Lesson video

Hello, everyone, it is wonderful to have you learning with me today.

I'm Mrs. Horan and I'm really looking forward to getting stuck in to today's lesson with you.

Together, we're going to be learning all about the ways we can classify animals and put them into groups.

Today's lesson is part of the Reproduction and Life Cycles of Animals unit.

This lesson is called Animal Groups and we will be learning about the way scientists classify animals.

The outcome for our lesson today is to name and group a wide variety of common animals, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.

Today's lesson builds on what you already know about animals and their different characteristics and as part of our big learning questions, why are there similarities and differences between living things and what are living things and what are they made of?

These are the keywords that we are going to be focusing on today.

Mammal, fish, bird, reptile and amphibian.

Here are some explanations of the keywords.

These words are going to be explained as we come to them during the lesson, so you don't need to look closely at them now.

They are just here in case you need a reminder of anything later on and want to look back for a quick check.

Our lesson today is divided into two parts.

Let's get stuck straight in with the first part, animal groups.

Different animals have different characteristics or features that we can use to identify them and sort or classify them into broad groups.

You might be thinking that you can remember some of these groups from your previous learning.

One way of classifying animals is into those that do have a spine and those that do not.

The scientific word for animals that have spines and backbones is vertebrates and the word for those that don't is invertebrates.

A good way of working out if an animal is a vertebrate or an invertebrate is to think about whether or not they have a skeleton inside their body.

Animals with skeletons inside their bodies like rabbits, foxes, elephants and humans are vertebrates.

They have backbones to protect their spine from damage.

Animals that don't have a skeleton inside their body like spiders, ladybirds and snails are invertebrates.

Within the group of vertebrate animals, they can be classified further into one of five groups, mammals, fish, birds, reptiles and amphibians.

These groups are all keywords for this lesson.

We will take a good look at each one in turn, so don't worry if you don't already know much about each group.

For now, do you know any characteristics of the animals in each group?

Or do you know any animals that belong in each group?

You might remember something from learning you have done in the past.

Characteristics that we use to help us classify animals into groups include their skin or body covering.

This means what's on the outside.

Is it fur, feathers, scales, skin, something else?

How their offspring are born.

So are they born living from their mothers or do they hatch from eggs?

Whether they're warm-blooded or cold-blooded.

And how they breathe.

Which of these characteristics can we tell by looking at a picture of an animal?

Take a look at this picture of a bird.

Can you see what sort of body covering it has?

Can you see how it's offspring are born?

Can you tell whether it's warm-blooded or cold-blooded in this picture?

Can you tell how it breeds?

Sometimes we can tell the skin or body covering of an animal by looking at pictures of it.

We can't always tell, but sometimes we can.

What kind of skin or body covering do these animals have?

Take a look at the pictures of the eagle, iguana, barb fish, Labrador and poison dart frog, and see if you can say what sorts of covering each one has on its body.

You might want to pause the video here to get a good look and share your ideas with a partner.

So birds have feathers, reptiles have dry, scaly skin, fish have scales, mammals have hair or fur and amphibians have smooth, moist skin.

Were you able to identify any of those body colorings by looking at the pictures?

To find out about other animal characteristics, we need to observe the animals or carry out research using secondary sources, because there are lots of things we cannot tell about an animal by just looking at a picture of it.

Let's do a quick check for understanding to see how you're doing with today's learning so far.

Which of these statements about animal characteristics do you agree with?

A, all birds have feathers.

B, all fish have dry, scaly skin.

And C, all mammals have hair or fur.

There were two statements here that were correct.

Did you get them both?

They were A, all birds have feathers, and C, all mammals have hair or fur.

Let's take a closer look at the characteristics of the different types of vertebrate animals now.

We'll start with mammals.

Mammals have these characteristics.

They have hair or fur on their bodies.

They give birth to live young.

They're warm blooded.

Now, warm blooded animals are those that can moderate their own body temperature and survive in different surroundings.

For example, cats are able to maintain their body temperature whether they are inside in a warm house or they are outside in colder weather.

And the final characteristic of mammals is that they feed on milk provided by their mother when they are young.

You can see in the picture there are some pigs, which are mammals, feeding on milk from their mother.

Do you know of any other animals that are mammals?

There are lots and lots of different types of mammals, including humans.

We're mammals because we have hair, we give birth to live young rather than laying eggs, they are warm blooded and we feed on milk from our mothers when we are very young.

Some other mammals include elephants, hamsters, tigers and mice.

Now, on to fish.

Fish have these characteristics.

They have scales on their bodies.

They are coldblooded.

So coldblooded animals are not able to regulate their body temperatures like warm-blooded animals can.

So they must be in an environment that is the right temperature for them to survive.

But fish, this means that the water they are in cannot be too warm or too cold, or they will not survive.

Fish breathe underwater using gills and most fish lay eggs.

There's a picture of a goldfish here, which is, of course, a fish.

Do you know of any other types of fish?

Some other types of fish include stingrays, seahorses and clownfish.

Now let's take a look at birds.

Birds have these characteristics.

They have feathers on their bodies, they lay eggs, they are warm-blooded and they have wings and a beak.

