Arthropods

Well.... if they're not vertebrate animals then what are they? Do you remember at first we talked about vertebrate and invertebrate animals. Well, today we're going to discover the world of invertebrate animals. Like this one ....



Arthropods are insects, spiders, crustaceans, scorpions, and centipedes. They have been on the earth for more than 500 million years!

They are divided into four subgroups, the first being......
Chelicerates: this group includes spiders and scorpions like this one....

The second group is Crustaceans which include about 50,000 species of lobsters and crabs. Most crustaceans live in the water like this one.....

The next group is called Hexapods and includes insects. The body of a hexapod is divided into three sections, a head, thorax, and abdomen like this one.....

And finally there are myriapods... more than 13,000 species of millipedes and centipedes.. like this one .....

There are over one million species of arthropods. During their life cycle, they undergo a transformation called metamorphosis which is a radical transformation of their bodies. They begin as larva like this.....

and transform into adults like this....

Now it's time to discover some more unusual insects ....

View more presentations from claire ujma.

And finally we're going to have some fun! We're going to make some fun cakes like this....

Click on this link to discover how to make these fun cakes...

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/cooking-with-kids/butterfly-banana-cupcakes-864728/

Well... that's all for now!!! But we'll be back with lots more information about the animal kingdom!!!!

Mammals

So...if it wasn't the bird what animal was it? Today we're going to talk all about mammals. Like these .....

Did you know that we are mammals? Yes, mammals are the group of animals that we belong to. There are only about 4,000 kinds of mammals which sounds like a lot, but when you consider there are 21,000 kinds of fish and 800,000 kinds of insects there really are very few of us! Here are some of the ways that mammals are alike....

Mammals are warm blooded, which means the temperature could be freezing cold ........

or boiling hot .......

But mammals’ bodies are built to maintain just about the same temperature all the time. Warm blood lets the mammals be very active and live in a wide variety of places. Mammals are everywhere. Polar bears live in very cold areas. Camels live in hot areas. Moles live under the ground. Bats live in caves and fly in the air. Dolphins live in the oceans. Fur and fat help protect mammals who live in the cold.

All mammals have fur or hair. Sometimes it's long hair covers its entire body like this....

and sometimes it has very short hair or there are just a few strands like this cat.....

Even mammals that swim under the water (like dolphins and whales) have hair.

We all drink Milk!
Most mammal babies live inside their mothers before they are born, just like humans. When the baby is big enough, it comes out of its mother’s body. Like this baby kangaroo.....

Even though some baby mammals are born different ways, they all drink milk that comes from their mothers' bodies. Baby pigs, dolphins, bats and elephants all drink milk! Because babies rely on their mother's milk to live, the mammal mommies have to care for their young. The length of time varies from a few weeks for mice to many years for humans!

People have "baby teeth" or "milk teeth" like this ......

The only exceptions are mammals like anteaters .....they don't have any teeth at all.
Mammal mothers are hard workers. Baby mammals learn from their mothers. Most of the mothers don’t really try to teach their babies, but the babies watch their mother and do the things they see her do. Through copying their mothers, baby mammals learn everything they need to survive.

So, what do mammals eat when they grow up? They eat all sorts of different things! Lions are mammals who eat meat ..... they are called carnivores.....

Cows are mammals who eat plants ....they are called herbivores.......

People are mammals who eat meat and plants – they are called omnivores.

Now take a look at these pictures and see how many different mammals there are and see if you can discover the names of each of them.....

Now it's time to test your knowledge on vertebrate animals. Click on these three links and try and get as many answers right as possible.....

http://www.softschools.com/science/living_things/animals/animals.jsp

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/kidscorner3.htm

http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/interactives/class.html

Well, how did you get on? Tomorrow we're going to discover our final animal group. One clue... they're not vertebrate animals this, can you guess what they are?

Fish

Did you guess correctly... animals with fins are called fish like this one....

A fish is an animal which lives and breathes in water. All fish are vertebrates (have a backbone) and most breathe through gills and have fins and scales. Fish make up about half of all vertebrate species and have been on the earth for more than 500 million years, even before the dinosaurs!!

There are more than 25,000 known species of fish and are divided into three main groups..... "Jawless" like this fish.....

He's not very beautiful, is he? And he doesn't really look like a fish, does he? The next group of fish is called "cartilaginous", and they look like this one....

and finally there are "bony" fish like this one .....

Fish are cold-blooded, which means their internal body temperature changes as the surrounding temperature changes. 40% of all fish live in fresh water. Some fish like sharks, must swim continually or rest on the bottom of the ocean.

Some fish can fly like these ones ....

and others can climb rock like these ones.....



Fish eat other fish, fish eggs, mollusks, aquatic plants, algae, zooplankton, insects, turtles and frogs.

Now... would you like to make a really special fish like this one.....

Click on this link.... they're really easy to make

http://www.crayola.com/crafts/detail/baggy-fish-craft/

So... today we've learnt lots about our fishy friends. Tomorrow we're going to discover the final group of vertebrates..... do you know which group it is.... Try and guess, I'll give you a clue

The clue is not the bird!!

