CHARACTERISTICS OF

VERTEBRATES
(Lesson Plan in Science VI)

Prepared:

Karlo D. Villanueva

Teacher I
 LESSON PLAN IN SCIENCE VI

I. Objective:
Describe the characteristics of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fishes
(S6 LT-IIe-f-3)

Value focus: Love your animals at home.

II. Subject Matter:

Topic: Characteristics of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fishes.
Skill: Describing, Writing, Selecting
References: BEAM 5 module 16 and 17, Science for daily use 5 limits II,
Animals pp. 75-77.The new science links pp. 191-203.
III. Instructional procedure:
Teacher’s Activity Learner’s Activity

a. Engagement:

1. Vertebrate Song  Pupils will sing the song.

2. Drill: 4 PICS 1 WORD

Rearrange the jumbled letter to form the
correct word. Be guided with the pictures to
guess the answer.

SFSIHE FISHES

SNAIBIHPAM AMPHIBIANS
 MAMMALS
SLAMAMM

SDRIB BIRDS

PERSELIT REPTILES

3. Review:
Ask:  Vertebrates are animals with spine or
What are the characteristics of vertebrates backbone.
animals? How about invertebrates animals?  Invertebrates are animals without
Give some examples. backbone.
 Pupils’ answer may vary.
4. Presentation:
Normally, vertebrates are classified into five
smaller groups: mammals, birds, fish,
reptiles, and amphibians. In this lesson you
will learn the characteristics of each
classification.
 b. Exploration:

1. Group the class into 3.

2. Recall the standards to follow when doing an
activity.  Pupils will answer the activity by
3. Distribute the activity cards to each group and groups.
perform the assigned activity.

Activity 1 Activity 1
Complete the chart about the characteristics of Complete the chart about the characteristics
animals. of animals.
How
How
their
they
young
move
develop
Body from
born
Habitat coverin one
alive or
g place to
hatched
another
from
place?
eggs?
1. TUNA

2. TOAD

3. CROCODIL
E

4. PARROT

5. MONKEY

Activity 2
Identify the animals describe below. Choose your
answer from the box below.
1. Birds
____1. Bodies are covered with feathers. Have wings 2. Mammals
and two legs for running. 3. Fishes
____2. The unique characteristics is the presence of 4. Amphibians
the mammary glands. They bring forth 5. Reptiles
their young alive. They feed their
young with their milk from the
mammary glands. Their bodies are
covered with hair and fur.
____3. They live in water, their bodies are usually
covered with scales. They are able to
breath in water because they have
gills. They used their fins to be able to
swim in water.
____4. Animals that spend their life both in water and
land. They have smooth, moist and
scale less skin.
____5. Are terrestrial animals, they have dry scaly
skin.
 Mammals Birds

Activity 3
Encircle the animal that does not belong to the group.
1. fish
1. Kangaroo Cat bat fish
2. alligator
2. Alligator toad frog salamander
3. dog
3. Parrot dog duck swan
4. lizard
4. Skate shark tuna lizard
5. duck
5. Turtle alligator snake duck

Questions: The animals that do not belong to the

1. What animal that does not belong to group are fish, alligator, dog, lizard
number 1 group? Why? and duck.
2. How about no. 2, 3, 4, and 5?

c. Explanation:

1. Reporting of group outputs. Pupils will report the result of their

2. Analysis and discussion of pupils answer. activities.
3. The teacher ask questions to develop critical
thinking.

d. Elaboration:

1. Teacher gives more information about the

lesson.

Background info for Teachers

Animals that have backbones are called

vertebrates. The vertebrates are classified into
five classes; namely, mammals, birds, fish,
reptiles, and amphibians. Most mammals do not
lay eggs. They give birth to their young. They
feed their young with milk produced by the
mammary glands

Examples of mammals found in our community

are dogs, cats, carabaos, cows, goats, and pigs.
Birds are covered by feathers. They lay eggs
that have hard shells all birds possess one pair
of legs and one pair of wings. Example of birds
are hens, hawk, and owls. Reptiles have bodies
that are covered with scales or plates. They lay
their eggs on land. They can leave on land and
on water. Crocodiles and turtles are some
example of reptiles.

Amphibians such as frogs, salamanders live a

double life. They live part of their lives in water
while they are young. When they mature, they
 live on land to survive. All amphibians lay eggs The five classification of vertebrates
on water for example a frog lays eggs on water are mammals, birds, fishes,
which hatched into tadpoles. These tadpoles amphibians, and reptiles.
swim around and breathe with gills. As they grow
older, they change. They develop legs and lungs
and begin to live on land. Most fish are covered
with scales. Some are egg layers; other are live
bearers. They spend all their lives in water. Fish
have gills which are used for breathing.

2. Generalization:
 What are the five classification of
vertebrate animals? Describe each.

3. Valuing:
 How will you love your animals at
home?
Pupils’ answer may vary.
4. Application:
Match column A with column B. write the
letter of the answer on the space provided
before each number.

COLUMN A 1. E
_______ 1. Has a beak and is well adapted to flight. 2. D
3. B
_______ 2. Has gills, fins, and lateral line. 4. A
5. C
_______ 3. Has dry scaly skin.

_______ 4. Warm-blooded animals with fur and

mammary glands.
_______ 5. Has moist skin and live on land and water.

COLUMN B

A. Mammals

B. Reptile

C. Amphibian

D. Fish

E. Bird

E. Evaluation:

Identify the characteristics of the different

vertebrates by completing the chart using the following
description.
 Classification: - fish, bird, reptiles,
amphibians, mammals
 Body covering: - scales, hair, skin, feather
 Movement: - swim, walk, and run, hop and
jump, fly, crawl

Animals Classification Body Movement

covering
1. Lizard
2. Toad
 3. Bat
4. Maya
5. Yellow fin
tuna
6. crocodile
7. Horse
8. Carabao
9.
Salamander
10. Chicken

IV. Assessment:
Choose the letter of the correct answer

1. Which of these animal is a mammal?

a. Ape b. Chicken c. Parrot d. Ostrich
2. Which statement best describe the characteristics of fishes?
a. They live on land and on water.
b. They live in water and they have scales, fins, and gills.
c. Their bodies are covered with dry scales and they crawl.
d. Their bodies have feathers and wings to keep them warm .

3. To which group do chicken and ducks belong?

a. fish b. Reptiles c. birds d. amphibians
4. Why do whales belong to the group of mammals?
a. Whales have moist for breathing.
b. whales have lungs and mammary glands.
c. Whales have feathers and wings for flying.
d. Whales have gills and fins for swimming.

5. Snakes, turtles and lizards belong to reptiles because they have dry scales and they lay eggs
from which their offspring are hatched. Does a dog belong to this group?

a. No, because it has fur and has mammary glands.

b. No, because it has smooth, moist and scaleless skins.
c. Yes, because it has dry scales, it laid eggs and crawl.
d. Yes, because it breathe through their lungs and crawl.

V. Assignment:
List down some more animals that belong to:

Reptiles
Fish
Birds

Amphibians Mammals