Pre-Activities Grade 3: Island of Lemurs: Madagascar
In the weeks leading up to the movie…
Grade
3
Curriculum Expectations
Science: Unit: Understanding Life Systems: Growth and
changes in plants
1.1 assess ways in which plants are important to humans
and other living things, taking different points of view into
consideration (e.g., the point of view of home builders,
gardeners, nursery owners, vegetarians), and suggest ways
in which humans can protect plants
1.2 assess the impact of different human activities on plants,
and list personal actions they can engage in to minimize
harmful effects and enhance good effect
3.6 describe ways in which plants and animals depend on
each other (e.g., plants provide food for energy; animals
help disperse pollen and seeds, and provide manure that
fertilizes the soil in which plants grow; plants need the
carbon dioxide that animals breathe out, and animals need
the oxygen that plants release into the air
Language Unit: Writing
1.2 generate ideas about a potential topic, using a variety of
strategies and resources
1.4 sort ideas and information for their writing in a variety of
ways (e.g., by using graphs, charts, webs, outlines, or lists)
1.5 identify and order main ideas and supporting details into
units that could be used to develop a short, simple paragraph, using graphic organizers (e.g., a story grammar, a Tchart, a paragraph frame)and organizational patterns
1.6 determine whether the ideas and information they have
gathered are relevant and adequate for the purpose, and
gather new material if necessary
Activities
Activity 1: Thinking about Plants
*This activity will give teachers good pre-assessment information on students’ prior
knowledge of plants
Discussion
*Explain to students what a KWL chart is, the K stands for what they Know, the W stands for
what they Wonder and the L stands for what they have Learned
*Use the KWL Chart for Plants handout
*Both the K and W get filled out at first and then the L is left until after the movie to see
what new information they have learned
*Students write down any information at all they already Know about plants, it could be
how they make their food, what they need to survive, animals which eat them, different
kinds of plants, any previous knowledge at all
*Students then write down what they Wonder about plants, things they may not know but
would find interesting to have answered, for example: how does a plant grow? What kinds
of plants can you eat? What does a plant use for food? How does the movie we are seeing
relate to plants?
*Ask them to leave the Learn column blank
*Students could do this activity individually to assess for previous knowledge or as a group
*Discuss ideas as a class once students have filled out their sheets—a large classroom sized
KWL chart could be made to write down ideas
Activity 2: Comparing our Stages of Development to the life cycle of a Plant (adapted from:
Curriculum Castle)
Humans
*ask students to brainstorm in their health books what stages of development humans go
through, how do they start, what do they become
Health
C1.4 identify factors (e.g., sleep, food, physical activity,
heredity, environment, support from a caring adult, sense of
belonging, peer influence) that affect physical development
(e.g., of hair, skin, teeth, body size and shape) and/or
emotional development (e.g., of self-awareness, adaptive
skills, social skills)
C1.1 demonstrate an understanding of how the origins of
food (e.g., where the food is grown, how it is
made) affect its nutritional value and environmental impact
C3.1 explain how local fresh foods and foods from different
cultures (e.g., berries, curries, chapattis, lychees, kale,
lentils, corn, nan, wild game, fish, tourtière) can be used to
expand their range of healthy eating choices
*talk about their ideas as a class
*on the smartboard or as a printed copy on the board review the Human Growth Display
Posters and see if they were missing any stages or thought of a stage that was not in the
posters
*get them to draw and label their own corrected version of the stages of development or
use the Stages of Development handout to get them to correctly label each stage and draw
their picture in each box
*ask them what needs to happen to make sure they get to each stage in a healthy way
(eating healthy, exercise, having good friends and a family)
Plants
*Students have already brainstormed general ideas they had about Plants, ask them to now
brainstorm the life cycle of a plant, how does a plant start? What does it become? What are
the stages in between?
