Cover Page – Stay tuned…

G’day, fellow Adventurers, Mr. Marc here!
Today on Adventure to Fitness, we traveled to Tasmania off
the coast of Australia to find the legendary and thought to be
extinct, Tasmanian tiger. Instead, we found a stinky plan to
steal electricity by Mister Lazy! While we were there, we got to
ride the rapids of the Franklin River, explore King Solomon Cave, and swim in the ocean with
sea dragons!
Thanks to Professor Maddison, we learned a lot about the Australian
island of Tasmania. We were introduced to its unique wildlife, like the
echidna, sugar gliders, and wallabies, as well as nocturnal animals, like
the Tasmanian devil that usually only come out at night. We even ran
into some mammals that lay eggs, like the platypus! We also learned
about bioluminescence and the different kinds of plants and animals
that use it to glow in the dark! Finally, we learned about electricity:
how it’s generated, how it gets to our homes and schools, and
how to be safe around electrical power lines and outlets!
While we need to exercise our muscles to keep our bodies fit, we know
we need to exercise our minds too. That’s why our team at
Adventure to Fitness created these additional “mind adventures”
for you to share with your students. There’s one mind adventure for each
grade level, K-5. We’ve also included vocabulary and literature
recommendations to increase your students’ brainpower even further.
Till next time Adventurers…Keep It Moving!
Mr. Marc
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vocabulary
1. BIOLUMINESCENCE (noun): Emission of visible light by living
organisms such as the firefly and various fish, fungi, and
bacteria.
2. CAVERN (noun): A large underground chamber, as in a cave.
3. CONVERT (verb): To change (something) into another form,
substance, state, or product.
4. CRYSTALLINE STRUCTURE (noun): A unique arrangement of
atoms or molecules in a crystalline liquid or solid.
5. CURRENT (noun): A flow of electricity through a conductor.
6. DUCKBILLED PLATYPUS (noun): A semi-aquatic
mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including
Tasmania, it is one of the five extant species of
monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead
of giving birth to live young.
7. EXTINCT (adjective): No longer existing or living.
8. GENERATE (verb): To produce as a result of a chemical or physical process.
9. HYDROELECTRIC (adjective): Generating electricity by conversion of the energy of
running water.
10. INORGANIC (adjective): Involving neither organic life nor the products of organic
life.
11. MARSUPIAL (noun): Any of various nonplacental mammals of the order Marsupialia,
including kangaroos, opossums, bandicoots, and wombats, found principally in
Australia and the Americas.
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12. NOCTURNAL (adjective): Of, relating to, or occurring in the night.
13. QUARTZ (noun): A very hard mineral composed of silica, SiO2, found worldwide in
many different types of rocks, including sandstone and granite.
14. SNARL (verb): To growl viciously while baring the teeth.
15. SUGAR GLIDER (noun): a small gliding marsupial originally native to eastern and
northern mainland Australia, New Guinea, and the Bismarck Archipelago, and
introduced to Tasmania, Australia.
16. TASMANIAN DEVIL (noun): A large
carnivorous marsupial with a vicious
temperament and found exclusively on the
island of Tasmania.
17. TURBINE (noun): Any of various machines in which the kinetic energy of a moving
fluid is converted to mechanical power by the impulse or reaction of the fluid with
a series of buckets, paddles, or blades arrayed about the circumference of a wheel
or cylinder.
18. WALLABY (noun): Any of various small or medium-sized kangaroos; often brightly
colored.
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suggested readings
Big Rain Coming by Katrina Germein
Glow-in-the-dark Animals (Animals With Super Powers) by Natalie Lunis
Here is the Coral Reef by Madeleine Dunphy
Hunwick's Egg by Mem Fox
Kimi Sue by Tracy White
Marsupials by Nic Bishop
One Woolly Wombat by Rod Trinca
Oscar and the Bird: A Book About
Electricity by Geoff Waring
Outback Odyssey by Amanda Lumry
Tasmanian Tiger (Blazers) by Janet Riehecky
The Jeff Corwin Experience - Into Wild
Tasmania by Marla Felkins Ryan and Jeff Corwin
Where Does Electricity Come From? by Susan Mayes
Where, Oh Where, Did You Come From? by Todd W. Johnson
Where the Forest Meets the Sea by Jeannie Baker
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Platy…What?
Suggested Grade Level: Kindergarten
National Science Education Standard: Many characteristics of an organism are
inherited from the parents of the organism, but other characteristics result from an
individual’s interactions with the environment.
Overview: The duckbilled platypus is the only mammal that lays eggs, has fur like a
beaver, a mouth like a duck, webbed feet, and get this … the males are even poisonous! In
this mind adventure, students will create original species of their own using attributes of
other animals.
Content Area: Science
Required Materials:
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Magazines with pictures of animals
Feathers
Faux fur material
Leather
Other materials that could act as animal covering/skin
Googly eyes
Construction paper
Glue or paste
Scissors
Time Required: 25-30 minutes
Procedures:
1. Read the story, Where, Oh Where, Did You Come From? by Todd W. Johnson or
share pictures of duckbilled platypuses with the class and ask them if they can
remember what makes this animal so unique.
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2. Next, instruct kids to use their imaginations and create a new species of animal
that has attributes of other animals. They can use cutouts from a magazine or
create their own parts out of craft materials.
