FINAL TASK:
You have to make a poster with the different groups of vertebrates and their main
characteristics.
LET’S START
1.- Observe these animals and try to classify them.
1.fish
2. reptile
3. mammal
4.amphibian
5.bird
Then you have to explain to the rest of your classmates why you grouped the animals this way:
- I put these animals together because they have got wings,…
- I put these animals together because they have scales,…
There is a big group of animals that have some characteristics and they are: Vertebrates have an internal skeleton and it is articulated: it is made up of bones and
they are connected by joints. The most important bones in a vertebrate is the backbone. It supports the body. All vertebrates have got a cranium or skull. It protects
the brain. The majority of vertebrates have got limbs that allow them to move. Some of them have legs for walking or running, others have wings for flying and others
have fins for swimming.
There are five groups of vertebrates and they are:
5. MAMMALS
6. BIRDS
7. REPTILES
8. AMPHIBIANS
9. FISH
ACTIVITIES
1.- Read the text about vertebrates and answer the following questions:
Can vertebrates fly?
Can they swim?
Can they breathe in water?
Can they walk or run?
Can they jump?
Can they crawl?
2.-Complete the chart:
PART OF THE BODY
FUNCTION
It protects the brain
Joints
They help swimming
Backbone
Legs
They allow moving
Wings
3.-Put the following animals into the right group of vertebrates:
LION CHEETAH WHALE FROG DOG RABBIT CAT BAT GIRAFFE DOLPHIN SEAL
SALAMANDER ALLIGATOR IGUANA TURTLE CAIMANS VULTURE OWL SPARROW SQUIRREL MOUSE WOLF FOX PARROT CHICKEN HORSE
BIRDS
REPTILES
MAMMALS
AMPHIBIANS
FISH
4.- Look and listen to the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZPvmGo61Uc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFKHsaowAOA&feature=related
5.-Read about the animals below. Cut out the names of the animal groups. Glue the
name next to the animal that belongs in each group.
Iguana
I have lungs and scaly skin.
I live on land and lay eggs
there, too.
Woodpecker
My feathers help me fly. I
lay eggs in a nest.
Newt
My skin is smooth and
wet. At first, I have gills.
Then I grow lungs.
Cheetah
I have fur with spots. I give birth to young cheetahs
and feed them milk
Shark
I live in water. I breathe
with gills. I swim through
the water.
MAMMALS
AMPHIBIAN
FISH
REPTILES
BIRDS
6.-Fill in the chart with words from the Word Bank.
Word Bank
Scales
feathers
gills
lungs
lay eggs
give birth
fur or hair
water
Animals with Backbones
Animal Type
Body Cover
Live In/On
Breathe With
Fish
Mother
lay eggs
Amphibians
skin
water, then
on land
Reptiles
skin
land or water
gills, then
grow lungs
lay eggs
lay eggs
Birds
land
lungs
Mammals
land or water
lungs
MAMMALS
They are a big group of animals with some characteristics:
They have mammary glands: the females produce milk in their mammary
glands to feed their young.
The majority of them are terrestrial and they have four legs for walking.
Others live in the sea and have got fins instead of legs. Some of them are:
dolphins, seals or whales.
Others have got wings like the bats.
Most of them are covered with hair or fur. Some exceptions are elephants or
whales.
All mammals have lungs for breathing with.
Mammals are viviparous: they live alive inside their mothers.
They are warm-blooded animals: they keep their temperature at a constant
level. When it is hot they lose heat through their skin by sweating and when it
is cold their fur helps animals to keep warm.
1.- Answer the questions:
How do mammals breath? What type of glands have mammals got? When the temperature is cold, what parts of mammal's bodies help them to retain heat? How do
mammals move?
2.- Investigate
Why the dormice need to hibernate during winter?
3.- Write the name of five cold-blooded animals and five warm-blooded animals.
4.- Finish the sentence:
Mammals are viviparous because …......................................................
5.- Find out the following information about bats, whales and tigers:
Animals
Bats
Whales
Tigers
The fur
Habitat
Limbs
OvipaLook after
rous/
young
viviparous
Feed on
The young Warmfeeds on
blooded/
old blooded
6.-Look at the video and talk about it with the teacher and partners:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElV4k4MeLbs&feature=fvsr
Read more interesting things about vertebrates.
EXCEPTIONS:
Vertebrates animals also present some exceptions:
Duck-billed platypus is a mammal: It has the main characteristics of most
mammals. Its body is covered with hair (furry), it has got four legs, it is a carnivore, but it is not viviparous, it is a cross between a duck and a beaver.
