Objective
- Students will understand how animals are grouped for classification purposes.
Background
There are at least five million species on Earth, and some scientists believe there could be double that number. A species is a group of animals that are more like each other than they are like any other group of animals. They can breed with each other but not with members of other species. A way of sorting through all those species is to organize them by similar characteristics. This process is called classification. The following is a list of characteristics for each group of animals.
Mammals
- give birth to their young and feed them with milk
- have hair on at least part of their body
- have four legs with toes ending in claws, nails, or hooves (whales and dolphins are exceptions)
- breathe with lungs
- are warm-blooded
Birds
- lay eggs with a hard shell
- are covered with feathers
- have a beak
- have two legs
- have two wings and most can fly (ostriches and penguins are exceptions)
- have hollow bones
- are warm-blooded
Reptiles
- lay eggs with leathery shells or give birth to fully-formed young
- breathe with lungs
- are covered with scales
- have no legs or four legs with clawed toes
- are cold-blooded
Amphibians
- lay eggs, usually in a jelly-like mass in water
- breathe with lungs, gills, and/or their skin
- have smooth skin without coverings
- have four legs without claws or nails on toes
- are cold-blooded
Insects
- have three body parts: head, thorax, and abdomen
- have a single pair of antennae on the head
- have three pairs of legs originating from the thorax
- often have wings and can fly
Fish
- lay eggs without shells in water
- breathe with gills
- are covered with scales or smooth leathery skin
- have fins but no legs or toes
- are cold-blooded
Materials
- Animal cards drawn by students (see Unit 1 Lesson 1)
Vocabulary
- Classification: the arranging of groups of organisms into categories based on certain characteristics
- Species: a group of animals that are more like each other than they are like any other group of animals
Procedure
1. Using the animal cards that the students have drawn, have students group the animals by similarity based on different characteristics. For example, make a group of animals that has fur and one that has feathers. This will illustrate the notion of “classification.”
2. If possible, invite an elder from the community to this class. Have the children explain how they grouped the animals. Ask the elder to explain to the students how he/she would group them and compare the two systems of classification to see if they are different and if so, how. Ask him/her to share any stories, based on indigenous knowledge, about animal classification. If no elder is available, ask the students to discuss their classifications at home with their parents and grandparents to compare.
3. Mystery Animal (for age 10 and over; 10 to 20 students can play)
Equipment Required: Paper and pencils
Amount of Time: 30 minutes
Reason for playing: To reinforce discussion around adaptation
How to Play:
Everybody sits in a circle, and has a piece of paper and a pencil. Players fold their paper into four, so that the folds run widthways.
On the second panel they draw an animals head – a bird, a lion, a crocodile, etc. Make the two lines of the neck just over onto the second panel.
Players fold over their handiwork so that it cannot be seen, and pass to the person on their left. Players then draw an animal’s body, and again pass on the piece of paper.
The legs of the body and then the feet are also added in this way. Then pass on the completed animal to the player on the left.
Players open out the ‘mystery animal’ and decide
• Where they think it lives (has it got webbed feet? A tail suitable for helping to climb trees?).
• What it eats (has it a slender beak or a long tongue for drinking nectar? Sharp teeth for meat eating?).
• What it might get eaten by (Try linking all the creations in an imaginary food web!).
Give each animal a suitable name.