5th Science Lesson Plan F.

B Zeeshan Haider Starter

CLASSIFICATION AND CHARACTERISTICS OF ANIMALS (VERTEBRATES AND

INVERTEBRATES)

Class:5th

Time: 50 minutes/1period

SLOs:Students will be able to

Classify vertebrates into mammals, reptiles, fish, birds and amphibians on
the basis of their characteristics.

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Information for Teachers:
 Vertebrates are divided into five classes i.e. fish, amphibians reptiles,
birds and mammals.
 Fish have no legs and they swim and live in water. They have gills for
breathing and fins for swimming.
 Amphibians have legs. Their skin is moist. They hop and can live both
in water and on land e.g. frog.
 Reptiles have legs. Their skin has scales. They crawl on land e.g.
snake.
 Birds have legs. They have wings and their skin is covered with
feathers. They live on land and can fly in air e.g. sparrow.
 Mammals have legs. Their skin is covered with hairs. They live on land
and can run e.g. got, cow and humans.
 While teaching the lesson, the teacher should also consult textbook at
all steps where and when applicable.

VISUAL AIDS:
• Photographs of (fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals), text
book, teacher guide, white board, chart, flash cards and two model of
vertebrates and invertebrates

Introduction:
 Recall the students that vertebrates are the animals which have
backbone. Brainstorm the students though the following activity:
o Tell students they will have two minutes to brainstorm and write
down the names of all the vertebrates they can think of.
o After two minutes, let students count how many vertebrates they
wrote down and ask them to share their written animals. Write
the names written by students on board.
  Ask the students following questions:
o What characteristics are shared by all these vertebrates?
(Expected response: "All of them can move and all have
backbone.")
o Are all these vertebrates exactly alike? (Expected response:
"No")
o Do all of them live in the same type of environment (habitat)?
(Expected response: "No")
 Conclude that all these animals do share a common characteristic i.e.
backbone but they also differ in many ways. It means there is need to
further classify vertebrates into smaller groups.

Development:

ACTIVITY: 1
Students will be advised to open their books and read one by one. Teacher
will guide and correct the mistakes of students.

Activity 2:
 Show the pictures of fish, frog, sparrow, lizard, and dog to students.

 Ask the students to observe the pictures very closely and point out the
major distinguishing features. With the help of response of students fill
the following columns.

Vertebrates Legs Habitat Skin Movement

Land or Water
Fish No Water Moist Swim
Frog Yes Land or Water Moist Hop
Sparrow Yes Land Feather Fly
Lizard Yes Land Scales Crawl
Dog Yes Land Hairs Run/ Walk

 Conclude the activity by explaining that vertebrates are classified into

five major groups i.e. fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.

Activity 3:
 Explain the main features of each group of vertebrates and draw the
following key on board.

Vertebrate
s

Body has Body has

no legs legs

Live in Live in Water and Live on Land

Water on Land

Sink is Sink is Sink has Sink has Sink has Hairs

Moist Moist Scales Feathers

Swim Swim and hop Crawl Walk and fly Walk and run

Fish Amphibians Reptiles Birds Mammals

 ACTIVITY: 4
 Explain the main features of each group of vertebrates and draw the
following key on board.
CONCLUSION:
Assessments:
 Ask students to mark the following statements as “Correct” or “Wrong”
and also to correct the wrong ones:
o An animal has feathers on its skin and lives in water.
o The fish have fins which help them to breathe in water.
o The skin of reptiles is not moist rather it has scales on it.
o All mammals have back bone while fishes, amphibians, reptiles
and birds do not have.
o On the basis of presence of legs, vertebrates can be classified
into five groups.
 Teacher is also required to involve the student in solving the problems
given in the exercise at the end of unit/chapter.

Assessment: 2
 Show these pictures to the students and ask them to classify the
animals according to the key drawn on board.

Fish Snake Rabbit Pigeon

Assessment: 3
 Ask the student to identify the group of the animals and write their
characteristics.
Picture Name of the Vertebrate Group Characteristics
Animal

ASSESSMENT:4
Written work:

 Assign the task to student to find picture of any vertebrate from

newspaper or internet and write its characteristics on notebooks.