Name:        

    		 Age:      

      Email :        

    		 Native Language  

      Instructor:   

    		 Year in college  

    Have you ever taken any courses in methods of teaching Reading and Writing?
    Expand  

    You are planning to use the article below with your class.
    Read the article and fill in the questionnaire below

      

            Australian woman gets a devil of a surprise

            July 25, 1997
            Web posted at: 10:46 p.m. EDT (0246 GMT)

        PERTH, Australia (CNN) -- A woman about to leave home for work Friday found an unusual illegal immigrant hiding under her car: a Tasmanian Devil.

        The devils are small, robust marsupials notorious for their sharp teeth and volatile temper, and the woman wisely called someone whose job description called for dealing with such things.

        The Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM) showed up to collect the 13-pound (5.8 kilograms), 3-year-old female and did a little checking around.

        There are 16 registered licensees in Western Australia who are permitted to keep Tasmanian Devils, and none of them was missing any. The department believes the animal was imported illegally and was kept as a pet before escaping.

        Despite their reputation for being vicious, devils tend to be shy and wary around humans and do their hunting at night.

        They are the largest living marsupial carnivore in the world, and are about the size of a small, powerful dog. They have large heads, strong jaws and sharp teeth.

        Ears turn purple when devil is agitated

        Females can reach 15 pounds (7 kilograms) and while males average about 19 pounds (9 kilos), they can top out at a hefty 26 pounds (12 kilos).

        According to the Department of Zoology at the University of Tasmania, their inky black fur is usually marked with white on the chest and sometimes the rump.

        Their ears are pink, but flush purple when they are agitated, and they have a startling nocturnal scream that probably accounts for their name.

        They were once common on the Australian mainland, but disappeared after the arrival of the dingo, the wild Australian dog. The live now only in Tasmania, and favor the eucalyptus forests and woodlands of northern Tasmania.

        They live underground, but can climb trees; young devils are particularly fond of catching and eating possums and sleeping birds. The adult diet tends more to wallabies and wombats, but as scavengers they also relish beached fish and dead cows and they consume everything but the largest bones.

        Devils at their most devilish when dining together

        Indeed, the presence of a sizable carcass give the devils the chance to show themselves off in their savage splendor. Several devils feeding together on such occasions bump and jostle each other like rush-hour commuters, prompting the inevitable snarls and growls and displays of teeth.

        Otherwise, they tend to be solitary creatures, although they may share the same territory with others of their kind.

        There is a short, intense mating season in March, and three weeks later as many as four young are born. Females carrythem in a backward-facing pouch until August when they are taken to a den and weaned.

        The young devil found Friday is now at the Animals Health Center at the Perth Zoo.

  • What could students be asked to do before actually seeing the text which would make their subsequent reading easier?
    Explain why

  • How would you start working on the text?
    Write up the questions you would ask the students.

  • What different ways of reading and trying to understand texts can be developed through this text?
    Explain how you would develop each differnent approach.

  • What vocabulary would you concentrate on when teaching this text and how?

  • You want your students to summarize the text. Make a diagram of the main information of the text to help your students

  • Give examples of activities suitable for use with this text after it has been studied and summarized.
    Include different types of writing assignments.

  • You receive the following letter from a student. Reply to the letter, giving appropriate feed-back for content and accuracy.

      Hi TT

      I rilly likd the devil story. Maybe I find one under my car :) I find it dificalt to read fast and like it wen the teacher explain everyting. Explain me why you need licence to have a devil, i did not understand. If someone want to kill themselves that there problem.

      In israel they find snakes in parcels all the time. Kids send them from africa or maybe america? I don't like snakes they feel funy. I like to have soome mouses they cute.

      Tell me wht animals you like

      bye your partner

Return to homepage