Backyard Bonanza

Explore the wonderful world of Iowa vertebrates with your students. A vertebrate is an animal that has a backbone and a skeleton on the inside of its body. People are vertebrates. So are many familiar animals like cats, dogs, snakes, goldfish and frogs.

 

Scientists group vertebrates into five different classes (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals) based on features of their bodies. Visit the DNR Education Classroom Resources website for fact sheets featuring Iowa vertebrates.

Vertebrate Safari

Go on an outdoor safari to look for as many different animals with backbones as you and your students can find. Ask your students what vertebrates they think you will see – record their answers (a Vertebrate Scavenger Hunt worksheet is available on the Growing Up WILD web site). Look with your eyes and listen with your ears. Keep track of the vertebrates you see and compare it with your students’ predictions.

My Favorite Vertebrate Art Project

Stock your art center with a variety of art and craft materials for your students to create their favorite vertebrate. Students could sculpt the vertebrate, draw or paint it or even build it out of pomp oms and chenille stems. Encourage your students to add animal covering materials to the animal (e.g., glitter or sequin scales for fish; shiny paint or painted mixed with glue for amphibians; buttons or similar non-metallic “scales” for reptiles; construction paper “feathers” for birds and bits of yarn or fake fur for mammals. Let the students share their creations with the class along with reasons for it being their favorite.

Vertebrate “Simon Says”

Demonstrate motions to students for the following commands:

• Fly like a bird.
• Hop like a frog.
• Slither like a snake.
• Walk like a bear.
• Swim like a fish.

Start by calling out commands in random order and have your students act out the motions. After a few rounds, change a command so that it is silly, such as “Hop like a fish.” Instruct students to NOT do the motions if the command is silly.