Classifying Animals
A huge diversity of animals exists in the animal kingdom. Scientists group animals by the things they have in common. This is called 'classification'. There are many ways animals can be classified:
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Can you think of other ways to classify animals? Add them to your web whiteboard
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BIOLOGIST REQUIRED!
Must be able to help classify a variety of animals to work out which species they belong to
Animals without backbones
Invertebrates
Animals with
backbones
Vertebrates
Meat eaters
Carnivores
Plant eaters
Herbivores
Meat and plant eaters
Omnivores
Imagine you are a biologist. A biologist is a person who studies life, including all animals and the things that the animals need to survive.
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In small groups, sort the animal cards into five smaller categories of your own choosing. You need to work out how you can create a smaller group, and then a further smaller group and so on, e.g. animals with teeth, animals from the ocean.
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The Animal Kingdom (Animalia)
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Think of any creature- bugs, birds, cats, fish, or anything else. The creature you just thought of belongs to a group called the animal kingdom. Animals differ from other living organisms, such as plants and algae in many ways. They are eukaryotic (cells with a nucleus- the "brains" of the cell- and all sorts of organelles), multicellular (having more than one cell) and heterotrophic (depend on others for food).
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Classes of Vertebrates
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You are now going to research a range of vertebrate classes, including reptiles, birds, fish. amphibians and mammals. You may already know some observable features of these classes, e.g. fish have gills. These features are what biologists use to classify animals into their classes. The link below will take you to a new website where you can find information of these vertebrate classes. Write down your information on the Classes of Vertebrates research sheet.
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Ready, set, RESEARCH!
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