Lemurs…who can resist them? The Madagascar Lemurs activity set gives students a chance to digitally travel to Madagascar and meet nine different kinds of lemurs. Those who have only met lemurs in the Madagascar movie series will be delighted to find that these real lemurs are as appealing as their cartoon counterparts, complete with those amazing eyes.
The general reading level of these stories is about second grade, although there are many new words especially relating to lemurs. A pop-up glossary with these words is available from within the stories and writing activities as well.
Older students will also enjoy these activities, and will not be bored by the concepts they learn. First grade students may not understand every word, but will still pick up most of the ideas as they enjoy the antics of the lemurs.
Available In Many Formats
This activity set includes two books (or in two of the formats, three books), writing activities, comprehension tests, and off-computer materials such as vocabulary cards and maps. You can download the Madagascar Lemurs activity set in Classroom Suite®, Clicker 5®, HyperStudio 5®, My Own Bookshelf® and Test Me Score Me®, PowerPoint®, and PDF formats.
The Classroom Suite versions have custom IntelliKeys® overlays attached, and there are Dynavox® versions of these overlays available to download. See the Special Needs Access section on the System Reqs page for information on controlling the Classroom Suite version from PRC devices.
There are online versions of the Lots Of Lemurs and Islands books, and nine online puzzles. Links to these online activities are located at the foot of the page, above the links for downloadable materials. The online books were updated in 2018 and now play sounds and movies on all modern browsers and devices, including iPad®. As part of that revision, I added audible text and made the words read out on the glossary. Finally, there is a link to an online scrapbook with more lemur videos at the end of the online links section.
Lots Of Lemurs
In Lots Of Lemurs, the anchor book, students meet many individual lemurs, each with a distinct personality. It begins as a linear story narrated by one of the lemurs, Rufus, and then reaches a branching point where students can choose to visit four different lemur types, or head for home. Authentic lemur calls and short videos add an extra layer of realism to encounters with each lemur type.
Rufus is a lemur with remarkable talents, including being able to give a PowerPoint® demonstration, fly an airplane, and build a raft with a sail out of scrap materials he happened to find on the beach.
In the linear part of the story, Rufus challenges the reader to guess what kind of animal he is. The clues Rufus gives the students help them learn what traits lemurs have that distinguish them from similar animals like monkeys.
Once Rufus finishes his lecture on lemurs, he invites everyone to accompany him to Madagascar. Arrival in the Madagascar forest is signaled by some notes from the valihi, the signature instrument of the native Malagasy people.
Rufus serves as a guide, with the help of three of his close lemur friends. Each of the four friends spots a different kind of lemur high above in the trees. On the way home, readers get a surprise visit from a fifth lemur type. Students can go home without seeing all the lemurs, and come back for later exploration.
Split Versions Of Lots Of Lemurs
Lots Of Lemurs turned out to be a long story with quite a bit of content, so in the My Own Bookshelf and Classroom Suite versions, I have split it into two books. Looking For Lemurs should be read first and includes the linear portion of the story, ending with Madagascar in sight. The shortened version of Lots Of Lemurs picks up just before the branch point, with the action already in Madagascar.
Islands
The supporting book, Islands, is much shorter and should be read after Lots Of Lemurs. It draws attention to what an island is and why an isolated island like Madagascar tends to have unusual flora and fauna. It also explains how plants and animals were able to cross the ocean to the island, and why they flourished there.
Science facts are presented in a simple and engaging way in Islands, making it easy to understand why island life is so different. These ideas are very important for understanding Madagascar and other isolated environments, such as the Galapagos Islands and Antarctica.
Writing And Comprehension
Writing activities range from simple sentence construction with supplied words, directed writing in the Review activities, to free-form writing in My Favorite Lemurs.There are comprehension tests for both the long version and the split version of Lots Of Lemurs and a comprehension test for Islands.
Plenty Of Puzzles!
Puzzles are part of the downloads in HyperStudio 5® and Classroom Suite® versions. There are links to nine online puzzles with images from Lots Of Lemurs and Islands. There are also TWO sets of printable puzzles. One set uses my printable puzzle lines templates, which you can download here to turn any printed image into a puzzle.
The other set has printable versions of nine of the online puzzles to use off computer. I’ve added Preview buttons to the description and download links for each of the online puzzles, and you can use those same buttons to also get a sneak peek at this second set of printable puzzles.
Printable Materials
Both books are available in PDF format. For those using either the printed books or the online versions, there are comprehension tests and writing activities in Microsoft Word® format.
Because of the many new words, mostly nouns, in these books, the vocabulary flash cards download for this activity set may be especially valuable!
