What features do scientists use to classify animals into groups? Class groups examine a series of paired images of vertebrates (a bass and a trout, a toad and a newt, a crocodile and a tortoise, an owl and a robin, a tiger and a bear) and list what the pairs have in common.

 

Concepts

scientific classification, taxonomy

Show More Show Less

Additional Tags

performance tasks, classifying, cold blooded, warm and cold blooded animals, science

Show More Show Less

Instructional Ideas

• Designed to prepare learners for the Classifying Vertebrates Performance Task, the activity could also be used to introduce the topic and generate interest in a unit focusing on vertebrates

Pros

• The activity introduces key terms and concepts so that all learners are prepared for the assessment
• The packet includes the animal images

Cons

• The activity does not address the question of why scientists chose these five groups of vertebrates