4’ 3’ 2’ 1’ Materials: Resources for vertebrate animals (trade books, articles, or internet) Case File Suspect List (one per group), Construction Paper Crayons, Colored Pencils, or Markers Scissors

4’ 3’ 2’ 1’ Objective: Students will do research to find animals for each of the five classes of vertebrates (amphibians, birds, fish, mammals, and reptiles). Helpful Hint: Let students know that in the following activity all student scientists need to participate. They are a team of detectives and must decide as a group how to divide up the task. After the completion of the project, each scientist will record how the project went as an evaluation.

4’ 2’ 1’ Directions: 1.Prior to handing out worksheets the teacher will write on the Suspect List five letters of the alphabet under the letter column. Each group should have different letters of the alphabet (Do not use the letters U or X, you may have to repeat a couple of letters). 2.Each group of students need to use resources (trade books, articles, or internet) to find an animal that begins with each of the letters they were assigned. However, they need to make sure that with their five animals that they have an animal from each class of vertebrates (i.e. A=alligator/reptile, F=frog/amphibian, P=penguin/bird, Q=queen- angelfish/fish, and T=tiger/mammal). The teacher can refer to Vertebrates by the Alphabet as a guide if students are struggling. 3.After they have found their five animals, they need to fill out the Suspect List. Under the “Reason the Suspect is Suspicious” heading, students need to write what characteristics allowed them to classify that animal in the class they chose. 4.Have the students get your approval before moving on to the next part of the assignment. 5.Give each group of students five sheets of construction paper and the instructions for making a Four-Door Diorama. The students should include the following on their diorama: name of the animal, class it belongs to, and a picture of the animal. (optional: one interesting fact about it). 6.When all of the dioramas have been created, groups will share their dioramas and then display the dioramas in alphabetical order and you will have a “Vertebrate Line-Up.”

Scientist will evaluate their findings individually and record on their report including their evidence. See Scientist Detective Case Report page.

Have students use various supplies to create their own animal (they cannot create an existing animal). When creating their animal, they need to pick a vertebrate class that animal will belong to and will need to make sure that they only use characteristics of that class. For example, they should not put feathers if they are classifying their animal as a mammal. When students share their animal with the class, they need to justify why the animal belongs to the class they chose.

Point out to students that a chicken egg is being used for the experiment, not an amphibian or reptile egg. As vertebrates are discussed, make sure students do not classify based on habitat. For example, a whale lives in the ocean but, it is not a fish. There are exceptions in science. Bats have wings but, they are not a bird. Dolphins have a fin but, they are not a fish. They have to look at all the characteristics to classify. Check for prior knowledge misconceptions during the open picture sort.

Beaver at Long Pond. Lindsay Barret George. Harpercollins Juvenile Books (2000). Chickens Aren’t the Only Ones. Ruth Heller. Paper Star (1999). Ducks Don’t Get Wet. Augusta Goldin. HarperTrophy (1999). Fish Faces. Norbert Wu. Henry Hold and Company (1993). How Do Animals Adapt? Bobbie Kalman. Crabtree (2000). How to Hide a Meadow Frog and Other Amphibians. Ruth Heller. Grossett and Dunlap (1995). If I Had a Tail. Karen Clemens Warrick. Rising Moon (2001). Skeletons: An Inside Look at Animals. Jimmy Johnson. New York: Reader’s Digest (1994). Unbeatable Beaks. Stephen R. Swinburne. Henry Holt and Company, Inc. (1999). What is a Life Cycle? Bobbie Kalman. Crabtree (1998).

(Coloring pages for pictures )