Identifying Vertebrates

Geologists are gneiss, tuff, and a little bit wacke. The fifth chapter of seven includes ten activities at four different levels. The hands-on activities cover fossils including how they are formed, vertebrates, invertebrates,...

Eighth graders classify vertebrate animals according to their characteristics. In this life science lesson, 8th graders distinguish among the seven classes of vertebrates. They examine similar characteristics among those that belong to...

I spy a spine. The 19th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program explores vertebrate species, such as sharks and other fish. Learners take part in an activity evaluating the...

What features do scientists use to classify animals into groups? Class groups examine a series of paired images of vertebrates (a bass and a trout, a toad and a newt, a crocodile and a tortoise, an owl and a robin, a tiger and a bear)...

In this biology learning exercise, students identify and match various classes of species found today. Then they explain why biodiversity exists today on earth and define evolution. Students also describe who a paleontologist is and what...

Mammals of the ocean unite! Or not. The 20th installment of a 23-part NOAA Enrichment in Marine sciences and Oceanography (NEMO) program investigates how warm-blooded marine mammals survive in water. In the class activity, learners use...

Jump into an exploration of marine ecosystems with the first lesson plan in this four-part series. After first learning about crustaceans, mollusks, and other forms of sea life, young marine biologists view a PowerPoint presentation that...

By following the accompanying lab sheet, groups work together in a simulation of identifying a faux fish venom and administering the appropriate antidote. They read through five, fish profiles, very professional in appearance. They...

What a terrific instructional activity! Learners discuss the animal kingdom, and classify them as vertebrates and invertebrates. They also identify them as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. There is even a taxonomic...

Not all animals respond to pain the same way. Thanks to the structure of the nervous systems of different living organisms, vertebrates and invertebrates experience nociception—the sensory nervous system's response to pain.