Vertebrates - Lesson Plan Coaches

Classification & Characteristics of Vertebrates

Students’ Learning Outcomes

Classify vertebrates into fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals on the basis of their characteristics.

Information for teachers

· Vertebrates are divided into five major groups i. e. fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.

· Fish have no legs and they swim and live in water. They have fins for swimming.
· Amphibians have legs. Their skin is moist. They can live both in water and on land. They swim in water and hop on land e. g. frog.
· Reptiles have legs. Their skin has scales. They crawl on land e. g. snake.
· Birds have legs. Their skin has feathers. They live on land and can fly in air e. g. sparrow.
· Mammals have legs. They have hair on their skin. They feed their young ones on milk. Most mammals live on land and can run e. g. goat, cow.

Material / Resources

Chart or pictures of some animals, textbook

Worm up activity

· Recall the previous lesson of vertebrates and invertebrates to the students.

· Ask them to name some of the vertebrates and invertebrates.

Development

Activity 1

· Show the pictures of fish, frog, sparrow, lizard and dog to students.

· Divide the class into five groups and give one picture of animal to each group.

· Ask the students to observe the picture very closely and point out the major distinguishing features.

· After five minutes ask each group leader to present the characteristics of the given animals in front of the class.

· Simultaneously make and fill a table on the board in the light of students’ presentations to summarize the characteristics of various animals.

· Facilitate the students if they give incorrect information and also explain more characteristics of each group of vertebrates. Use the book for this purpose.

Vertebrates	legs	Habitat(Land/Water)	Skin	Movement
fish	no	water	moist	swim
frog	yes	Land & water	moist	hop
sparrow	yes	land	feathers	fly
lizard	yes	land	scales	Crawl
dog	yes	land	hairs	Run/walk

Activity 2

· On the basis of above activity introduce the five groups of vertebrates i. e. fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Describe the main features of each group supported with examples.

Activity 3

Explain the classification by drawing a key on the board (the key has been given at the end of lesson plan).

Sum up / Conclusion

· Vertebrates are divided into five major groups i. e. fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

· Fish have no legs and they swim and live in water. They have fins for swimming.

· Amphibians have legs. Their skin is moist. They can live both in water and on land. They swim in water and hop on land e. g. frog.

· Reptiles have legs. Their skin has scales. They crawl on land e. g. snake.

· Birds have legs. Their skin has feathers. They live on land and can fly in air e. g. sparrow.

· Mammals have legs. They have hair on their skin. They feed their young ones on milk. Moist mammals live on land and can run e. g. goat, cow.

Assessment

Activity 1

· Show pictures similar to these to the students and ask them to write their distinguishing features on their notebooks.

Snake

Rabbit

Fish

Pigeon

Frog

Activity 2

Ask the students to identify the groups of the animals and write their characteristics.

Name of Animals_________________

Vertebrate group_______________

Characteristics_________________

Name of Animals_________________

Vertebrate group_______________

Characteristics_________________

Name of Animals_________________

Vertebrate group_______________

Characteristics_________________

· Involve the students in solving the questions given at the end of chapter / units in textbook.

Follow up

· Ask the students to find the picture of any vertebrate from newspaper or internet and write its characteristics on the copy and also paste it in their notebooks.