Directions: Print out the animal picture and color. Cut out the pictures by cutting on the solid lines and dotted lines. Assemble the picture by connecting each end of the base piece with double-sided or scotch tape so the picture stands up. Print out the page with the poem and the facts and place it in your own poem book. Illustrate the poem. Write your own story or poem and add it to your poem book.

Kangaroo Facts.

Kangaroos are mammals that are also marsupials. They live in Australia. Like other marsupials, their newborn are very small and underdeveloped. After birth, one or sometimes two babies find their way into the mother's pouch and become attached to her nipples. There they will grow and be kept safe. After a few weeks, the young leave the mother's pouch but return to it for food and shelter. They suckle the mother's milk and stay in the pouch until they are weaned about seven months later. A baby kangaroo is called a joey.

Most kangaroos have larger and stronger hind legs than forelegs. When kangaroos move slowly, on all fours, they are supported by a triangle consisting of the two front feet, the hind feet, and the tail for balance. When running, they can leap in 25-foot (7.6 meters) strides, using the hind feet alone and the tail as a counterbalance. Kangaroos can travel 40 miles an hour for short distances. Hind feet of all kangaroos have the second and third toes fused together. These act as a comb for cleaning the fur. Its front feet can hold branches when it eats leaves.

The red kangaroo lives on the Australian plains, wallaroos in mountains, and the gray kangaroo in forests.

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