Why the Koala Has a Stumpy Tail

Use the following words to fill in the missing parts of the story.

short water Tree tree drinking

dry plan leaves rain desert

dizzy broke thorn drink lakes

long digging angry hole tired

Long, long ago in the Dreaming, there lived Koala and T

Kangaroo. They were the very best of friends. Back then, Koala had
a very l , furry tail just like his friend, Tree Kangaroo.

One year, there was no r . All of the streams, rivers and

l were dried up and no water was found anywhere. Even
the l in the trees were dying. Koala said,“What are
we going to do? We are going to die if we don’t get some
water to d .” Just then, Tree Kangaroo had a
p . He remembered back to the last dry season
when his mother dug a hole in a d stream bed.
“She dug for hours, until w began to fill the bottom of the dry hole,” said Tree
Kangaroo. “Let’s try that!” said Koala.

So, Tree Kangaroo and Koala walked until they came to a dry stream bed. It was as dry
as the d . Koala said, “I am so thirsty and t . Before I can start
digging, I need to have a rest.” So Koala climbed up the closest t , and left Tree
Kangaroo to start digging for the water.

After lots of digging, Tree Kangaroo called out to Koala, “Hey Koala, come
and help me dig!” Koala began to climb down from the tree until he let out
a big, “Ouch!” Koala had got a t in his foot. He couldn’t
possibly dig with a sore foot, so Tree Kangaroo kept
on d and let Koala rest.
 Why the Koala Has a Stumpy Tail

Tree Kangaroo was getting really tired after all of his digging. “Koala!” he yelled. “I am so
tired and I need a break. It is your turn to come and dig.” Koala began to climb down the
tree until he called out, “I am so d . I need to rest longer.” Tree Kangaroo was
starting to get very a , but he kept on digging.

At last, some water began to appear in the dry h . “Hooray, I can see water,”
yelled Tree Kangaroo. Koala heard this and he quickly jumped from the tree. He pushed Tree
Kangaroo out of the way, stuck his head down the hole and began
d all the water. Tree Kangaroo was furious! “Save
some for me,” he said, but Koala just kept on drinking.

Tree Kangaroo grabbed Koala’s tail to pull him out of the

hole. He pulled and pulled until Koala’s tail
b off and this is why the koala has
as and stumpy tail.

Fast Finisher Activities

1. Use the word ‘Koala’ and create an acrostic poem. Illustrate your poem.

2. Create a word search using all of the words that are associated with this story.

3. Draw Koala drinking from the hole that Tree Kangaroo had dug.
Make sure to include Tree Kangaroo in your picture.

4. What do you think the main message of the story is?

Write your ideas in one sentence.
 Why the Koala Has a Stumpy Tail
Use the following words to fill in the missing parts of the story.

short water Tree tree drinking

dry plan leaves rain desert

dizzy broke thorn drink lakes

long digging angry hole tired

Long, long ago in the Dreaming, there lived Koala and

Kangaroo. They were the very best of friends. Back then, Koala had
a very , furry tail just like his friend, Tree Kangaroo.

One year, there was no . All of the streams, rivers

and were dried up and no water was found anywhere.
Even the in the trees were dying. Koala said,“What
are we going to do? We are going to die if we don’t get some
water to .” Just then, Tree Kangaroo had a
. He remembered back to the last dry season
when his mother dug a hole in a stream bed.
“She dug for hours, until began to fill the bottom of the dry hole,” said Tree
Kangaroo. “Let’s try that!” said Koala.

So, Tree Kangaroo and Koala walked until they came to a dry stream bed. It was as dry
as the . Koala said, “I am so thirsty and . Before I can start
digging, I need to have a rest.” So Koala climbed up the closest , and left Tree
Kangaroo to start digging for the water.

After lots of digging, Tree Kangaroo called out to Koala, “Hey Koala, come
and help me dig!” Koala began to climb down from the tree until he let out
a big, “Ouch!” Koala had got a in his foot. He couldn’t
possibly dig with a sore foot, so Tree Kangaroo kept
on and let Koala rest.
 Why the Koala Has a Stumpy Tail

Tree Kangaroo was getting really tired after all of his digging. “Koala!” he yelled. “I am so
tired and I need a break. It is your turn to come and dig.” Koala began to climb down the
tree until he called out, “I am so . I need to rest longer.” Tree Kangaroo was
starting to get very , but he kept on digging.

At last, some water began to appear in the dry . “Hooray, I can see water,”
yelled Tree Kangaroo. Koala heard this and he quickly jumped from the tree. He pushed Tree
Kangaroo out of the way, stuck his head down the hole and began
all the water. Tree Kangaroo was furious! “Save
some for me,” he said, but Koala just kept on drinking.

