Vertebrates Middle School Life Science TEKS Sixth Grade: 6.12C, 6.12E, Seventh Grade: 7.10A, 7.10B, 7.11B, 7.12A, 7.12B Eighth Grade: 8.11A, 8.11B, 8.11C Vocabulary abiotic, adaptations, biotic, class, cold blooded, ecosystem, endothermic, exothermic, external, family, genus, invertebrate, kingdom, nervous system, order, phylum, reproduction, species, subphylum, taxonomy, vertebrate, warm-blooded Pre-Show Activity Pre-Show Lesson: Animal Classification Post this question on the board: How do vertebrates fit into the animal classification system? Materials: Procedure: Per class: What is the Animal Kingdom? by Bobbie Kalman, diagram in Appendix A-1 Per group: animal pictures (Appendix A-2) Per student: vertebrate group characteristics chart (Appendix A-3) 1. Give students about three minutes to write down the names of as many animals as they can think of. These can be general, like bugs, or specific, like butterfly, ant, etc. 2. Have students count the number of animals that they listed. Students can share animals that they think no one else may have thought of. Students may add animals to their list. 3. Read aloud What is the Animal Kingdom? by Bobbie Kalman. Advise students to pay close attention to the Chordata phylum. What are the characteristics of animals in this phylum? Tell students to circle any animals on their list that belong in this phylum.
4. Review the system that scientists use to classify organisms. Use information from the book and the diagram in Appendix A-1. Lead students to understand that animals in the chordate phylum all have a notochord. A subphylum in the chordate group is vertebrata. Teacher Information: Many different hypotheses have been presented as a result of new evidence that is uncovered and studied. What is clear is that at some point, hundreds of millions of years after the earliest animals evolved, a group of animals called chordates arose that had the beginnings of an internal skeleton and a rudimentary backbone in the form of a notochord, a semi flexible structure made of cartilage. In addition to their rudimentary backbones, the early chordates also had a cord of nervous tissue running along their backs the forerunner of a spinal cord. Within this group arose a subgroup of animals with an internal skeleton and spine made of bone. This latter group included the earliest vertebrates. Today, vertebrates are among the most familiar animals, although they make up only about five percent of all animal species. They include the mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, and amphibians. A notochord is an internal supporting rod extending the length of the body. It is found in the embryos of all chordates, including human beings. Only the most primitive chordates, such as the amphioxus, or lancelet, the lamprey, and the hagfish, retain the notochord as adults, though remnants of the notochord are also present in sharks. In other chordates, such as amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, the notochord is replaced during development of the embryo by a bony column of vertebrae, which gives the column and the animal flexibility. This information is taken from: http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/article-196399/animal 5. Write the names of the groups within the subphylum vertebrata on the board. These will be Fish, Mammals, Amphibians, Reptiles, and Birds. Students will sort pictures into the vertebrate groups (see Appendix A-2). 6. Students will come up with a list of characteristics that they used to make their decisions of where to place each animal. They should list these characteristics under each group name in their science notebook. 7. Students will compare their description with the actual scientific classification for each group. They should be able to find this information in their science textbook. Or they can use the chart in Appendix A-3. Using a different color pen or colored pencil, they will make corrections to the characteristic list that they made in their science notebook.