Dolphin and Whales: They are two very big marine mammals. In spite of looking like big fish, they are mammals adapted to life in the sea. They have not
gills but lungs. Like mammals they are viviparous and carnivorous.
Sharks: This dangerous fish introduces a difference in relation to its group. It
is viviparous. Its babies are born alive from the mother’s womb.
There are many other peculiarities such us: the manta, the seahorse, the penguin,
the bat, the manatee… The origin of this ‘changes’ is in the ‘Species Evolution’, that
is, the adaptation to the environment.
1.- Draw and describe your favourite animal according to these criteria:
Mammal, fish, bird, amphibian, reptiles.
Viviparous/ oviparous.
Herbivorous/ carnivorous/ omnivorous.
2.- Match:
Oviparous
Duck-billed platypus
Bird
Viviparous
Whale
Fish
Carnivorous
Penguin
Mammal
Herbivorous
Bat
Reptile
BIRDS
Birds are vertebrate animals with bodies adapted for flying.
Birds are oviparous animals. Females lay their eggs in nests. When the chicks
are born, they stay with their parents for a while to be looked after.
Their bodies are covered with feathers.
Their upper limbs are wings and their lower limbs are legs.
Their feathers help them to maintain their body heat, so they have a constant
body temperature.
They have lungs to breathe with.
They have a beak instead of a mouth.
Some birds, like ostriches, penguins, etc, cannot fly.
Different birds eat different types of food. Some birds are carnivorous (they
eat fish or small mammals) and others are herbivorous (they eat seeds, etc).
ACTIVITIES
1.- Look at the video and complete:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYw2W0akeZc
Birds are animals with their body adapted for ______________.They’ve got
_________and their bodies are covered by ______________.
Birds are__________ animals. Female birds ____________ eggs and when little
birds are born, their parents_________________ them for a while.
Birds like________________ are ____________________, they eat fish and small
mammals. Other birds, like _______________ are _______________, they eat,
fruit…
Read about reptiles and amphibians
REPTILES
Reptiles are animals that move close to the ground because they haven’t got legs or
they are very short.
Their skin is waterproof, covered with horny scales.
Tortoises and turtles have bony scales that form a hard outer shell.
They breathe with lungs.
They are oviparous.
They crawl or slither.
AMPHIBIANS
They are vertebrate animals that live part of their lives in water and part on
land. Their skin is moist and slippery, without protective covering, so they stay
near water to keep it wet.
They reproduce by laying eggs in the water.
The young are very different from the adults. They must go through a process
called metamorphosis.
Young amphibians breathe with gills and adults with lungs and through their
skin.
ACTIVITIES
1.- You can learn more about reptiles and amphibians looking at these funny videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zssgp6JP3c&feature=fvsr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blm4cOOMDpk&feature=fvw
2.- Now complete:
Animals that move close to the ground.
Their bodies are covered with…
They reproduce by laying ______.
They are ____________ animals.
They’ve got a hard outer shell.
They haven’t got legs.
They breathe with ____________.
3.- Write true or false. Check the false sentences:
Birds are viviparous animals. They reproduce by laying eggs._________
Birds do not have teeth. They have got a beak.___________
Birds are not vertebrates. They can fly and they’ve got wings.________
Reptiles breathe with gills._____________
Amphibians are vertebrates that live part of their lives in fresh water and part
on land.____________
Read the text aloud:
FISH
BODY :
The body of a fish is well adapted to live in water.
They have fins to help them move.
The skin of a fish is slippery. Thin, bony scales protect their bodies.
BREATHING :
Fish breathe using gills.
Fish absorb oxygen dissolved in water through their gills.
REPRODUCTION :
Fish reproduce by laying small eggs in the water, they are oviparous.
Females lay lots of eggs but only a few live to be adults.
SPECIAL CHARACTERISTIC :
Fish have a sensory organ called lateral line that allows them to detect
movements in water. This sensory organ is on the side of their bodies.
ACTIVITIES
1.-Fill in the gaps from the words below:
The body of a fish is well adapted to live ........................ .
Fish have ……………… to help them move.
Fish protect their bodies with …………………… .
Fish lay small ……………… in the water. So, they are ……………… .
Fish breathe using organs called …………….. .
2.-Match words from the two columns to make sentences:
1. Females lay lots of eggs
2. Bony scales protect
3. The sensory organ
4. Fish have
5. Fish breathe
a. is called lateral line.
b. using organs called gills.
c. their bodies.
d. but only a few live to be adults
e. fins to help them move.
3.- Let’s know more about fish in the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHtpuB9U4d8&feature=channel
Now you can complete this activity about vertebrates: