BASIC INFORMATION

Allison G.

Animals groups and life cycles based upon their group classification.

The Animal Group Chart lesson will be the first topic introduced in our Life Cycle Unit. Students will
work as a group identifying animals and assigning them to groups while the instructor conducts
corresponding direct instruction. It is important to first distinguish animal groups with the students in
order to form the base of our life cycle knowledge. Since every animal's life cycle is dependent upon
their animal group, we cannot necessarily talk about one without the other.

Language Arts (English), Mathematics, Science

A chart will need to be constructed on butcher paper or a felt board including 6 columns; Column
headings: Insects, Fish, Reptiles, Amphibians, Birds, Mammals; Column (animal
group) information/characteristics; Shapes of different animals; Sticky tape or Velcro to mount the
animal shapes to the board

Insects:

 Are cold blooded

 Lay eggs
 Usually go through a process called "metamorphosis"
 Have skeletons on the outside
 Have six legs
 Will be represented by a Honey Bee, Butterfly and a Grasshopper on the chart

Reptiles:

 Are cold blooded

 Have back bones - aka "vertebrates"
 Most hatch from eggs
 Have dry, scaly skin
 Most shed their skin as they grow
 Will be represented by a Snake, Turtle and an Alligator on the chart

Amphibians:

 Are cold blooded

  Lay eggs
 Breathe with gills OR lungs
 Spend life as babies in the water
 Have moist skin
 Have back bones - aka "vertebrates"
 Will be represented by a Frog and a Newt on the chart

Fish:

 Most are covered in scales

 Are cold blooded
 Have fins; no legs
 Live all their life in water
 Lay eggs
 Breathe with gills
 Will be represented by a Salmon, Goldfish and an Shark on the chart

Birds:

 Have feathers
 Lay eggs
 Are warm blooded
 Have two legs and two wings
 Have a beak or bill
 Will be represented by a Penguin, Dove and a Parrot on the chart

Mammals:

 Have fur or hair

 Are warm blooded
 Have four limbs
 Most are born from mothers alive - not from visible eggs
 Breathe with lungs
 Drink milk from mothers
 Will be represented by a Bear, Tiger and a Human on the chart

STANDARDS AND KEY CONCEPTS

CA- California K-12 Academic Content Standards
• Subject : English Language Arts
• Grade : Grade Two
• Area : Listening and Speaking
• Sub-Strand 1.0: Listening and Speaking Strategies
Students listen critically and respond appropriately to oral communication. They speak in a manner that
guides the listener to understand important ideas by using proper phrasing, pitch, and modulation.
• Concept : Comprehension
Standard 1.1: Determine the purpose or purposes of listening (e.g., to obtain information, to
solve problems, for enjoyment).

Standard 1.2: Ask for clarification and explanation of stories and ideas.

• Subject : Mathematics
 • Grade : Grade Two
By the end of grade two, students understand place value and number relation-ships in addition and subtraction,
and they use simple concepts of multiplication. They measure quantities with appropriate units. They classify
shapes and see relationships among them by paying attention to their geometric attributes. They collect and
analyze data and verify the answers.
• Area : Statistics, Data Analysis, and Probability
• Sub-Strand 1.0 (Key Standard): Students collect numerical data and record, organize, display, and
interpret the data on bar graphs and other representations:
Standard 1.2: Represent the same data set in more than one way (e.g., bar graphs and charts with
tallies).

Standard 1.4: Ask and answer simple questions related to data representations.

• Subject : Science
• Grade : Grade Two
• Area : Life Sciences
• Sub-Strand 2: Plants and animals have predictable life cycles. As a basis for understanding this concept:
Standard b: Students know the sequential stages of life cycles are different for different animals,
such as butterflies, frogs, and mice.

Students will demonstrate an understanding of animal groups, group and individual

characteristics and the similarities and differences between them.

 Which groups of animals are cold blooded?

