
Living things can be grouped on the basis of observable features and can be distinguished from non-living
things.
• recognise the range of different living things
• sort living and non-living things based on characteristics
• explore difference between living, once living and the products of living things
Students are encouraged to handle the objects in External Features kit under teacher
supervision.
The text and images in this booklet are under Creative Commons licences. All text is under a
BY-NC-SA licence and images are licensed as marked.
CREATIVE COMMONS LICENCE ELEMENTS
Attribution (BY) You must credit the creator, the title and the licence the work is under. For
more information on how to attribute a work, see the “How to Attribute
Creative Commons Material” guide,
http://creativecommons.org.au/materials/attribution.pdf
Non-commercial (NC) Any use of the work must be for non-commercial purposes only. This means
file sharing, educational use and film festivals are all permissible, but
advertising and for-profit uses are not.
No Derivative Works Only verbatim copies of the work may be used. In other words, you can’t
(ND) change the work in any way. You need to get extra permission if you want to
crop a photo, edit text, or use a song in a film. Basically, any remixing is not
permissible.
Share Alike (SA) Any new work produced using this material must be made available under
the same terms. So if you do remix a work, you have to release your new
work under the same licence. e.g. Attribution-Share Alike has to stay
Attribution-Share Alike.
This booklet was developed by:
Adriana Bauer
Senior Project Officer (Biodiversity)
Strategic Learning
Queensland Museum
2011
1
External Features booklet, Queensland Museum, 2011. www.qm.qld.gov.au

3. MATCHING ACTIVITY
Match the covering with the correct animal. Draw a line from the type of
covering on the left to the animal on the right.
Covering Animal
Feathers Reptiles (e.g. snakes and lizards)
Image: Sami Sieranoja, BY.
Image: QM, BY-NC-SA.
Fur or hair Amphibians (e.g. frogs and toads)
Image: QM, BY-NC-SA.
Image: QM, BY-NC-SA.
Dry, scaly skin Birds
Image: Francisco Martins,
BY-NC.
Image: Dan Carter, BY-NC-SA.
Moist scaly skin, fins Mammals (e.g. koalas, wallabies)
Image: Leo Reynolds, Image: Lisa Brown,
BY-NC-SA. BY-NC. Image: QM, BY-NC-SA.
Smooth, moist slimy skin Fish
Image: QM, BY-NC-SA. Image: Taras Kalapun, BY.
External Features booklet, Queensland Museum, 2011. www.qm.qld.gov.au 2

4. ANIMAL COVERINGS ACTIVITY
Look and feel the animal coverings in the kit. Write one or two words
to describe each.
Animal Look and Feel of Covering
Koala
Crocodile
Turtle
Echidna
Snake
Cassowary
All images: QM, BY-NC-SA.
External Features booklet, Queensland Museum, 2011. www.qm.qld.gov.au 3

5. Animal Look and Feel of Covering
Crab
Snail
Coral
Barnacle
Sea Urchin
Cicada
All images: QM, BY-NC-SA.
External Features booklet, Queensland Museum, 2011. www.qm.qld.gov.au 4

6. ANIMAL HABITATS ACTIVITY
Decide where you think each animal lives.
Does it live mainly on land or in water? Put a tick in the correct column.
Animal Image of Animal Lives on Lives in
Land Water
Fish
Koala
Crocodile
Turtle
Echidna
All images: QM, BY-NC-SA.
External Features booklet, Queensland Museum, 2011. www.qm.qld.gov.au 5

7. ANIMAL HABITATS ACTIVITY
Decide where you think each animal lives.
Does it live mainly on land or in water? Put a tick in the correct column.
Animal Image of Animal Lives on Lives in
Land Water
Snake
Cassowary
Crab
Snail
Coral
All images: QM, BY-NC-SA.
External Features booklet, Queensland Museum, 2011. www.qm.qld.gov.au 6

8. ANIMAL PARTS ACTIVITY
Use a hand lens to examine one of the animals in the resin blocks. Collect small
invertebrates from your school yard. Draw one of these animals. Label parts like
its head, legs and wings.
Colour in the parts of the animal that help it to MOVE. Use a red colour.
Colour in the parts of the animal that help it to FEED. Use a green colour.
External Features booklet, Queensland Museum, 2011. www.qm.qld.gov.au 7

9. USE OF BODY PARTS ACTIVITY
Animals have special parts that help them to move and eat. Use a RED pencil
to circle the parts of the animal that help it to FEED. Use a BLUE pencil to circle
the parts of the animal that help it to MOVE.
If you know the name of these parts, then label these parts.
Image of Cassowary: Brian Giesen, CC licence, BY. All other images: QM, BY-NC-SA.
External Features booklet, Queensland Museum, 2011. www.qm.qld.gov.au 8