Amphibians

Which animal did you think we were going to see today? Today we're going to discover all about amphibians, like this one....

Most amphibians live part of their life in water and a good portion of it on land. Some breathe through gills, like fish do. They need water to survive because of their non-waterproof skin. Some can exist on land but many must return to water, especially to lay eggs.
Amphibians are carnivorous, which means that they eat meat. There are more than 5,000 species arranged in three distinct groups which are....

Frogs and Toads...

Newts and Salamanders......

and finally these strange looking animals called caecilians.......

Amphibians are a fundamental part of the Great Food Chain of Life. Yet, amphibians have managed to survive for millions of years. Imitating poisonous species can help keep them alive and some protect themselves by biting. While they may not have special weapons like claws or sharp teeth to defend themselves, they do have slippery, quick moving bodies and a very shy, quiet nature.

Click on this link to discover more about these funny looking animals

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/amphibians/

Would you like to see the life cycle of a frog. Watch this video and discover how different babies are from adults....

Well, now we've learnt lots of interesting things click on this link and discover lots of fun games all about amphibians...

http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/animal_and_nature_games/amphibian-games/SC_spelling_salamander.html

Tomorrow we're going to discover lots about a group of animals with fins. Do you know which animal group it is?

Reptiles

Today we´re going to discover all about reptiles like this one.....

There are more than 6,800 reptile species on earth; the major groups are alligators and crocodiles, turtles, lizards, and snakes. All reptiles are cold-blooded, which is why they warm themselves in the sun, and have bodies covered in dry, horny scales. Reptiles lay eggs like these... can you guess which animal these eggs come from?

They're crocodile eggs. Let's see what they look like when they hatch......

Would you like to see how they hatch? Watch this video and discover what they look like when they're born....



Well... today we've learnt some useful information about reptiles. Would you like to learn some more? Click on this link and discover lots more information all about these scaly animals..

http://www.reptilechannel.com/reptile-fun/default.aspx

Tommorow we're going to learn more about another group of vertebrate animals. Some of them look like this when they're babies....

Can you guess which animals they are?

Birds

Did you guess correctly? Today we're going to talk about birds like this one .....

So... what's a bird?
Do you know what makes a bird different from other animals........
Is it the pretty colours?

NO!..... other animals, like fish and insects, come in all sorts of beautiful colours too.
Is it their bill or beak?

NO! ..... other animals, like the duck billed platypus (a mammal), have bills too.
Is it the eggs?

NO! ...... other animals, like fish, amphibians, reptiles, insects and even some mammals, hatch from eggs as well.
Is it the wings.......



No...... other animals, like insects and some mammals, have wings.
Then what is it .........



FEATHERS!!!!!!

All birds have feathers and birds are the only animals that do!
Feathers do many jobs for birds. Soft down keeps them warm, wing feathers allow flight and tail feathers are used for steering.
The colour of the feathers can be used to hide the bird or make it attractive to other birds.

So now you know how to tell which animals are birds and which are not let's watch a fun video about ......... feathers



So.... would you like to learn more about birds? Click on this link to discover more about these vertebrate animals.....

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/

Tommorow we're going to discover another animal group, I'm going to give you a clue and let's see if you can guess which vertebrate group it is....

Vertebrate classification

Today we're going to discover how vertebrate animals are classified. There are 5 groups of vertebrate animals which are...

MAMMALS



AMPHIBIANS

BIRDS

FISH



REPTILES



Each animal group has different characteristics. Click on this link and discover more about all the different types of vertebrates....

http://www.kidport.com/reflib/science/animals/animalindexv.htm

Now, it's time to have some fun and watch this video about lots of different animals...



Tommorrow we're going to discover information about a group of vertebrate animals which are just like me. Do you know which group we're going to see?

Vertebrate or invertebrate?

Did you find the answer? There are many differences between the two animals but the main difference is that the hamster is a vertebrate animal and the fly is an invertebrate animal.

Today we're going to concentrate on vertebrate animals like this one...

This animal is called an otter and it is a vertebrate animal. Vertebrates are the most advanced organisms on Earth. Their main characteristic is their backbone which invertebrate animals do not have....

There are far less species of vertebrates than invertebrate animals. You might be asking why. One reason is that vertebrates are usually larger than invertebrates. They need more space. Another reason is that, even though they are more advanced, there are many limitations on the environments that are available to them.

Vertebrate animals are smart... they've got more brains than invertebrate animals. Some of them are really smart .... like you!!! There are many types of vertebrate animals which we will soon discover... But first let's watch a video about the differences between vertebrate and invertebrate animals....

So now you know lots about the differences between vertebrates and invertebrates. Our next mission is to discover more about vertebrate animals...

Are all animals the same?

Hello everyone! Today we're going to start our journey through the animal kingdom and our first activity will be to try and discover the answer to this question.... What's the main difference between these two animals?

Would you like some help? Click on this page and see if you can find the answer...

http://kidsnonstop.com/animals/stories/definition_animals_odd_question:_what_animal%3F_0