 Which groups of animals are warm blooded?
 Which groups of animals lay eggs?
 Which groups of animals are born alive?
 Which groups of animals drink milk from their mothers?
 Which groups of animals live in the water their whole life?
 Which groups of animals spend time in the water as babies?
 Which groups of animals have fins?
 Which groups of animals breathe with gills?
 Which groups of animals breathe with lungs?
 Which groups of animals have exoskeletons?

 A chart must be constructed on a felt board, the white board, butcher paper, etc. Whichever
way it is constructed, it is most important that the chart can be on display throughout the Life
Cycle Unit
 The chart will need 6 columns/headings: Insects, Amphibians, Reptiles, Fish, Birds and
Mammals
 For each column/animal group, characteristics of the animal group must be available to also
attach to the board
 Animal cut-outs, column headings and animal group characteristics are provided in the
lesson plan, but should be laminated, cut out and given some sort of attachment point for the
chart (i.e., Velcro square, double sided tape, magnet, etc)
 Students will be grouped as a whole either while in desks or sitting together in a group
PERFORMANCE TASKS AND ASSESSMENT

 The instructor must begin the activity with direct instruction which covers general
characteristics of each animal group
 The instructor must be sure to describe an animal group as the group of which an animal
belongs to based on the animal's characteristics (such as feathers, fur, egg layer, milk
drinker, etc.)
 Students must be informed that all living things have their own life cycle of which tells us
how things are born, grow into adults and eventually die
 It must be made clear that an animal's group helps us predict an animal's life cycle (that is,
all birds tend to follow the same life cycle, all mammals tend to follow the same life cycle,
etc)
 On the chart, instructors will write out animal group names, one at a time
 After the animal group name has been written, characteristics must be written on the chart
 After all groups and all corresponding characteristics have been identified, it is time to
identify the animal shapes
 Animal cut-outs should be presented one at a time and characteristics of the animal should
be discussed
 For example: "What kind of animal is this?" "A parrot!" "Do parrots lay eggs?" "Yes!" "Do
parrots have feathers?" "Yes!"
 Students will then decide as group where the animal should be placed on the chart
 For example: "Where do you think we should put the parrot on our chart based on our
answers?" "A bird!!"
 Instructors should repeat group and animal characteristics as often as possible in order to
familiarize students with new terms
 Instructors should also encourage participation from each student to check for
understanding; students should be called on individually throughout the lesson to concur with
the classes decision, explain a group's characteristics, identify the animal cut-out, etc.

Assessment of the Animal Group Chart lesson will be conducted throughout the class discussion.
Individual understanding will be gauged by individual participation and an overall understanding will
be evident through a correctly classified chart of animals.

Rubrics:
Animal Group Chart

LEARNING EXPERIENCES AND RESOURCES

The Animal Group Chart could be extended by having students suggest animals that could be
classified in each group rather than prompting them with a predetermined animal shape. This would
involve critical thinking by not only suggesting an animal, but by analyzing an abstract animals
characteristics. An individual classification activity would provide for further practice and
understanding of animal groups. Students could be asked to identify a list of animals individually
and/or be asked to provide animal group characteristics based off of acquired knowledge through
the unit. Students could draw a series of animals and then classify each in order to incorporate art
into the lesson.
Because the lesson requires no writing or reading or physical activity, it should be considered
appropriate for most students, regardless of special needs. An English learner student may have
difficulty recognizing English names for animals, and may need a translation key for the animals
described. Student who may excel at this activity could perhaps be in charge of placing the animals
on the chart to maintain interest.

 Materials and resources:

http://www.saskschools.ca/~gregory/animals/mammals.html

Attachments

1. Alligator
2. Animal Group Headings
3. Animal Group Information
4. Bear
5. Bee
6. Bird
7. Butterfly
8. Frog
9. Goldfish
10. Grasshopper
11. Human
12. Newt
13. Parrot
14. Penguin
15. Salmon
16. Shark
17. Snake
18. Tiger
19. Turtle