Skulls on the farm

Skulls on the farm

Pencil and paper
Overview
Using this Resource
Connecting to the Curriculum
Marking Student Responses
Working with Students
Further Resources

When visiting his cousin's farm, William found two skulls in one of the paddocks. He thought one might be a cow or sheep, and the other a dog or cat.

  1. Look carefully at each skull to decide which animal it belonged to.
  2. Compare the skulls with the pictures of the animals, and also think about other features you can observe on the skulls.
  3. List as many reasons as you can for your choice.
  4. Mark your work using the self-assessment sheet.
a)   b)
 
(The skulls are not to scale.)
i) This is the skull of a ...   herbivore / carnivore   (circle one)
 		   i) This is the skull of a ...   herbivore / carnivore   (circle one)
 
ii) Identify 3 observable features of the skull and say how they support your statement above.

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________

   ii) Identify 3 observable features of the skull and say how they support your statement above.

___________________________________

___________________________________

___________________________________
     
iii) This is the skull of a    cow / sheep / dog / cat   (circle one)   iii) This is the skull of a    cow / sheep / dog / cat   (circle one)
     
iv) Give one piece of evidence to support this:
 
___________________________________		   iv) Give one piece of evidence to support this:
 
___________________________________
 
 
Skulls on the Farm – Self-assessment sheet

Tick in the boxes below all the pieces of evidence you used.
a) i) This is the skull of a carnivore.
  ii) Observations   Knowledge  
    sharp, pointy teeth ... for biting off bits of meat - indicates a carnivore/meat eater
    long, pointy, canine teeth ... for piercing/ holding prey - indicates a carnivore/meat eater
    teeth right along jaw bones ... for chewing meat - indicates a carnivore/meat eater
    overlapping teeth ... act like scissors to chop meat - indicates a carnivore/meat eater
    eye socket facing front ... to look for prey - indicates a hunter/ predator
  iii) This is the skull of a dog.      
 
iv)
 
longish upper jaw
 
 
... longer than a cat's
 
 
b)
i)
This is the skull of a herbivore.
  ii) Observations   Knowledge  
    chisel shaped sharp teeth in bottom front jaw ... for cutting off grass - indicates a plant eater/ herbivore
   
  • no teeth in top front jaw
  • bony pad top front jaw
 ... for the incisor teeth to cut against - indicates a plant eater/herbivore
    grinding teeth at back ... for grinding up plant material - indicates a plant eater/ herbivore
    gap between front and back teeth ... allows animal to protrude tongue through gap, wrap around grass and pull into the mouth
    eye socket at side ... for watching out for enemies - indicates a grazing animal
  iii) This is the skull of a sheep.      
  iv) shortish upper jaw ... shorter than a cattle beast's
 
What evidence did you use from your previous experience or knowledge?
 
 
You can use your self-assessment sheet to decide where your next learning goals should be.
 
Analyse the results in your self-assessment sheet to decide if:

   you need to observe more carefully.
   you need to learn more about animals' skulls and teeth to be able to identify them.
   you need to use what you already know to explain what you can see.

Task administration: 
This task is completed with pencil and paper only.
 
This task could initially be completed individually, and then students paired up to analyse their self-assessments. Encourage students to think about the gaps in their own knowledge and skills, and plan subsequent lessons or activities to meet their learning needs. Alternatively, the responses could be marked by the teacher, using the scoring guide.
Copyright: 


Picture Source: 
www.thepetprofessor.com
(November 2004)


Picture Source: 
www.thepetprofessor.com
(November 2004)


Picture Source: 
www.virtualoceania.net
(November 2004)


Picture Source: 
www.virtualoceania.net
(November 2004)
Level:
5
Curriculum info: 
Science, Investigating in science, Living World
Key Competencies: 
Thinking
Keywords: 
Life processes, herbivores, carnivores, skulls, teeth, self assessment, key competencies, thinking
Description of task: 
Task: Students decide what sort of animals two skulls belong to. A self-assessment checklist is included. Assessment focus: using evidence to identify carnivores and herbivores.
Curriculum Links: 
Science capabilities
The capabilities focus is brought about by the conversations you have and the questions you ask 
Capability: Use evidence
This resource provides opportunities to discuss using sufficient evidence to make a classification judgement.
 
 
 

 
Science capabilities: 
Use evidence
Answers/responses: 
      Y10 (04/05)
a) i)
ii)

 

 

iii)
iv)

 carnivore

  • reference to sharp, pointy canine teeth
  • reference to sharp, pointy canine teeth plus explanation as to the
  • purpose of these teeth
  • reference to shape of back teeth
  • reference to shape of back teeth plus explanation as to how these help animal chew meat
  • reference to incisors
  • reference to incisors plus explanation as to how these help animal grip the meat

dog

  • evidence given as to why it is a carnivore
  • explains why it is a dog rather than a cat
 very easy
very easy
difficult

moderate
very difficult

difficult
very difficult

very easy
moderate
very difficult
b) i)
ii)

 

 

iii)
iv)

 herbivore

  • reference to flatter surfaces of teeth
  • reference to flatter surfaces of teeth plus explanation as to how
  • these help grind up plant material
  • reference to no canine teeth
  • reference to no canine teeth plus explanation
  • reference to incisors
  • reference to incisors plus explanation of role in feeding

sheep

  • evidence given as to why it is a herbivore
  • explains why it is a sheep rather than a cow
 very easy
easy
difficult

moderate
difficult
difficult
very difficult
easy
moderate
very difficult

Trial 188 Year 10 students.

Diagnostic and formative information: 

As the marking guide shows, most students recognise that skulls of herbivores and carnivores look different. It seems likely that they use the presence (or not) of canine teeth to make the distinction. However many trial students did not have the vocabulary to identify other types of teeth.

Students need practice at explaining how the features they identify support the choice they make – in this case, why herbivores’ teeth are shaped differently from carnivores’ teeth. Many students did not attempt this step.
The self-assessment sheet provides for a place for students to indicate their success in both steps – identification and subsequent brief explanation – separately. If your focus is on self-assessment skills, check whether they have followed this accurately (in relation to their actual answers) and whether the result matches the next-steps self-assessment at the bottom of the page.

Anothe ARB resource, Skulls, explores the same concept, and can be used to check understanding of features of skulls. It is suggested that it is used after this resource, or after learning activities.