Even though all birds have wings, not all birds can fly.

You can see two types of birds in the pictures here.

Do you know any other types of birds?

Maybe you know a type of bird that cannot fly.

Flamingos, robins, seagulls and emus are all types of birds.

Emus are an example of a bird that cannot fly.

Our next type of animal is reptiles.

Reptiles have these characteristics.

They have dry scaly skin.

They lay leathery eggs on land and they are coldblooded.

Do you know the names of any types of reptiles?

Lizards, alligators and chameleons are all types of lizard.

Reptiles tend to live in warmer places, because as they're cold-blooded, they need heat from their surroundings to survive.

And finally, let's take a look at amphibians.

Amphibians have these characteristics.

They have smooth, moist skin.

Moist means slightly wet or damp.

They lay jelly-like eggs called spawn in water.

Their eggs look very different to the kind of eggs that birds lay, but they are still eggs.

You can see some there in the picture of the frog.

Amphibians are cold-blooded and they can live on land and in water.

Do you know of any animals that are amphibians?

Frogs, toad, newts and salamanders are all some of the types of amphibians.

Well, we have looked at a lot of vocabulary and a lot of information there, so let's do a quick check for understanding to see how we're doing with it all.

This animal here in the picture has moist skin, lays eggs and is cold-blooded.

Which group does it belong to?

Is it A, mammals, B, fish, C, amphibians or D, reptiles?

That's right, this animal belongs to the amphibians group.

The animal in this picture is called a newt.

This animal here has dry scaly skin, lays eggs and is cold-blooded.

What group does it belong to?

Is it A, amphibians, B, reptiles, C, birds or D, fish?

So this animal is a crocodile and it is a reptile.

Sometimes people think crocodiles are amphibians, because they spend a lot of time in the water, but unlike amphibians, they have dry scaly skin and they don't have gills, so they cannot breathe under the water.

Let's try one more.

This animal is warm-blooded, has hair and gives birth to live young.

What group does it belong to?

Is it A.

mammals, B, fish, C, amphibians or D, reptiles?

This animal is a mammal.

Sometimes, it can be hard to tell that a mammal has hair or fur, because it might be very fine or it might not cover much of their body like on this animal, which is a rhinoceros, or a rhino for short.

Our next question is a little different.

Take a look at these animal characteristics and see which you agree with.

Do you think that A, all birds can fly; B, all animals that live in water are fish; or C, all reptiles are cold-blooded?

The correct answer here was C, all reptiles are cold-blooded.

We know not all birds can fly, because birds like ostriches and emus cannot fly, even though they have all the characteristics of birds.

And we know B cannot be correct, because amphibians live in water, too, as do some mammals like dolphins.

Fantastic.

So let's apply all this learning to a practice task: sort the cards to match the animal type to its description.

You need to match the animal type in the left-hand column to the description on the right-hand column.

As you can see, they are not currently in the right places.

Pause the video here and have a go, then come back when you're ready.

How did you find that?

Did you think some were trickier than others?

If so, those are the ones for you to focus on and really try to get the hang of as we move through the lesson.

Here is the correct order.

A mammal is warm-blooded, has live young and hair or fur.

A bird is warm-blooded, lays eggs, has a beak.

A fish is cold-blooded, lays eggs, has gills.

Reptile is cold-blooded, lays eggs, has dry, scaly skin.

And an amphibian is cold-blooded, lays eggs and has moist skin.

But the second part of our task, you need to sort these words into the correct place on the Venn diagram.

There is a circle each from mammals, birds and reptiles, and places where each circle overlaps others for any words that apply to more than one type of animal.

Pause the video again here, sort the words into the correct places and then come back to see how you have done.

Let's take a look at the completed Venn diagram and see how yours compared.

In the mammal circle, we have hair or fur and gives birth to live young.

In the reptile circle, we have cold-blooded and dry scaly skin.

There weren't any words that crossed over between mammals and reptiles.

In the bird circle, we have feathers and a beak and crossing over between birds and reptiles, we have laying eggs.

In the crossover between mammals and birds, we have warm-blooded as both of those types of animals are warm-blooded.

And then in the center, we should have vertebrates, as all three types of animals there are vertebrates.

On the outside of the Venn diagram, we have three things which didn't fit into any of those hoops: scales, moist skin and invertebrates.

Let's move on now to the second part of today's lesson, Classifying Animals.

Animal scientists use classification skills to decide what groups animals belong in.

They look at the similarities and differences between animals in different groups and place animals in groups that they have the most in common with.

When a new animal or species is discovered, scientists will observe its characteristics to see which group it belongs in.

Sometimes it can be tricky to decide which group an animal belongs in.

These children are trying to decide how to classify an orca whale.

You can see one in the picture there.

That might help you to make a classification decision.

So Jacob thinks it is an amphibian, because the water makes its skin look moist.

Aisha thinks it's a mammal, because it gives birth to live young.

Sam thinks it's a fish because it lives in the water.

What do you think?

Who do you agree with or do you have any different ideas?

Do you have any questions you would like to ask about the orca whale to help you make a decision about its classification?

Pause the video here to have a think about it and maybe discuss your ideas with a partner.

