Sylphie's Squizzes: The Pink Fairy of South America

Learning intention:

I am learning to locate key ideas in an informative text so that I can understand more about the topic and demonstrate my knowledge.

Success criteria:

• I can extract key facts from an article
• I can add relevant visual elements to accompany these facts
• I can organise my information in a visually appealing and informative way using an infographic.

Have students read the article and ask them to identify facts about the pink fairy armadillo. Answers may include:

• Leathery shell on head and back
• Strong claws for digging
• Sends blood to its shell to cool down when it feels hot
• Smallest armadillo
• Around 13cm long
• Over ten times shorter than a giant armadillo
• Live underground
• Burrow in sandy dunes
• Come out at night to feed.

Inform students they are going to use this information to create an infographic about the pink fairy armadillo. To do this, they should consider how they will include the facts in sentences, how they will lay out their text and which information lends itself to visual representations through graphics or images. For inspiration in how to do this and put together an animal infographic, allow them to explore 20 Knowledgeful Animal Infographicsungroup.

Say hello to the world’s smallest armadillo!

All about armadillos

Armadillos are strange animals. They have leathery shells that form a tough armour on their heads and backs. They have strong claws for digging, which they use to find insects and small animals to eat. There are 20 different types of armadillos living in South America. Among them is one with the delightful name of the ‘Pink Fairy Armadillo’.

Why is it pink?

When the Pink Fairy Armadillo feels hot, it sends more of its blood to the surface of its leathery shell, giving it a pink colour. This lets the blood cool down so that the animal can reduce its body temperature. It’s similar to the way people can get red in the face after running around. Its body has sent blood to the surface of its skin, to cool it down.

How is it a fairy?

Pink Fairy Armadillos are like fairies because they’re so small! They’re the smallest armadillo (about 13 cm long) and could easily hide in your shoe. In fact, they’re over ten times shorter than the largest species, the Giant Armadillo. And Pink Fairy Armadillos are also rare. They spend their life underground, burrowing through sandy dunes and coming out at night to feed. This means that (just like with fairies) you have to be very lucky to see one!