Teacher Materials include an Overview, a range map, a copy of the glossary, and test answer keys. Be sure to try the links at the end of the Overview for more movies of various types of lemurs.
Bonus! Photo Collection
The Lemurs Photo Collection includes all the photos from Lots Of Lemurs, plus some extra ones of Rufus, including the clues from the guessing game, Rufus the pirate, and Rufus flying an airplane.
Please read the Terms Of Use document, because I included a few photos by other photographers in this collection. For each photo by an outside photographer, I’ve placed the required attribution information in the folder along with the photo.
Extra Extra Bonus! Try The Valiha
In Lots Of Lemurs, listen closely when Rufus takes the reader to Madagascar. There are a few notes of tinkly music just before birds start singing in the jungle. Rufus can be sure he is in the right place, because that music comes from a valiha. It’s a stringed instrument that has become the unofficial national instrument of Madagascar, much in the same way bagpipes immediately bring Scotland to mind.
I didn’t want to interrupt the story flow, so I only used a few notes there, but I wanted you to hear all five samples of the valiha I found on Freesound. I’ve combined those samples with a photo of a valiha, and the result is a fun online music activity! Students can try out the valiha, either online or in a desktop version of the page. Also on the valiha page is information about it and two links to sites with real valiha music. I’ve put links to the valiha page and its desktop version in the online links section of this page. Give it a try!
Applications needed: Adobe Reader, Classroom Suite, Clicker 5, HyperStudio 5, Microsoft Word, My Own Bookshelf, PowerPoint, Test Me Score Me, web browser
Subject areas: Reading, Writing, Science.
Level: Grades 1-3.
Online Links-Activities
Online Books
Madagascar Lemurs Menu link: madLemur/index.html Menu with links to Madagascar Lemurs books to read online. Books are in HTML5 format, so sounds and movies will play on all devices, including iPad. Users of pre-IE9 browsers will be seamlessly switched to the old version online, which uses QuickTime. For details on using Annie’s Books Online, click here.
Desktop version of Madagascar Lemurs link: madLemurDesktop.zip Madagascar Lemurs and Islands books to read from the desktop using a web browser. No internet connection needed; this HTML5 version plays sounds on iPad. Not for pre-IE9 browsers. For details on using Annie’s Books Online, click here.
Online Scrapbook
Scrapbook link:Lots More Lemurs collection of lemur videos on Arkiv.org. These videos are not mine, but you can download them for classroom use.
Online Music Activity
Listen To The Sounds Of The Valiha link:valiha/index.html Valiha photo with five music buttons to try out. Also more information about the valiha and links to two sites with valiha music audios.
Desktop version of Listen To The Sounds Of The Valiha link: valihaDesktop.zip Listen To The Sounds Of The Valiha activity to do from the desktop using a web browser. No internet connection needed; this HTML5 version plays sounds on iPad. Not for pre-IE9 browsers.
Online Puzzles
Abby Puzzle link: CLICK HERE. Abby Crowned Lemur online puzzle. Image is Abby, a female crowned lemur from the Madagascar Lemurs activity set.
Gavin Puzzle link: CLICK HERE. Gavin Crowned Lemur online puzzle. Image is Gavin, a male crowned lemur from the Madagascar Lemurs activity set.
Island Surprises Puzzle link: CLICK HERE. Island Surprises online puzzle. Image is pirogues at sunset from the Madagascar Lemurs activity set.
Kiki Lemur Puzzle link: CLICK HERE. Kiki Lemur online puzzle. Image is Kiki, a Eulemur from the Madagascar Lemurs activity set.
Koto Bamboo Lemur Puzzle link: CLICK HERE. Koto Bamboo Lemur online puzzle. Image is Koto, a Gentle Gray Bamboo lemur from the Madagascar Lemurs activity set.
Pirate Lemur Puzzle link: CLICK HERE. Pirate Lemur online puzzle. Image is Rufus, a Eulemur from the Madagascar Lemurs activity set, dressed as a pirate.
Ring-Tailed Lemur Puzzle link: CLICK HERE. Ring-Tailed Lemur online puzzle. Image is a Ring-Tailed Lemur from the Madagascar Lemurs activity set.
Rufus Lemur Puzzle link: CLICK HERE. Rufus Lemur online puzzle. Image is Rufus, a Eulemur from the Madagascar Lemurs activity set.
Rufus Lemur Flying Puzzle link: CLICK HERE. Rufus Lemur in airplane online puzzle. Image is Rufus, a Eulemur from the Madagascar Lemurs activity set, flying over the coast of Madagascar in his snazzy orange airplane.
