1. What is the relationship between these animals?
Intro: Use the PPT presentation provided to compare these animals. SLIDES 1- 4
Rabbit/deer lion/cheetah man/bear
I’d like you think about how these animal Pairs are related. What does a rabbit have in common with a deer? (they both eat plants), how about a lion/cheetah? (both eat meat), and a man/bear? (eat both plants and animals)

2. What does a rabbit have in common with a deer? (they both eat plants)

3. how about a lion/cheetah? (both eat meat)

4. and a man/bear? (eat both plants and animals)

5. Shapes: Wedge, sharp, flat teeth Names: incisors, canines, molars
Let’s talk about the different types of teeth an animal might have. SLIDE 5… There are 3 main types of teeth: incisor (A)s, canines (B) and molars(C).

6. Human teeth- 3 shapes- wedge, sharp, flat snip, tear, grind food
SLIDE 6: If we think about a human mouth, we have all 3 types of teeth because we are omnivores... we eat both plants and animals. Our front teeth are called incisors and they are WEDGE shaped. These teeth are for snipping off food (provide examples). Our canine teeth are POINTED and used for ripping and tearing food (provide examples) Our back molar teeth are FLAT and used for grinding. (provide examples).

7. What do you notice about the rabbit, beaver, squirrel and porcupine skulls?
SLIDE 7-11: I’m going to show you several slides of different animal skulls. I want you to look carefully at each skull and then tell me what these skulls have in common.

8. Rabbit skull

9. Beaver skull

10. Squirrel skull

11. Porcupine skull
(the rabbit, beaver, squirrel, porcupine have front wedge teeth for snipping and back flat molars for grinding, but they are missing side canines)
This is the characteristic of all HERBIVORES.

12. Look at the cheetah, leopard and leopard seal skulls
Look at the cheetah, leopard and leopard seal skulls. Notice that all the canines & molars are sharp and pointed.
SLIDE : Let’s look at the cheetah, leopard and seal skulls. Do they have wedge front teeth? Sharp side canines? Notice the molars…instead of being flat, they are pointed and sharp. What do these animals eat? (meat, they are all carnivores and carnivores need pointed back teeth to tear up meat)

13. Cheetah skull

14. Leopard skull

15. Leopard seal

16. Look at the grizzly bear, and chimpanzee
Look at the grizzly bear, and chimpanzee. They have all 3 tooth shapes like humans.
SLIDE : Look at the bear and chimpanzee skulls. Do they have wedge front teeth? Sharp side canines? Are the molars flat or pointed? (flat) These animals have teeth like humans because they are omnivores.

17. Grizzly bear skull

18. Chimpanzee skull

19. Review of teeth Herbivores: wedge front, no canines, flat molars
Carnivores: wedge front, sharp canines, sharp molars
Omnivores: wedge front, sharp canines, flat molars
SLIDE 19: Review the types of teeth that characterize each group.

20. Activity: Skull identification
Today we will break into small groups to look at some real skulls. Your job will be to determine whether the animal is a herbivore, carnivore or omnivore.
There are 3 -4 different skulls…
Activity: Break into small groups (3 if possible) Each group should have one of the 3 skulls (herbivore, carnivore and omnivore). Trade skulls among groups as needed. Have a couple of extra pictures to go over as you wait for a skull or research a little about YOUR animal skull and share some background information about your animal.
Go through each skull, looking at the teeth and describing the shapes. Be careful…. Skulls are expensive!

21. Activity quiz after “real” skull id
Final activity is at the end of the powerpoint: call on students to tell you whether or not the skull is a herbivore, carnivore or omnivore. Make sure they tell you “why” by identifying the teeth.

22. Quiz after looking at skulls
Can you identify the skull as herbivore, carnivore or omnivore based on teeth?
THEY ARE ALL MIXED UP!

23. Snowshoe hare- herbivore

24. Snowshoe hare

25. Beaver- herbivore

26. Beaver

27. Lynx- carnivore

28. Lynx

29. Muskrat- herbivore

30. Muskrat

31. Mink- carnivore

32. Mink

33. Timber wolf- omnivore--- see the flat teeth at the very back!

34. Timber wolf

35. Red fox- omnivore

36. Red fox

37. Moose- herbivore

38. Moose

39. Caribou- herbivore

40. Caribou

41. Mountain goat- herbivore

42. Mountain goat

43. Review What have you learned today? Can you name 3 shapes of teeth?
Can you name 3 types of teeth?
Can you tell me which teeth a herbivore has? A carnivore has? An omnivore has?
Conclusion: Now you know how to determine part of the “niche” of each animal from its skull…If you ever find a skull in the woods, you can pick it up and determine what it eats….