| Summary | Participating students investigate the similarities and differences among mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. |
| Introduction | Today scientists have documented over one million different kinds of animals, and the numbers are still growing. Today the students are going to learn about four groups of these animals: Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds, and Mammals. |
| Begin the class by telling the students that all the animals we will be talking about today are called vertebrates. This means they have a backbone. (Show the students the mammalian backbone picture.) Humans have a backbone, birds have a backbone, alligators have a backbone, and even a frog has one. It is very hard and strong in order to give the animal support. It allows people like you and me to stand up and not fall over. | |
| Amphibians | Amphibians have soft, moist, smooth skin. They do not have scales. They lay lots of small, soft eggs. One female frog can lay at one time over one thousand eggs. Amphibians are always tied to the water and they must not stray very far away from it. They are born in water and they must return to water to lay their eggs. |
| Amphibians are cold-blooded. They are the same temperature as the environment. Amphibians need to use the heat from the sun to warm them up and they have to take cover in the shade to cool off. Have the students name some amphibians. (Possible responses are frogs, toads, newts, and salamanders.) | |
| Reptiles | Reptiles have scales and are rough and dry. The scales are made of hardened skin called keratin. Some reptiles have hard shells and lay hard eggs (usually). Have the students name some reptiles. (Possible responses are snakes, lizards, and turtles.) |
| Reptiles are cold-blooded and therefore are the same temperature as their environment. They have to use the heat from the sun to warm them up and they have to take cover in the shade to cool them off. | |
| The reptile scales or hard shell protects the animal from the environment. Think of it as armor. It protects the reptile from predators, the heat, or from sharp objects when it burrows into the ground. A snake flicks its tongue to taste the air for danger and food so it can determine what is around him. | |
| Reptiles are not known as noisemakers, but some do make some noise. The rattlesnake shakes the rattle on its tail as a warning to keep away. The hissing noise a snake makes happens when the snake expands its lungs and blows the air out the nostrils. | |
| Birds | The number one characteristic of all birds is that they have feathers. They also have beaks, two legs and two wings, sharp claws, and lay hard eggs. The feathers can be of all sorts of colors and the birds use the color of their feathers in many different ways. Male peafowl (peacocks) use long colorful feathers to attract a female (peahen). Peacock feathers also have what is called an "eye". This is to startle or scare predators who cannot tell which way the bird is facing. Birds with duller colored feathers (brown, gray, and black) use their feathers to camouflage themselves. Different feathers also feel different. The outer feathers are stronger and tougher than the fuzzy, underneath feathers called down, which keeps the bird warm and insulated. |
| Birds are warm-blooded animals. They regulate their own temperature. Their body temperature does not vary with the environmental temperature. | |
| Birds also lay hard eggs and depending on the size of the bird, the egg they lay might be as small as a thumbnail or as large as a softball. | |
| Birds are the noisiest group of animals. They imitate sounds they hear, which enables them to " talk". Birds also sing to establish territories, attract mates, and talk to one another. Have the children make some bird noises. (Possible responses are a duck quack, roosters crowing, etc.) | |
| Mammals | The distinguishing characteristic of mammals is that they have hair or fur. They give birth to live young who are then nursed on mother's milk, and mammals are warm-blooded. We (humans) are mammals. Humans have hair; look at your eyes and head. Humans give birth to live young, we don't lay eggs! Have the students name some other animals that have fur or hair and give birth to live young. (Possible responses are dogs, cats, mice, bears, horses, etc.). |
| Ask the students why they think mammals have hair. The hair or fur protects them from the cold and from the heat. Have the students feel the texture of their hair and tell how it feels. | |
| Some mammals have horns or antlers. An antler is made of bone, has branches, falls off in the spring and re-grows in the fall. A horn has a core of bone arising from the skull covered by hardened skin (keratin). They are never shed and are not branched like antlers. Mammals that have antlers are mule deer, moose, and other deer. Mammals that have horns are sheep, goats, and cattle. | |
| Most mammals use sound to talk to one another. Every kind of animal has a distinctive, characteristic sound. Have the students, one at a time, make a mammal sound. (Possible responses include a dog bark, cat meow, a pig oink, a cow moo, etc.) | |
| Putting It Together | Now that we know the differences between amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, the students will pick four animals, one from each group. Students will compose a short descriptive paragraph about each one. |
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