VERTEBRATE ANIMALS ACTIVITIES

Here you have some activities to practice. Some pf them are the same you have on your book. Some others, not.

VERTEBRATE ANIMALS TEST

Here you have a test to practice and learn about vertebrate animals.

Enjoy it!

HOW AMPHIBIANS REPRODUCE

Amphibians are oviparous.
Tadpoles hatch from eggs laid in water.
Tadpoles are different from the adults.
They breathe through gills and have a tail to swim.
They live in water.
As they develop, tadpoles grow legs.
They leave the water and live on land.

AMPHIBIANS

Amphibians have bare skin and they can breathe through lungs and through their skin.
They have four legs.
Frogs and toads have longer hindquarters and no tail.

Picture from: Comunity Correspondant

Newts and salamanders have four equal legs and a long tail.

Picture from: http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/spotted_salamander.htm

Amphibians are oviparous and do not take care of their babies.

Picture from: http://biobook.nerinxhs.org/bb/systems/development.htm

Information from: Kid's Corner

HOW FISH REPRODUCE

Fish are oviparous animals.
They lay many small eggs in water.
These eggs have no protective covering, and the fish do not incubate them.
Fish do not take care of the baby fish.

Picture from: The Fish Site

FISH

Fish are aquatic animals.
They breathe in oxygen from water using their gills.
Their bodies are covered with shiny scales, and they swim using their fins.
Some fish, like trout and carp, live in fresh water.
Others, like hake, sardines or sharks, live in salty water.

Information from: Kid's Corner

BIRDS AND DINOSAURS

Dinosaurs were reptiles that lived on Earth millions of years ago.

They are extinct now, but scientists can study their bones.

Some dinosaurs were enormous, bigger than elephants. 

Others were small and their bodies were covered with feathers.

Scientists think that birds are descended from dinosaurs.

HOW BIRDS REPRODUCE

Birds are oviparous animals.
They hatch from eggs laid on land.
Birds incubate their eggs, feed and take care of their babies.

Here you can see how a chick grows inside an egg!

BIRDS

Birds breathe through lungs.
They have a beak and their skin is covered with feathers.
Birds have two wings to fly and two legs covered with scales.

Information from: Kid's Corner

HOW REPTILES REPRODUCE

Reptiles are oviparous animals.

Reptiles lay their eggs on land to reproduce.

Most reptiles do not incubate their eggs or feed or take care of their babies.

REPTILES

Lizards, snakes, tortoises...
All reptiles breathe through lungs and have skin covered with scales.
Most of them live on land and walk using their legs.
However, some reptiles are different:

• Snakes have no legs and they slither.
• Tortoises and turtles have a hard shell to protect their body. Turtles are aquatic, but they breathe oxygen from the air.
• Crocodiles are protected by bony scutes where their scales are very thick.

Picture from: Kid's Corner

PRIMATES

Humans belong to this group of mammals.
Gorillas, chimpanzees and monkeys are also primates.
All primates have big brains and their eyes are at the front of their face.
They use their hands to grip objects and use them as tools.

FLYING MAMMALS

There are many different types of bats.
Bats fly using their upper limbs, which are wings.
The wings have layers of skin stretched over the arms and fingers.
Bats have a thumb and four fingers.
Bats hunt insects at night but they cannot see them.
They use their big ears to help them find the insects.

MARINE MAMMALS

Marine mammals, like dolphins or whales, live in the sea.

They have bare skin ant they swim using their fins.

Marine mammals are excellent divers. 

However, they need to come to the surface of the water to breathe in oxygen from the air.

Photos from Wikipedia

HOW MAMMALS REPRODUCE

Mammals are viviparous.

They are born from their mother's womb and drink their mother's milk.

Some babies, like lambs, can walk when they are born.

Others cannot. Baby kangaroos stay in the mother's pouch for some time.

CHARACTERISTICS OF MAMMALS

Mammals are vertebrates.
Most mammals live on land and use their legs to move around.
They breathe through lungs.
Their skin is usually covered with fur or hair.

Information from: Kid's Corner

Photo from: ZMEScience

ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION IN PLANTS

Many plants also reproduce asexually, without flowers or seeds.

Olive trees can grow from cuttings.

The cuttings are branches that are cut off and planted.

They grow roots and produce a new plant.

REPRODUCTION IN PLANTS

Most plants have sexual reproduction.
The flowers have a male part and a female part.

• In spring, the plum tree grows flowers.

• The carpel (pistil) of the flower turns into a plum.

• The plum grows. The seeds are inside the plum.



• The seeds fall to the ground and germinate. They grow small roots and a stem.
• A new plum tree grows.

REPRODUCTION IN ANIMALS

Human beings and animals can be male or female.
Females are the feminine sex.
Males are the masculine sex.
In order to reproduce, the male and female must come together.
This union is called mating.
Human beings and most animals create offspring through sexual reproduction.
Some animals reproduce asexually.
They do not mate.
For example, starfish.

ANIMALS AND THEIR OFFSPRING

After mating, the offspring starts to grow.
In some animals, the offspring grows in an egg outside the mother.
In other animals the offspring grows inside the mother's womb.

• Oviparous: the offspring grows inside an egg, laid by the mother. Examples: birds and insects.
• Viviparous: the offspring grows inside the mother's womb. Examples: humans and other mammals.

THE PROCESS OF REPRODUCTION

Reproduction is the ability of all living things to produce new living things of their own kind.
This is how life continues on Earth.

RABBIT'S SKULL

Here you have two pictures of a rabbit's skull.
Special thanks to Juan Sánchez, who found the skull and brought it to the classroom, so I could take the pictures.

SENSITIVITY IN PLANTS

Plants are different from animals.
They do not have legs to move.
They do not have sense organs.
They do not have a nervous system.
However, they do have sensitivity.

• Plants grow towards light. Light is necessary for photosynthesis.

• Plants roots grow towards water.

• Some plants close their leaves if you touch them.

• Some plants wrap themselves around other plants as they grow.

• Some plants open their flowers during the day.

• Some plants open their flowers at night.

SENSITIVITY IN ANIMALS

People and animals use sense organs, muscles, and the nervous system to respond to the environment.
The most important part of the nervous system is the brain.
The sense organs send information to the brain through the nerves. The brain studies this information and decides what to do.
Then, the brain sends an order to the muscles.

ALL LIVING THINGS HAVE SENSITIVITY

Sensitivity means the ability to respond to changes in the environment.
Your sense organs provide sensitivity.