*Discuss their ideas as a class and then look at the Life Cycle of a Plant handout, this could
be done as a whole class activity, small groups or as individuals
*Get students to answer what plants need to ensure they grow properly—how is this similar
to what humans need to grow up?
Discuss the following topics:
1. Some plants produce flowers and others do not
2. What animals are attracted to the flowers of plants? Why?
3. What purpose do other animals serve for flowers and plants? Do the plants help the other
animals or does the animal help the plant? Or could it be both?
4. Discuss that flowering plants and animals which help pollinate (like bees, and
hummingbird) depend on each other for survival, what would happen if there were no more
plants? What would happen if there were no more pollinators?
Activity 3: Thinking about the Rainforest Adapted from Rainforest Trust
Part II: Reading and Discussion
Idea – Get students to see their space as a multi-layered environment through the story
analogy of a multi-layered rainforest.
Materials
*Book. Welcome to The Green House by Jane Yolen
* If you are not able to locate the book mentioned or any book about the rainforest use the
Rainforest Sounds and Animals Clip on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67QtXZsA2ME
*Art materials: Pencil, pencil crayons, pastels, paints
Procedure –
1. Ask children to close their eyes as you read the book or listen to the sound clip. Encourage
them to listen carefully and reach deep into their imagination to visualize the sights and
sounds of the rainforest.
2. Ask the children to think about the rainforest animals described in the book. What
important parts of the rainforest make up each animal’s individual habitat? Where does
each creature live and what does it need to survive? How are their habitats different or the
same? *These questions may differ if you use the sound clip: Can they identify any of the
sounds? Does anything sound familiar compared to habitats around us? How do they picture
the rainforest if that’s how it sounds? What animals do they imagine live there? Even though
you can’t really “hear” plants the same way as animals what plants do you imagine in the
rainforest? Is the rainforest a place full of different plants or lacking in plants?
3. Have students create a rainforest picture based on what they might know lives there and
what the sound clip has made them think of—play the sound clip for them as they create
their artwork
Activity 2: What is a Lemur?
In this activity students will compare similarities and differences between different lemur
species and possible adaptations lemurs may have and how they depend on other species.
1. Show students the map of Madagascar with all the different kinds of lemurs which
live on this island in the Island of Lemurs Educator Guide document—this could be
presented on the smartboard for all students to see or printed in a handout.
2. Brainstorm together what they notice is the same and what is different between the
different kinds of lemurs. A Venn Diagram could be used to write down the
differences.
3. Discuss all the similarities they have found. Hopefully one is the long tail all lemurs
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seem to have. Discuss what an adaptation is-- a characteristic body part, shape, or
behaviour that helps a plant or animal survive in its environment—ask students if
they can think of any ways humans have adapted over the hundreds of years we
have been around.
Looking at lemurs, are there any body parts or the way they are shaped that makes
them think they have adapted for their environment? In what way?
Ask them to explore their thumbs—in what ways can they move them? Get them to
move their fingers---do their thumbs move differently than their fingers? How?
Explain that their thumbs are called opposable thumbs, not every species has ones.
An opposable thumb allows us to touch each of the fingers on the same hand (ask
them to try this). Ask them if they can think of any animals that do or don’t have
opposable thumbs. Do they think humans/lemurs always had an opposable thumb
or is it an adaptation? Explain.
Ask them to tuck their thumb into their palm (demonstrate how this looks for
them—hiding it from view if you were to look at the back of your own hand) do they
think it would change how they could hold or do certain things?
How do you think opposable thumbs help lemurs in some of their daily activities?
In what ways do you think Lemurs depend on plants?
Do the Appreciate Your Thumbs activity below, this can be adapted in many ways
and could be set up into different centre activities if you choose where students try
doing many activities with no thumbs.
Appreciate Your Thumbs! Adapted from Imax Island of Lemurs Madagascar
Try this activity to see what life would be like without these flexible digits.
