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| Dallas Zoological Society Partnership : Elementary Animal Families |
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Topic Overview
Quick Facts
There are around
800,000 species that have been identified in the Animal Kingdom.
Taxonomy is broken
down into categories (from broadest to smallest) Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order,
Family, Genus, and Species.
The smallest
animals include plankton, which are protozoa.
The African
Elephant is the largest living animal on land.
The Blue Whale,
Balaenoptera musculus, is the largest mammal living.
There are thirty-three
phyla within the animal kingdom.
There are over
8,000 species of birds.
The fastest animal
is the cheetah, which can run 46 miles per hour.
Thousands of
species may be vanishing each year as a result of pollution, over-harvesting,
habitat degradation, and other human actions.
There are
approximately ten million species living on Earth today, most we have not yet
discovered.
Scientists believe
that four to six million
arthropod species exist.
Begin the Lesson
Whole Class Introduction to the
Lesson
You will need at least one
computer with Internet connectivity and a projection device, a classroom with
more than one computer, or access to a computer lab. For this activity, you
will need approximately 10 minutes.
Show the National Geographic
video, “Fishing Bats Battle Catfish in Belize” http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/07/060724-bat-fish-video.html.
Sample Questions:
Why did the
fishing bat have an advantage over the fish?
What physical
structures allow the bat to fly and fish to swim?
Why would the
fishing bat not attack the catfish?
Is it possible for
an animal to be both predator and prey? How does it occur in this video?
Describe the
habitat of the fishing bats and the catfish.
As part of the introduction, you
may want to review some of the glossary terms in advance of students going
online. At this point you can launch the WebLesson as whole-class activity
using a projection device, or you can assign students to work individually or
in teams in a computer lab.
WebLesson Sites
Introduction Take a trip to the zoo, or a visit to the ocean, or a hike in the mountains, or even a walk through the park and you will see the many different animals that live around us. They come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, colors, and textures. Some have wings while others have flippers; some breathe with lungs while others breathe through gills. Some animals have backbones and some animals do not. The collection of all of the animals makes up the animal kingdom. There are five main groups of animals with backbones (called vertebrates): fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. There are six main groups of animals without backbones (invertebrates).
Scenario After school, you will take a walk around your playground to find out what kinds of animals live there. You might know the names of some, but you might also discover new animals. There are many animals and they are all very different.
Lesson Pages
Classes of Vertebrate Animals WebQuest
http://www.tazewell.k12.il.us/dist102/Dist/Animal%20web%20quest.html
Invertebrate Nervous System
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/invert.html
Jungle Walk – Tube Sponge
http://www.junglewalk.com/classroom/SlideShow.asp?LPSID=6&IDs=6248,2165,5890,6212,2769,8079,6225,4624,10162,9870,1450,4505 Rich Media
Spiders On the Ground
http://www.abc.net.au/schoolstv/animals/SPIDERS.htm Conclusion & Project
Conclusion The world is full of many different types of animals. We can group them by size, color, texture, habitat, and more. There are millions of kinds of animals. Scientists are always working to find new animals. Meanwhile, various groups work hard to protect the current species that we do know.
Project Make a list of all of the different animals you have seen on your school playground. Name and describe each animal.
Glossary
amphibian - cold-blooded animal that hatches from an egg in the water and lives on land as it grows up
reptile - cold-blooded, scaly animals
mammal - warm-blooded animals that have hair or fur and carry their babies in their womb
bird - warm-blooded animals that have feathers, lay eggs, and fly
insect - small animal that hatches from eggs and grows up to have sectioned bodies and jointed legs
fish - cold-blooded animals that live in water and have fins and gills
species - a category scientists use to group animals together that are alike
breed - to give birth
vertebrate - animal that has a backbone or spinal cord
backbone - spine made of bone in animals
invertebrate - animal that has no backbone or spinal cord
adapt - animals that change so that they can live in their habitat comfortably
coloration - markings and patterns on an animal
exoskeleton - hard outer structure such as a shell
burrow - a hole or tunnel dug in the ground by a small animal, such as a rabbit or mole
habitat - the area or environment where an animal normally lives
arachnid - invertebrate that has two body sections and eight legs and includes spiders, ticks, mites, and scorpions
arachnophobia - fear of spiders
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