10. PLANT PARTS ACTIVITY
Look at the laminated plants in the kit.
• Draw a picture of a flowering plant in the space below
• Label the LEAVES and the ROOTS and the FLOWER
• Colour in the parts of the plant that make FOOD. Use a GREEN pencil
• Colour in the parts of the plant that draw up WATER and MINERALS for
the plant. Use a BROWN pencil
• Colour in the parts of the plant that make BUDS and SEEDS. Use a RED
pencil
External Features booklet, Queensland Museum, 2011. www.qm.qld.gov.au 9

11. SORTING ANIMALS ACTIVITY
Animal Is it a Fish, Why do you think so?
Amphibian, Reptile,
Bird, Mammal,
Insect or other
Mullet
Koala
Crocodile
Turtle
Echidna
Snake
Cassowary
Crab
External Features booklet, Queensland Museum, 2011. www.qm.qld.gov.au 10

12. Animal Is it an Amphibian, Why do you think so?
Reptile, Mammal,
Bird, Insect or other
Wombat
Snail
Coral
Barnacle
Cricket
Beetle
Sea Urchin
Cicada
External Features booklet, Queensland Museum, 2011. www.qm.qld.gov.au 11

13. OTHER SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES
COLLECTION OF OBJECTS
The following is a list of objects that can be used for the following activities. Objects in the External
Features QM Loans kit can be used also.
• tadpoles
• mosquito larvae (wrigglers)
• pets such as guinea pigs, budgerigars etcetera
• silkworms
• stick insects/grasshoppers/beetles/butterflies/moths
• large, shiny leaf
• thick succulent leaf e.g. cactus leaf
• leaf with lots of hairs on it
• piece of granite/basalt/sandstone/conglomerate/pumice
• plastic milk bottle top
• garden snail
• garden lizard or skink
• hair
• paper
• fingernail clippings
• plant in a pot-plant
• lump of coal
• pencil
• apple/orange
• pottery mug
• water
Discuss with students the characteristics of living things such as growing,
moving, responding to stimuli (light, heat, food, water, touch), and reproducing.
1. Present students with a collection of objects and ask the students to group
the objects into (a) living (b) non-living and never alive (c) non-living but
once alive.
2. Ask students to classify the objects in this collection as plant; animal; rock;
man-made material.
3. For each organism in the collection
(a) identify its type of body covering; colour; any legs or appendages it
has
(b) note any similarities or differences between the objects
(c) identify the habitat in which the organism lives and why it may live
there
(d) suggest how the animals move; which would move the fastest;
which have a backbone
(e) discuss the organism’s means of survival or defence
External Features booklet, Queensland Museum, 2011. www.qm.qld.gov.au 12

14. 4. Spot the Difference Activity. Ask students to list the similarities and
differences between
(a) aquatic plants and land plants
(b) aquatic animals and land animals
5. Grouping Activity:
(a) by texture – ask students to use descriptive words as the basis for
their grouping
(b) by specific properties – e.g. those with legs and those without;
those that are rough, smooth, shiny, feathery, or woolly etcetera;
those that float and those that sink
6. ‘What am I?’ Activity. A student tries to identify a specific object in the list
by asking questions of which there is only a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answer. For
example, ‘Does my object have legs?’ ‘Scales?’ ‘Two eyes?’
7. Celebrity Heads Activity. Three students sit out at the front of the
classroom. The name of an organism from the collection is written on a
piece of paper and attached with sticky tape to the blackboard behind the
students’ heads so they cannot see the name of their organism. They ask
questions of the class to help them to identify the organism but there can
only be a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answer. If their answer is ‘Yes’ they keep on asking
questions. If there is a ‘No’ answer, then the next student in the queue
gets a chance to ask a question. The winner is the first student who
identifies their organism correctly.
8. Teacher Clues Activity. A student thinks of an object, whispers it to the
teacher who then gives the class ‘clues’ or properties about the object and
the class has to guess. Alternatively the class could ask questions and the
teacher can only give ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answers.
9. Outside Activities.
(a) visit a farm; animal sanctuary; seashore; or freshwater creek to
observe and draw a range of animals for classification back at
school. Return the animals to their habitats after use
(b) collect insects under stones or the bark of fallen trees in the school
grounds
(c) go on a nature walk or visit a botanical gardens to note differences
between plants and animals in different habitats
(d) set up a bird feeding station in your school grounds
External Features booklet, Queensland Museum, 2011. www.qm.qld.gov.au 13