Island
Learn what animals live on the Galápagos Islands and
how they arrived there with this map-like manipulative.
Habitat Hallmarks
A
Resources
“Galápagos” Means
“Tortoises” by Ruth Heller
(Gibbs Smith, 2003).
With rhyming text and
detailed illustrations, this
book reveals how giant
tortoises, blue-footed
boobies, marine iguanas,
and other creatures survive
on the Galápagos Islands.
http://www.
wildmadagascar.org/kids/
Learn about Madagascar,
another island nation, at
this site. Students can tour
Madagascar and learn about
its unique animals and
plants, as well as about its
environmental problems.
30
n island is land completely surrounded by water, whether by an
ocean, lake, or river. The largest island in the world is the nation of
Greenland. (Australia, which is three times bigger than Greenland,
is considered a continent.) Depending on its size and location, an island
may contain several habitats. All islands have shorelines; some might
also have mountains, rivers, lakes, ponds, deserts, wetlands, grasslands,
tundra, or forests. Some land animals might swim to and from islands if
they are near the mainland or the shore of a river or lake. Others might be
transported to an island on a floating tree branch or tree trunk.
Some of the animals that live on the Galápagos Islands may have first
arrived there in this manner. The 13 large and six smaller volcanic islands
of the Galápagos lie about 600 miles (965 km) off the west coast of
South America. They are so isolated that many of the plants and animals
on these islands live nowhere else in the world. Because the islands (and
more than a hundred islets) are home to giant tortoises that can weigh
up to 600 pounds (272 kg), the islands were named Galápagos after the
Spanish word for “tortoise.” Just as impressive as the tortoises are its yardlong (1-m) marine iguanas and 5-foot-long (1.5-m) land iguanas, as well
as sea lions, red crabs, foot-long centipedes, frigate birds, boobies, even
penguins!
Cacti, which grow in the hot, dry desert-like parts of the Galápagos
Islands, provide food for the giant tortoise. Tall trees rise in the islands’
rainy, mountainous regions. Some of the islands, however, are desolate
with just a few hardy plants. Land iguanas may feed on plant leaves and
berries, while marine iguanas fill their stomachs with abundant seaweeds.
Because of its natural wonders, the Galápagos Islands get more and
more visitors every year. Unfortunately this onslaught of tourists may be
harming the islands and the animals that live there. Some people bring
new animals that compete with the native animals for food and may even
eat them. In recent years, Ecuador, which owns the Galápagos Islands, has
introduced laws to protect this important habitat.
Easy Make & Learn Projects: Animal Habitats © 2010 by Donald M. Silver and Patricia J. Wynne, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Island
Making the Manipulative
1 Photocopy pages 32–34.
2 Cut out the pages with the islands along the thick, solid lines.
Tape the two pages together.
3 Cut out each animal, one at a time. Read the animal’s name and the
island on which it belongs. Find the island and tape the animal on it.
Tape the rafting lizard in the lower left corner of the model to show
that it is drifting toward the islands.
Materials
❉ Reproducible pages
32–34
❉ Scissors
❉ Tape
❉ Crayons, colored
pencils, or markers
(optional)
Teaching With the Manipulative
Invite students to color, assemble, and read the text on their
manipulatives. Explain that only 12 of the islands are shown with their
Spanish and English names. Check students’ understanding by asking
them these questions:
1 What is an island? (Land completely surrounded by water)
2 Why do you think the islands are named Galápagos? (They are named
for the giant tortoises that live there. The Spanish word for “tortoise” is
galápago.)
3 Describe the Galápagos Islands. (They are located off the coast of South
America; some islands have volcanoes that no longer erupt; some have
deserts; some have mountains.)
More to Do
Grow Me an Island
The Hawaiian Islands stretch
across more than 1,500 miles
(2,400 km) in the middle of
the Pacific Ocean. Challenge
students to find out how
these islands formed and
why there will be more
islands in the future.
4How do animals get to the Galápagos Islands? (Birds fly there, sea
animals swim, an animal might drift there on a tree branch.)
Easy Make & Learn Projects: Animal Habitats © 2010 by Donald M. Silver and Patricia J. Wynne, Scholastic Teaching Resources
31
`
32
Fernandina
(Narborough)
Galapagos
e
h
T
Islands
Isabela
(Albemarle)
Rabida
(Jervis)
Pinta
(Abingdon)
Pinzon
(Duncan)
Floreana
(Charles)
Santiago
(James)
Santa Cruz
(Indefatigable)
Marchena
(Bindloe)
Island
Easy Make & Learn Projects: Animal Habitats © 2010 by Donald M. Silver and Patricia J. Wynne, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Genovesa
(Tower)
O
n
San Cristobal
Ga
lá
wk
ha
os
g
pa
Sea
lion
d
u
ig
Ma
rin
e
Galápagos hawk
Santiago
is e
Abingdon torto
Easy Make & Learn Projects: Animal Habitats © 2010 by Donald M. Silver and Patricia J. Wynne, Scholastic Teaching Resources
Espanola
(Hood)
La
Sea lion
San Cristobal
(Chatham)
ff the coast of South America
lie the Galápagos Islands. Each
island is completely surrounded by
water. Some islands have volcanoes
that no longer erupt. Some have
deserts, while others have mountains.
These islands are home to giant
tortoises ( galápagos in Spanish),
marine iguanas, and land iguanas.
There are even Galápagos penguins!
Birds fly to these islands, and sea
animals swim there. See the little lizard
drifting on a tree branch? On which
island do you think it will land?
Island
i gu
an
a
Marine iguana
Everywhere
a
an
Sharp-beaked
ground finch
Abingdon tortoise
Land iguana
Sharp-beaked ground finch
Pinta
Fernandina
Santiago
Tape here.
33
Narborough
tortoise
Cactus finch
an
t
h tortoise
oug
or
rb
Espanola
tle
ss
c
or
m
Fernandina
or
Na
Island
Flightless
cormorant
Fli
gh
Cactus finch
Fernandina
Fur seal
Rabida
Fur
seal
Warbler
finch
ow
Br
Warbler finch
np
Galápagos
penguin
can
e li
Marchena
Galápagos penguin
Isabela
Du
nc
an
or
t
is
to
Duncan tortoise
e
Brown pelican
Pinzon
Flamingo
San Cristobal
Santa Cruz
Flamingo
Bl u
e-fo
Woodpecker
finch
oted booby
Blue-footed booby
Lizard on branch
Espanola
Woodpecker finch
Isabela
ng
Lo
Red-footed
booby
Genovesa
l
-bi
Tree finch
l ed
b
ing
ck
mo
ird
34
Long-billed
mockingbird
Floreana
Tree finch
Redfooted
booby
Marchena
Easy Make & Learn Projects: Animal Habitats © 2010 by Donald M. Silver and Patricia J. Wynne, Scholastic Teaching Resources