At Troup Magnet Academy of Sciences, we are entering a new phase in our magnet school’s philosophy—Library Power. Since America has entered the Informational Era, we as teachers must provide our students with the necessary skills to find information in a variety of ways. Therefore, in planning our future curricula we must incorporate the use of the library media center’s technology and resources in our lessons. Hopefully, at the end of our student’s tenure at Troup, they will be able to use the library as an additional tool for learning and enjoyment.
The curriculum unit, “The Animal Kingdom” is designed to be used with students in grades five through seven. The students will be introduced to several phyla of animals where they will explore their habitats, classify them according to their structure, present oral reports form their research on a particular phylum and perform scientific investigations with different species of animals.
In continuing with the “hands-on” approach in teaching science, I will include several scientific investigations which integrate social studies, literature and language. My overall expectation of this curriculum unit is to provide my colleagues with ideas to develop a thematic unit and enough background information where they will enjoy teaching about the Animal Kingdom, and pass their enthusiasm on to their students.
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“The Animal Kingdom” will address the following concepts:
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1. The Taxonomic System
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11. The Animal Kingdom
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111. Vertebrate Animal Phylum
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(A) Phylum Chordata
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1. Class Aves
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2. Class Fish
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3. Class Reptilia
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4. Class Mammalia
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5. Class Amphibia
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IV. Invertebrate Animals Phylum
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(A) Phylum Porifera
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(B) Phylum Cnidaria
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(C) Phylum Platyhelmintes
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(D) Phylum Nematoda
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(E) Phylum Annelida
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(F) Phylum Mollusca
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(G) Phylum Arthropoda
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(H) Phylum Echinodermata
The prose section of the curriculum unit will provide teachers with information on all the previously mentioned phyla and classes of animal. After reviewing the background information for a particular phylum, an appendix with a list of activities which your class can perform with each group of animals. The lesson plan portion of the unit will include research and investigative type of activities which our students can perform as independent study or group assignments.
The Animal Kingdom
Approximately two million different species of animals have been identified on Planet Earth and ten thousand more species of animals are discovered every year. They have been classified into nine major phyla—eight phyla being invertebrates (animals without a backbone). The one phylum of vertebrates (animals with a backbone) is further classified into five different classes—mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians.
Sounds complicated—not really! In order for scientist to discover and study animals they must be classified into a group according to resemblance and differences using pre-established rules. The branch of science which deals with the classification is called taxonomy or systematic zoology.
The Taxonomy System
Kingdom Animalia is the largest of the five existing kingdoms on Planet Earth. The scientific classification system is divided into seven major groups, (1) kingdom, (2) phylum or division, (3) class, (4) order, (5) family, (6) genus, and (7) species. The kingdom is the largest group and a species is the smallest. In the Animal Kingdom, the term phylum is used, and it is the second largest group.
Classes have more characteristics in common than animals in a division or phylum. For example, amphibians, reptiles, and birds belong to the phylum Chordata. However, each of the animals belong to a different class. Amphibians belong to the class of Amphibia which consist of frogs, toads and salamanders. Reptiles belong to the class Reptilia which consist of snakes, crocodiles and alligators. Birds belong to the class Aves.
An order is made up of animals that have more features alike that those in a class. In the class Mammalia, all animals produce milk for their young. Cats, dogs, raccoons and shrew are all mammals. Dogs, cats and raccoons eat flesh are grouped together in an order called Carnivora with other flesh-eating animals. Shrews eat insects, and are classified in the order insectivora with other insect-eating animals.
A family consists of animals that are even more alike than those in an order. Wolves and cats are both in order Carnivora. But wolves belong to the family Canidae and cats belong to the family Felidae. The family Canidae consist of animals with long snouts and bushy tails, whereas animals in the family Felidae have short snouts and short-haired tails.
A genus consists of animals with very similar groups, but members of different groups usually cannot breed with one another. Both the coyote and the timber wolf belong to the genus Canis. But coyotes and timber wolves generally do not breed with one another.
A species is the basic units of scientific classification. Animals of a species have many similar features and characteristics alike, but they are different from all forms of life in one or more ways. Members within a species can breed with one another, and their young grow to look very much like the parents. Each member in a species is assigned a scientific name. The coyote’s scientific name is Canis latrans, and the gray wolf is Canis lupus. Scientist sometimes group animals within a species into even smaller groups because they have another distinctive feature. These groups are called subspecies or varlebes.