Tree Kangaroo grabbed Koala’s tail to pull him out of the

hole. He pulled and pulled until Koala’s
tail off and this is why the koala
has a and stumpy tail.

Fast Finisher Activities

1. Use the word ‘Koala’ and create an acrostic poem. Illustrate your poem.

2. Use a dictionary to find the meaning of the following words:

stream, desert, dizzy, sore, and stumpy.

3. Role play one of the characters. Write five questions that you could ask them.

4. Draw your favourite part of the story and write a paragraph explaining why it is
your favourite.
 Why the Koala Has a Stumpy Tail
Use the following boxes to work out which words below are missing from the story.

Tree short rain lakes lives

Forest long raine rivers leeves
Red large rayn streams leaves
drank idea wet dirt dessert
drinked plane dry animals desert
drink plan soggy water dessertt
sleepy river stick crying dizzy
tyred tree pebble digging dizy
tired plant thorn diging dizzi
angry hole drinking broke short
happy whole having broak long
sad holle eating browk small

Long, long ago in the Dreaming, there lived Koala and

Kangaroo. They were the very best of friends. Back then, Koala had a
very , furry tail just like his friend, Tree Kangaroo.

One year, there was no . All of the streams, rivers

and were dried up and no water was found anywhere.
Even the in the trees were dying. Koala said, “What
are we going to do? We are going to die if we don’t get some
water to .” Just then, Tree Kangaroo had a
. He remembered back to the last dry season when his mother dug a hole in a
stream bed. “She dug for hours, until began to fill the
bottom of the dry hole,” said Tree Kangaroo. “Let’s try that!” said Koala.

So, Tree Kangaroo and Koala walked until they came to a dry stream bed. It was
as dry as the . Koala said, “I am so thirsty and .
Before I can start digging, I need to have a rest.” So Koala climbed up the
closest , and left Tree Kangaroo to start digging
for the water.
 Why the Koala Has a Stumpy Tail

After lots of digging, Tree Kangaroo called out to Koala, “Hey Koala, come and help me
dig!” Koala began to climb down from the tree until he let out a big, “Ouch!” Koala had got
a in his foot. He couldn’t possibly dig with a sore foot, so Tree Kangaroo
kept on and let Koala rest.

Tree Kangaroo was getting really tired after all of his digging. “Koala!” he yelled. “I am so
tired and I need a break. It is your turn to come and dig.” Koala began to climb down the
tree until he called out, “I am so . I need to rest longer.” Tree Kangaroo was
starting to get very , but he kept on digging.

At last, some water began to appear in the dry . “Hooray, I can see water,”
yelled Tree Kangaroo. Koala heard this and he quickly jumped from the tree. He pushed Tree
Kangaroo out of the way, stuck his head down the hole and began
all the water. Tree Kangaroo was furious! “Save some
for me,” he said, but Koala just kept on drinking.

Tree Kangaroo grabbed Koala’s tail to pull him out of the hole.
He pulled and pulled until Koala’s tail off
and this is why the koala has a and
stumpy tail.

Fast Finisher Activities

1. What do you think the moral of the story is? In a brief paragraph, explain your answer.

2. Create a story board of ‘Why the Koala Has a Stumpy Tail’. Remember to write
down a couple of sentences under each picture to explain what you have drawn.

3. Imagine that you are Koala or Tree Kangaroo from the story. Write a journal entry
about what happened when you discovered that there was no water around you.

4. Draw your favourite part of the story and write a paragraph explaining why it is
your favourite.
 Why the Koala Has a Stumpy Tail Answers
1. Tree 11. tired
2. long 12. tree
3. rain 13. thorn
4. lakes 14. digging
5. leaves 15. dizzy
6. drink 16. angry
7. plan 17. hole
8. dry 18. drinking
9. water 19. broke
10. desert 20. short

Fast Finisher Activities

1. Answers and responses will vary.
2. Answers and responses will vary.
3. Answers and responses will vary.
4. Student answers may vary. Some answers may include:
- It is always important to help each other.
- It is important to listen to people when they are asking for help.
- To learn to share and don’t be greedy.

1. Answers will vary.

2. Stream - A body of water flowing in a channel or watercourse, as a river or brook.
Desert - An area so arid and dry because of little rainfall that supports only sparse and widely
spaced plants, or no plants at all.
Dizzy - Having a sensation of whirling and a tendency to fall over.
Sore - Physically painful or sensitive.
Stumpy - Short and thick.
3. Answers will vary.
4. Answers will vary.

1. Student answers may vary. Some answers may include:

- It is always important to help each other.
- It is important to listen to people when they are asking for help.
- To learn to share and don’t be greedy.
2. Answers and responses will vary.
3. Answers and responses will vary.
4. Answers and responses will vary.