Animal Classification

Animal studies have to be one of my favourite parts of the grade 1 & 2 science curriculums. There are so many opportunities for hands-on learning in our own backyards that it will definitely be a focus that last throughout the school year.

 

Yesterday, we started our animal study by discussing and sharing our background knowledge (what we already know) with our classmates. After this discussion, the students worked cooperatively in small groups, searching through a variety of animal books discovering things about a variety of different creatures. We also recorded information about what animals can do, what they have, and what they need in order to survive.

 

Today the students took their learning a step further when I introduced two new vocabulary terms, vertebrate and invertebrate. A vertebrate is an animal that has a spine, or a backbone. An invertebrate is an animal that does not have a spine. We watched a short movie clip from the website BrainPOP Jr about classifying animals to help further our understanding. Here is a link to the video: http://www.brainpopjr.com/science/animals/classifyinganimals/

 

After watching the video, the students were given a piece of paper divided in half. They labelled one side of the paper vertebrate and the other side invertebrate. The students then illustrated an animal that would fall under each category. Finally, the students used Q-Tips to create a backbone in their vertebrate. Their final projects turned out great.

Tomorrow we will be taking our learning a little further by identifying and describing 6 animal classifications including mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, amphibians, and insects.

 

Ms. Judy, the public librarian, came to visit once again for our book club activities. Today she read a story called "Snap" by Damian Harvey. This story is about a Mother Duck that finds a lone lost egg. She decides to take it under her wing and raise it as her own. One by one, all her eggs hatch, but inside that lone lost egg is a very different looking duckling. Mother Duck loves all her little ducklings, no matter how different they may be.

 

We completed our book club session by working in our book club activity books and completed a number of activities related to the story.

 

-Mrs. Singh