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How many different kinds of animals are there?
Animal Adventures Unit | Lesson 1 of 3

How many different kinds of animals are there?

Animal Adventures Unit | Lesson 1 of 3
Lesson narration:
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DISCUSS:

How could you convince your friends that your animal was real?

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DISCUSS (1 of 2):

What kind of animal do you think it is?

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DISCUSS (2 of 2):

Here’s one person’s drawing of the animal. (It doesn’t look quite like the real animal, but it might give you some ideas.) Does this give you any new ideas about what the animal was?

Camelopard Drawing
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DISCUSS:

Look at these 6 animals. How many different ways can you group them? Why would you put certain animals together?

Six Animals
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DISCUSS (1 of 2):

What are some characteristics of this animal, other than its colors or patterns?

Flamingo

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DISCUSS (2 of 2):

What are some characteristics of this animal, other than its colors or patterns?

Fish

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# Extensions
Below are ideas for extending this topic beyond the Exploration & Activity you just completed.
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#### Activity: Kinds-of-Animals Bulletin Board

Set up the bulletin board by dividing it into 5 blocks, labeling one for each group of animals:

  • Mammals (bones, hair/fur, live birth)
  • Birds (bones, feathers, lays eggs)
  • Reptiles (bones, scales, lays eggs)
  • Boneless Animals (no bones, no fur/feathers, lays eggs)
  • ?? Where do these belong??

If you like, have students color these full-page animal cards . Go to the next slide for how to use the bulletin board as a class activity.

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#### Activity: Kinds-of-Animals Bulletin Board

Use the bulletin board to review and expand students' knowledge of animal groups.

1) Put animal cards into the appropriate blocks. (You can use cards from the activity or full-page animal cards .

2) Challenge students to suggest other animals, then write (or draw) them on 3 x 5 cards. Discuss where each animal belongs, then put the card in that group.

3) If students can't agree, put that animal in the “??” block. Ask students how they could figure out where it belongs. (Scientists sometimes disagree on how to classify animals, too.)

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#### Activity extension: More Challenge Cards

Here's a great addition to your bulletin board.

  • Print out more challenge cards for each student. (Each printout includes two sets of three cards.)
  • Use these step-by-step instructions to figure out where each of these animals belongs. Be warned: these animals are really challenging. Expect a lot of discussion!
  • Put each card in the appropriate group on your bulletin board.
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# Readings

These readings are free with registration at Newsela or Readworks, both excellent sources of supplemental reading.

  • Mammals (like us!) are warm-blooded, while reptiles are cold-blooded. Find out more about warm- and cold-blooded animals here. (Readworks, Grade 3)

  • If you discover a new animal, you get to name it. Read about the scientists who named a strange new spiderfor its familiar—but unexpected—shape. (Newsela, Grade 2, English and Spanish)

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### Videos: What Kind of Animal Is That?

Watch these videos to meet a cute baby sloth (2:20), a rare cassowary (2:58), and a bad-tempered snapping turtle (3:09). Can you figure out what kind of animal each one is? Discuss:

  • What group does each animal belong in?
  • How can you tell? (Does it have fur? Feathers? Scales?)
  • Have you ever seen an animal like this before? Where?
  • Which animal is your favorite? Why?

For more videos like this, check out the Brave Wildernesswebsite, featuring naturalist Coyote Peterson and a host of fascinating creatures from around the world.

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# Activities: Practice Sorting

These activities from Science NetLinks let students develop their sorting skills. When they sort animals or objects, they are learning to think about characteristics.

  • This online animal sorting game is great for students to play on their own—or in teams in the classroom.

  • Create your own game guided by this “Classify Classroom Objects” activity. Grouping objects—like LEGO pieces or books or crayons—will help students understand that there are many ways to sort. Students could group by color, by shape, or by size.

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Arabian camel by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: konradrza
DSLR camera by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Marcio Jose Bastos Silva
Zoo entrance by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Trong Nguyen
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giraffe on tv screen by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: gmstockstudio
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notebook in hands by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Leklek
pair of giraffes by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Vaclav Volrab
red kangaroo by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Bradley Blackburn
single giraffe by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: jaroslava v
walking leopard by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Iakov Filimonov
woman looking at map by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: topten22photo
woman looking with Binoculars in the forest by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: topten22photo
woman with laptop by Image used under license from Shutterstock.com: Andrey_Popov
Lesson narration:

Grade 2

Animal Biodiversity

Biodiversity & Classification

2-LS4-1

14835 reviews

Activity Prep

Print Prep

In this lesson, students examine how scientists organize animals into groups based on their characteristics. In the activity, Animals Sorting Game, students study animal traits and use these traits to sort animal cards into mammals, birds, reptiles, and invertebrates. Students are then challenged to make decisions about animals that don’t fall neatly into any of those categories.

Preview activity

Exploration

21 mins

Wrap-Up

4 mins

Grade 2

Animal Biodiversity

Biodiversity & Classification

2-LS4-1

14835 reviews
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