Students must know:
- how animals are sorted into groups (vertebrate and invertebrate) and how vertebrates are sorted into groups (fish, amphibian, reptile, bird, and mammal).
- how plants are sorted into groups (seed producers, non-seed producers)
- Insects are not animals
- All animals in the aquatic (water) environment are classified as fish
- Amphibians and reptiles are part of the same group
- Toads and frogs are the same
- Snakes are not vertebrates
- Human beings are not animals
- Mushrooms are plants
- Grass is not a plant
- Insects are part of the animal kingdom
- There are aquatic animals that are classified as mammals, invertebrates, etc.
- Amphibians and reptiles are grouped separately because of their characteristics. Amphibian’s eggs do not have a hard shell like reptile eggs. Amphibians have thin skin that has evolved to absorb water through their skin whereas retiles have a thick, scaly, dry skin to keep moisture in. Amphibians start out in the water then move to land. Most reptiles live all their life on land. Because of their characteristics, sea turtles are reptiles not fish or amphibians
- Snakes skeletal structure is composed of hundreds of vertebrae with a pair of ribs to go along with each
- Human beings are classified as mammals which are part of the animal kingdom
- Mushrooms are not autotrophs (they do not make their own food) therefore they are not part of the plant kingdom
- Grass has all of the characteristics of a plant therefore it is grouped in the plant kingdom