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Feathers, Fur and Fins: A song about goannas

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A goanna
Feathers, Fur and Fins: A song about goannas

SUBJECTS:  English

YEARS:  F–2


The Goanna is a type of Australian lizard.

Listen to the lyrics of the song performed by Don Spencer that asks lots of fun questions about goannas.

Watch as a goanna moves through the bush looking for food.


Things to think about

  1. 1.A goanna is a type of Australian lizard. This song has fun questions about where goannas might go if they were taking a trip. If you were writing a song about goannas, what fun questions would you ask?
  2. 2.Listen for the questions in the song. What words do the questions start with? Now listen for the answer to those questions. It starts with 'Nobody knows …' and is always the same. Listen for the way the word 'goanna' is sung. It sounds like go-anna. Other words are broken up in the same way. Listen for the phrases 'go-on-a boat' and 'go-an-na know'.
  3. 3.Say and write down the questions you heard in the song. The answer to these questions is sung as a chorus. This chorus is, 'Nobody knows where the goanna goes, 'cos only a go-annas go-an-na know.' Retell or sing your own story or song about where a goanna goes.
  4. 4.What would you like to find out about goannas? Here are some ideas. What is their skin like? Where do they live? Why do they poke out their tongue? How do they catch their prey (food)? Ask your questions and see if you can find answers. Write and draw your ideas.



Date of broadcast: 17 Sep 1986


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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