Sifaka Lemur Mom And Baby Puzzle link: CLICK HERE. Sifaka Lemur Mom And Baby online puzzle. Image is a female Coquerel’s sifaka lemur holding her baby, from the Madagascar Lemurs activity set.
For details on using Annie’s Puzzles Online, click here.
Downloads-Activities
Printable Activities
PDF Format
LotsOfLemurs.pdf (8.8 MB) Lots Of Lemurs book to print. No movies. Acrobat Reader.
Islands.pdf (3.2 MB) Islands book to print. No movies. Acrobat Reader.
PrintableLemurPuzzles.zip (13.3 MB) Eleven lemur puzzles to print. Acrobat Reader.
LemurJigsawPuzzles.pdf (14.6 MB) Nine lemur puzzles in PDF format to print. These puzzles are printable versions of the same online puzzles.
LemursVocabCards.pdf (5.3 MB) Lemurs Vocabulary Cards to print, including all the words in the special vocabulary. Acrobat Reader.
TeacherMaterials.zip (2.0 MB) Teacher Materials to print, including Overview, range map, test keys, and glossary list Acrobat Reader.
MicroSoft Word
LemursWritingWord.zip (6.9 MB) Printable version of writing activities for the Madagascar Lemurs activity set. MicroSoft Word.
LemursTestsWord.zip (4.4 MB) Printable version of comprehension tests for the Madagascar Lemurs activity set. MicroSoft Word.
Multimedia Activities
Clicker 5
Madagascar LemursClickMac.zip (92.1 MB) Madagascar Lemurs integrated study unit in Clicker 5 MAC. Books have QuickTime movies. Includes books, tests and writing activities. For details on installing integrated study units, click here.
MadagascarLemursClickWin.zip (74.9 MB) Madagascar Lemurs integrated study unit in Clicker 5 WIN. Books have AVI (Indeo compression) movies. Includes books, tests and writing activities. For details on installing integrated study units, click here.
Classroom Suite
UnzipFirstLemursSuiteFolder.zip (96 MB) Madagascar Lemurs activity set (minus Lots Of Lemurs) in Classroom Suite v.3 or later. IMPORTANT: Unzip this file first. It is a folder, Madagascar Lemurs, containing four writing activities, puzzles, three comprehension activities, and two of the books, Islands and Looking For Lemurs. Custom IntelliKeys overlays are attached.
Unzip2ndIntoMadLemursFolder.zip (90 MB) Lots Of Lemurs activity in Classroom Suite v.3 or later. IMPORTANT: Unzip this file second, into the Madagascar Lemurs folder. Custom IntelliKeys overlay is attached.
LemursDynavox.zip (872 KB) All the Madagascar Lemurs activity set overlays saved as Dynavox package files.
HyperStudio 5
Note: Download detailed setup instructions here.
LemursHS.zip (108.9 MB) Madagascar Lemurs Part 1 in HyperStudio 5. Download and decompress this file first. It will create a folder, Lemurs HS, containing LemursStartHere.stack (the menu) and LotsOfLemurs.stack.
MadagascarLemurs.zip (57.6 MB) Madagascar Lemurs Part 2 for HyperStudio 5. This file includes the writing activities, comprehension tests, and Islands book in an enclosing folder, Madagascar Lemurs. Download it second, and unzip into the Lemurs HS folder created by the first download.
LemurPuzzles.stack.zip (12.6 MB) Stack with eight lemur puzzles for HyperStudio 5.
Refer to the HyperStudio is Back! page for information about downloading players to run these activities.
SoftTouch
LookForLemursMBS.zip (10 MB) Looking For Lemurs book to import into My Own Bookshelf.
LotsOfLemursMBS.zip (98.2 MB) Folder with Lots Of Lemurs book and movies to import into My Own Bookshelf.
IslandsMBS.zip (14 MB) Islands book to import into My Own Bookshelf.
LemurTestsTestMeScoreMe.zip (36 MB) Illustrated tests with text answers on Looking For Lemurs, Lots Of Lemurs, and Islands. Requires Test Me Score Me.
PowerPoint
PPTLemurs.zip (11.2 MB) Lots Of Lemurs interactive book saved as a .ppt file. Movies in the media folder. PowerPoint 2003 or later.
IslandsPPT.zip (4.4 MB) Islands interactive book saved as a .ppt file. Movies in the media folder. PowerPoint 2003 or later.
Downloads-Resources
LemursPhotoCollection.zip 11.3 MB) Photos and original art in JPEG format from the Madagascar Lemurs activities. To preview the collection, click here.