Animal Classification

A Writing Across Curriculum Activity

Grade 4
The learner will be able to classify animals by type according to their characteristics. Students will categorize the 5 groups of animals. (Mammals, fish, birds, reptiles, & amphibians).

At the end of this activity you will:

Write a report on one classification of animal and include facts from this presentation.

What is an animal?
Animals are living organisms. This means they breathe, they eat, they grow and they reproduce (make more like themselves). Plants are living organisms, too. So, what is the difference between a plant and an animal?

Plants

do not move, whereas most animals

do. The true difference, though, is that plants produce their own food, whereas animals feed off other things.

Classification?

Animals

are separated into groups or categories so that they are more easily studied and discussed by scientists and others.

Divide these animals into groups.

Animal Classification
Did you group the animals based on Color Size Shape Eating habits Living habits

We are going to learn how animals are grouped or classified by learning about these groups:
Mammals

Fish
Birds

Reptiles
Amphibians

Mammals
Characteristics: Have teeth Have hair Are warm blooded Have a single jaw bone Have inner ear bones Produce milk for their young

Mammals
Mammals

have larger brains and seem to be the most capable learners. All mammalian mothers nourish their babies with milk.

Examples of Mammals

Fish
Characteristics:
Are

cold-blooded vertebrate (backbone) Live in water Usually have paired fins, gills, and scales

Fish
Most
Most

fish lay large numbers of eggs, but some have live birth.
fish breathe by drawing water over four or five pairs of gills.

Examples of Fish

Amphibians
Characteristics:
Are

cold-blooded vertebrate (backbone) Lay their eggs in water Lack any skin coverings such as fur, scales or feathers

Amphibians
Young

amphibians tend to resemble small fish. Amphibian means "two lives," a reference to the change that frogs go through as they move from egg to tadpole to frog. Even as adults, most frogs and other amphibians must stay close to water.

Examples of Amphibians

Birds
Characteristics:
Have

feathers Lay eggs Have bodies specially adapted for flight Have a beak rather than teeth

Birds
Their

nearly hollow bones provide lightweight strength. Birds now live almost everywhere on Earth.

Examples of Birds

Reptiles
Characteristics: Have scales Lay leathery eggs on land Are often called cold-blooded because they can't regulate their own body temperature

Reptiles
Reptiles

do not use energy to fuel internal "furnaces" Although reptiles breathe through lungs, some reptiles can also absorb oxygen in water through their mouth.

Examples of Reptiles

Writing Activity
Write

a report on one animal classification (mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles) and include 4 facts from this presentation.

Resources
Quia

Classification Quiz Charts: Animal classification, Fish, Bird, Amphibian, Animals, The Animal Kingdom