3. Have students glue their pieces together on a piece of construction paper with the
name of their animal and an illustration of its habitat.
4. Display creations in the classroom for everyone to see.
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Where Are All The Animals?
Suggested Grade Level: First Grade
Common Core State Standard: Demonstrate understanding of the organization and
basic features of print.
Overview: Tasmania is known for its interesting and unique animal life. In this mind
adventure, students will search for native Tasmanian animals in a word search.
Content Area: Language Arts
Required Materials:
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Pencil
Adventure to Fitness Worksheet
Time Required: 15-20 minutes
Procedures:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Provide each student with a word search.
Read the animal names the students will be searching for in the puzzle.
Have them work individually to find the animal names hidden in the puzzle.
After students solve the puzzle, have them choose one of the animals to write a
sentence about.
5. Ask volunteers to share their sentences.
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Look What I Found
Suggested Grade Level: Second Grade
Common Core State Standard: Write narratives in which they recount a well-
elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions,
thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of
closure.
Overview: Tasmania is known for its interesting and unique animal life. In this mind
adventure, students will write a paragraph describing a newly discovered animal from
Tasmania.
Subject Area: Language Arts
Required Materials:
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Pencil
Paper
Time Required: 15-20 minutes
Procedures:
1. Read and display the following writing prompt:
Pretend you are a famous explorer. Tell about a new species of animal you
discovered while in Tasmania. Describe what your animal looks like, what your
animal eats, and any other interesting facts you can think of.
2. Review the parts of a paragraph with students before they begin writing.
3. Encourage students to draw a picture of their animal when they finish writing their
paragraph.
4. Ask volunteers to share their paragraph.
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The Wallaby Waddle
Suggested Grade Level: Third Grade
Common Core State Standard: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a
topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
Overview: Mr. Marc bases his exercise moves on the location and events unfolding
during each adventure. In this mind adventure, students will instruct others on a new
exercise move based on an animal from the episode.
Subject Area: Language Arts
Required Materials:
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Pencil
Crayons
Paper
Time Required: 20-25 minutes
Procedures:
1. As a class create a list of all the animals mentioned in
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 Wallaby
 Tasmanian Tiger
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 Tasmanian Devil
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 Glow Worm
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2. Read and display the following writing prompt:
today’s episode:
Sea Dragon
Echidna
Duck-Billed Platypus
Sugar Glider
What was your favorite animal in today’s episode? Pretend you’re an
exercise instructor and you’ve just invented a new move based on your
favorite animal from Tasmania. Write instructions with illustrations so that
your classmates can use this new move in their daily exercise routine.
3. Have students exchange papers and try to do the exercise move solely based on
the written instructions.
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”And Mr. Clock Said”
Suggested Grade Level: 4th Grade
Common Core State Standard: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard
English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
Overview: Mr. Marc and Mr. Clock spend a lot of time bantering back and forth. In this
mind adventure, students will punctuate dialogue between Mr. Marc and Mr. Clock.
Content Area: Language Arts
Required Materials:
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Pencil
Adventure to Fitness Worksheet
Time Required: 15-20 minutes
Procedures:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Talk about the importance of dialogue to character development.
Provide examples of dialogue using stories or some other form of writing.
Demonstrate writing simple dialogue on the board.
Provide each student with an ATF Worksheet to complete individually.
Go over the answers as a class.
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Conductor or Insulator
Suggested Grade Level: 5th Grade
National Science Education Standard: Electricity in circuits can produce light, heat,
sound, and magnetic effects. Electrical circuits require a complete loop through which an
electrical current can pass.
Overview: Tasmania generates much of its energy using hydroelectric power by
harnessing the stored energy in moving water to drive turbines and generate electricity.
In this mind adventure, students will test different classroom materials to determine if
they are conductors or insulators of electricity.
Content Area: Science
Required Materials:
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3 pieces of wire (strip the ends)
Battery (size D)
1.5 volt bulb and socket
Paper fasteners
Rubber band
Button
Glass marble
Paper
Wood
Nail
Screw
Pencil
Eraser
Styrofoam
Time Required: 35-40 minutes
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Procedures:
1. Review the definitions for conductor and insulator. Discuss the differences
between the two.
2. Set up a model of an electric circuit, using wires, bulbs, and a battery.
Demonstrate for the class how the experiment will work.
ewh.ieee.org/r3/cnc/.../8_English_InsulatorsandConductors.pdf
3. Divide students into groups of four.
4. Provide each student with an ATF worksheet along with all the materials needed to
conduct the experiment.
5. Walk students through the setup of the conductivity tester.
6. Instruct all groups to make predictions first before moving forward with the
experiment.
7. Review correct answers with the class after all groups finish recording their
results.
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ANSWER KEY:
MATERIALS
Paper clip
Paper fastener
Rubber band
Plastic tile
Plastic button
Glass marble
Wood
Paper
Nail
Screw
Pencil
Eraser
Styrofoam
PREDICTIONS:
RESULTS:
Conductor
Conductor
Insulator
Insulator
Insulator
Insulator
Insulator
Insulator
Conductor
Conductor
Insulator (on wood), Conductor (on metal band)
Insulator
Insulator
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