Orca whales give birth to live young, they are warm-blooded and they do not have gills, so they cannot breathe underwater.

Although it is hard to see, they do have fine hair around their jaw and head.

This means they are classified as mammals.

They have all of the characteristics of mammals, so that is the group they belong to.

People sometimes think they're fish, because they live in the water and they have a similar body shape as fish but they do not have all the characteristics of fish, like laying eggs, being cold-blooded or having scales on their bodies.

When scientists are unsure how to classify an animal, they do what we have just done here.

They consider all of its characteristics and decide where it fits best.

Now, the natural world is a weird and wonderful place.

Sometimes, animals will not fit perfectly into one group, so scientists have to decide which is the best fit.

This animal is a short-beaked echidna.

Take a look at its characteristics.

It has a spine, it's warm-blooded, it has fur, it has a beak, and it lays eggs.

How would you classify this animal?

It has characteristics from a few different groups, so it's going to be tricky.

You might want to pause the video here and have a discussion with a partner about which animal group you think is the best fit fit for this short-beaked echidna.

Echidnas have the most in common with the mammal group.

So scientists classify echidnas as a special type of mammal.

It doesn't have all of the characteristics of mammals.

For example, you might have noticed that they lay egg rather than giving birth to live young like mammals do, but it has the most in common with mammals, so that's how it's classified.

Is that the conclusion you came to as well?

Time for another quick check for understanding.

See if you can choose the correct ending for this sentence.

To classify an animal means to, decide which group it belongs to, to measure how big it is or to make sure it has everything it needs.

Well done, the answer was A, to classify an animal means to decide which group it belongs to.

And this question will need a little bit more critical thinking to answer.

Look at the statement and decide whether you think it is true or false.

There are some animals that scientists cannot classify into a group.

Is that true or false?

That statement is false.

Now, can you justify your answer?

Is it false because some animals have characteristics from more than one group?

Or is it false because sometimes animals are put into the group that is the best fit for their characteristics?

The answer was B, the statement is false, because sometimes animals are put into the group that is the best fit for their characteristics.

Just like the echidna that we looked at, some animals do not fit perfectly into a group, because they have a confusing set of characteristics.

So these animals are placed in the group that they have the most in common with.

Let's have a go at practice task now.

Use the animal cards on the next two slides to identify the groups these animals belong to.

Also record the clues that helped you to classify each animal.

I'll read through the cards on the next two slides.

You can decide whether you'd like to listen along or pause the video on each slide and read through them yourself.

Let's find out about flying foxes.

Flying foxes are commonly known as fruit bats.

They live in the tropics and subtropics and eat mainly fruit.

Female fruit bats often only have one offspring each year.

Once born, the offspring clings to its mother's fur, as she feeds it milk.

Penguins.

Penguins use their wings to swim underwater.

They lay their eggs on the shore.

When the young hatch, they use their sharp beaks to crack the shell of their eggs.

Young penguins appear fluffy and develop their adult feathers as they age.

Axolotls.

Axolotls are a type of salamander.

Axolotls lots have smooth skin and lay their jelly-like eggs in the water.

Although Axolotls spend their whole lives in the water and use their gills to breathe, other salamanders spend part of their lives on land.

Now, our next three animal cards, sharks.

Sharks live in seas and oceans and breathe by passing water over their gills.

Although some sharks lay eggs, around 70% of sharks give birth to live young.

Young shark pups are born with teeth and quickly swim away from their mother.

Turtles.

Turtles live in the sea where their hard shells and rough scaly skin provides protection from predators.

Although turtles spend much of their time in the sea, they must come to the surface to breathe and they lay their leathery eggs on land.

And finally, let's look at the platypus.

The platypus lives in burrows on riverbanks and has a covering of waterproof fur.

When the female is pregnant, she makes a hole in the riverbank to lay her eggs.

When her young leave their eggs, the mother feeds them with her milk.

If you haven't already, pause the video here and complete your table, deciding what group each animal belongs in and filling in the clues that helped you to decide.

Let's see how you did.

Flying foxes are mammals.

The clues where it has fur and it feeds its young milk.

That one was quite straightforward.

Penguins are birds, they lay hard shelled eggs.

They have a beak and they have feathers.

So even though they cannot fly, penguins are birds.

Axolotyls are amphibians 'cause they lay jelly like eggs and they live on land and in water.

Sharks are fish.

Because they breed using gills, some lay eggs and they don't feed their young.

That one was a little tricky, because some sharks do give birth to live young.

Turtles are reptiles because they have dry scaly skin and lay leathery eggs on land.

And finally, the trickiest of them all, a platypus.

It's a mammal, is that part of that same special group of mammals that light eggs, same as the echidna.

And we decided it's a mammal, because it has fur and it feeds its young milk.

Excellent work!

We have come to the end of today's lesson.

Let's recap on our key learning from today.

Different animals have different characteristics that can be used to sort them into groups.

Common versa, but groups are fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.

Scientists identifying group animals using classification skills.

Thank you for coming to join me today and for bringing your enthusiasm and curiosity with you.

I really enjoyed finding out about animal classification with you.

See you again next time!