Materials:
*Package of toothpicks, stopwatch, masking tape
Procedure:
1. Spread out several dozen toothpicks on a table.
2. Have a teacher if possible time each group member as they pick up all the toothpicks as
fast as they can.
3. Take turns taping each group member’s thumb and index finger together.
4. Time them doing the same toothpick task but with their thumbs now taped.
5. Try doing other normal activities with your thumbs taped. How difficult is it to eat a
snack? Pick up a cup of water? Write your name? Draw or paint a picture? Sort objects?
Think About It:
1. What was each person’s time for picking up toothpicks when using his or her thumb
freely?
2. What was each person’s time for picking up toothpicks with a taped thumb?
3. How big of a difference did the thumb make in manipulating objects?
4. What was it like doing other activities without the use of your opposable thumb?
5. Primates such as lemurs evolved for life in the trees. Talk about how an opposable thumb
would be especially useful in the treetops.
*In the Island of Lemurs Educator Guide document there are reading activities you may
choose to do with your class about Lemurs!
Activity 3: Snack Like a Lemur adapted from (Adapted from thekitchn.com)
Lemurs mainly eat leaves, nuts, flowers, fruits, and seeds. Make these yummy lemurinspired bars to enjoy with your class! Alternatively if a stove is not available at your school
you could send this home as fun activity that students can do with parents. *Nuts can be
omitted for nut-Free schools and classrooms
Have a discussion about the ingredients in the bars. Do they think they are healthy
ingredients? Why or why not? If lemurs were really to eat some of these ingredients do you
think they would be the same ones found in Canada? Why or why not?
Where do they think some of these ingredients came from? Do some come from plants?
Fruit-and-Nut Bars Makes 12 bars
Ingredients:
* ¼ cup melted coconut oil
* 3 tablespoons peanut butter (or wow butter)
* 3 tablespoons brown rice syrup
* ¼ cup ground flaxseeds
* 1¼ cups applesauce
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 3 cups rolled oats
* ½ cup raisins
* ½ cup dried cranberries
* ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
* ¼ cup sunflower seeds
* ¼ cup chopped chocolate (milk/dark chocolate nut-free if necessary)
* ½ teaspoon cinnamon
* ¼ teaspoon salt
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Teachers preheat oven to 325°F.
Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper.
Invite students to measure out the ingredients for this step.
In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the melted coconut oil, peanut butter,
and brown rice syrup.
Stir until melted.
Remove from heat and add the ground flaxseeds, applesauce, and vanilla.
Whisk to combine, and let the mixture cool slightly.
In a large bowl, have children combine the oats with the dried fruit, seeds,
chocolate, cinnamon, and salt.
Pour the liquid mixture over the dry ingredients and stir until combined.
Press the mixture into the pan, flattening with your hands to create an even surface.
Bake until golden, about 45 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Lift and cut into
squares.
Store bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Pre-Movie Discussion
*discuss with students that they will be going to see a movie which deals with the topics
they have been investigating in science—in the movie “Island of Lemurs: Madagascar” they
will discover the different lemur species of Madagascar as well as their habitat. They will see
why the rainforest is such an important habitat and why lemurs are so unique.
*Develop a list of different ideas from students when you discuss the following questions,
alternatively you could also make a KWL (know, wonder, learn) chart to discuss the
following and any other ideas they might have—leaving the last column (Learn) blank to fill
in for after the movie:
1) Without even having seen the movie, in what ways do you think lemurs depend on plant
species? Think about how they get around and also even the snack we ate—where did some
of those ingredients come from?
2) In what way do you think plants depend on lemurs? How could lemurs be important to
them
3) Why do lemurs seem different from other monkey species you know?
4) Why does a rainforest seem like an important habitat?
5) Is the rainforest important to us even though we don’t live there? Why or why not?
6) If all the rainforests were gone do you think it would matter? Why?
7) What do you wonder about the movie? (What will happen, what is unique about lemurs,
why are rainforests important, what is so special about Madagascar?)