Post-Show Enrichment Activities Activity One: Vertebrate Guessing Game Procedure: 1. For the game, a student will come up to the front of the room and think of an animal that was discussed in the show. 2. The student will then give clues about the animal. For example: I am endothermic, I have thin, moist skin, etc. 3. Students should be able to guess the vertebrate group first. After they guess the group, the clues will need to get more specific. I have leaping legs. Make sure to model the game first. To make it easier, you can go to the National Geographic website for kids and print off some of their animal trading cards or just put one up on a laptop for the student who is at the front of the class to see. Activity Two: Vertebrate Classification Materials: index cards, Appendix A-4 Procedure: 1. In small groups, students can make up a pneumonic device to remember the classification system: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species. 2. Student will be given a vertebrate picture. They will make a trading card for it on an index card. On the front, students should put a picture and its classification by kingdom, phylum, subphylum and class. The back the card should give specific information about this animal: external features, how it breathes, how it reproduces, diet, habitat and any problems facing its survival (Appendix A-4). Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Amphibia, Mammalia, Aves, Reptilia or Fish HMNS Middle School Vertebrates Page 3
Activity Three: Nervous System and Vertebrate Model Materials: Procedure: Per student: frog template (Appendix A-4), 4 red strings (25 cm each), 4 blue strings (25 cm each), an 8 cm piece of straw, clear tape 1. Cut an 8 cm piece of straw into ten small pieces. These pieces represent the vertebrae. 2. Thread four red and four blue strings though the straws. The red thread represents sensory neurons that carry messages from sensory receptors in the limbs or an organism to the brain. The blue threads represent motor neurons which transmit messages from the brain to the muscles. 3. Attach the straw pieces to the frog template where the vertebrae should be located (see Appendix A-5). 4. Tape the thread ends at the top to the brain of the frog. 5. Pull two red and two blue thread pieces out through the straw pieces near the arms of the frog. This should be two to three straw pieces from the top of the vertebrae. Tape one red and one blue thread down on the left arm of the frog template. Tape one red and one blue thread down on the right arm of the frog template. Tape one red and one blue thread down on the left leg of the frog template. Tape one red and one blue thread down on the right leg of the frog template. 6. Debrief with students the function of the vertebrae and nervous system. Teacher Information: The Spinal Cord is connected to the brain and is about the diameter of a human finger. From the brain the spinal cord descends down the middle of the back and is surrounded and protected by the bony vertebral column. The spinal cord is surrounded by a clear fluid called Cerebral Spinal Fluid (CSF), that acts as a cushion to protect the delicate nerve tissues against damage from banging against the inside of the vertebrae. The anatomy of the spinal cord itself consists of millions of nerve fibers which transmit electrical information to and from the limbs, trunk and organs of the body, back to and from the brain. The nerves that exit the spinal cord in the upper section of the neck, control breathing and arm movement. The nerves which exit the spinal cord in the mid and lower section of the back control the trunk and legs, as well as bladder, bowel and sexual function. The nerves which carry information from the brain to muscles are called motor neurons. The nerves which carry information from the body back to the brain are HMNS Middle School Vertebrates Page 4
called sensory neurons. Sensory neurons carry information to the brain about skin temperature, touch, pain and joint position. The brain and spinal cord are referred to as the Central Nervous System, whilst the nerves connecting the spinal cord to the body are referred to as the Peripheral Nervous System. Source: http://www.apparelyzed.com/spinalcord.html Activity Four: Characteristics of Vertebrates Materials: reference books, internet, chart (Appendix A-6) Procedure: Students will use animal resource books or the Internet to fill out the chart in Appendix A-6. They can choose any wild animal that fits into each vertebrate group for their example. HMNS Middle School Vertebrates Page 5
Appendix A-1 HMNS Middle School Vertebrates Page 6
A-2 Cockatoo fish Yellow-rumped thornbill Common death adder Cow fish Ablepharus pannonicus Bolivian chinchilla rat Northern goshawk Cheetah Bishop ray California sea lions Pygmy right whale Orange leaf nose bat HMNS Middle School Vertebrates Page 7
Gharial Florida leopard frog Ambystoma Siren Southeast Asian box turtle Ostrich All photos are taken from: http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/index.html HMNS Middle School Vertebrates Page 8
A-3 Copycat Page from National Wildlife Federation, Nature Scope - Amazing Animals, Part I, 198 HMNS Middle School Vertebrates Page 9
A-4 Front Back Golden-headed lion tamarin External features: How it breathes: Life cycle: Diet: (include whether it is an herbivore, omnivore or carnivore) Golden-headed lion tamarin Predators: Kingdom: Animali Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Mammalia Habitat: Problems facing its survival: HMNS Middle School Vertebrates Page 10
A-5 Frog Vertebrae and Spinal Column Model HMNS Middle School Vertebrates Page 11
A-6 Name Date Characteristics of Vertebrate Characteristics Pisces Amphibia Reptilia Aves Mammalia Respiration Exothermic or Endothermic Reproduction Skeleton Adaptations for food, water, shelter, etc. Food Chain with labels Environmental changes to organism s habitat. HMNS Middle School Vertebrates Page 12