Vertebrate animal groups

Vertebrate animal groups

Pencil and paper
Overview
Using this Resource
Connecting to the Curriculum
Marking Student Responses
How to do this task

  • Match the Animal Card to the Larger Animal Group.
  • Find the following number of features for each animal group.

Find four features of the duck.
Find four features of the trout.
Find four features of the stoat.
Find three features of the tuatara.

NOTE: Not all the labels will be needed.

Animal Cards

      

     

Larger Animal Groups

 Features of the Larger Animal Group

Task administration: 
[Equipment: Scissors; coloured copy of Animal Cards; Larger Animal Group labels; and Features of the Larger Animal Groups.]

  • Students can work individually, or in small groups and identify the larger animal group that their animal picture card belongs to, and the features that place that animal in that vertebrate group.
  • Colour copies of animal picture cards are needed, these could be made into a class set and laminated. The labels could also be prepared for students prior to the task and also made into class sets. Separate sets of feature labels will be needed for each animal card.
  • Students or groups of students do one animal at a time. After this has been checked they place all the feature labels back to be used with their next animal.

NOTE: Not all the labels are needed.

Level:
2
Curriculum info: 
Science, Knowledge, Living World
Keywords: 
evolution, classification, vertebrates, fish, reptiles, birds, mammals
Description of task: 
This practical task assesses students' ability to identify the larger animal group that four vertebrate animals belong to and then identify the features that those groups have using labels.
Making Better Sense: 
Vertebrates
Answers/responses: 

Animal Groups:
Duck – Bird
Trout – Fish
Stoat – Mammal
Tuatara – Reptile

Features of the Animal Groups: The main features that students are expected to identify are:

Duck – Any 4 of: 

  • has feathers
  • has wings
  • lays eggs
  • warm blooded
  • has a beak

Trout – Any 4 of: 

  • has gills
  • has fins
  • has scales
  • cold blooded
  • lays eggs

Stoat: 

  • has fur/hair
  • young born alive
  • young feed on milk
  • warm blooded

Tuatara: 

  • lays eggs
  • has scales
  • cold blooded

NOTE: Students may also mention secondary features, e.g., ducks have scaly or horny skin on their legs.