GRADE 2

UNDERSTANDING LIFE SYSTEMS: GROWTH AND CHANGES IN ANIMALS

UNIT OVERVIEW

In this unit students will learn to classify animals as mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians, fish or insects. They will outline the basic stages of human development and identify the changes that occur at each stage of growth. Students will compare the life cycle of various animals in order to gain a better understanding of the similarities and differences in the growth and changes in animals. Building on Grade 1 curriculum expectations in Science and Technology, students will investigate the role farm animals play in meeting the needs of humans as sources of food. Keeping in mind that farm animals provide for a range of human needs, students will explore the interconnectedness of animals and humans, and the importance of protecting and caring for farm animals and their environments.

CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS

Science and Technology, Grade 2, Understanding Life Systems: Growth and Changes in Animals 2.3 investigate the life cycle of a variety of animals 3.1 identify and describe major physical characteristics of different types of animals Health and Physical Education, Grade 2, Healthy Living; Human Health and Sexual Development outline the basic stages of human development (e.g., infant, child, adolescent, adult, older adult) and related bodily changes GROWTH AND CHANGES IN ANIMALS

Lesson 1: Classifying Animals Lesson 2: The Human Life Cycle Lesson 3: Comparing Animal Life Cycles Lesson 4: Farm Animals in Ontario

UNIT LEARNING GOALS

Classify animals into six categories: mammals, fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects

Describe major physical characteristics of different types of animals

Describe the human life cycle

Identify some features of each life stage

Investigate and compare the life cycle of a variety of animals

Identify farm animals raised in Ontario

Describe some ways humans and farm animals are interconnected

Lesson 1: Classifying Animals

Lesson Overview

By the end of this lesson students will be able to classify animals as mammals, reptiles, insects, fish, birds, and amphibians. They will be able to identify the similarities between a class of animals (what makes them similar) and the differences between classes of animals.

Curriculum Connections

Science and Technology, Grade 2, Understanding Life Systems – Growth and Changes in Animals

3.1 identify and describe major physical characteristics of different types of animals (e.g., insects, mammals, reptiles)

Materials

Paper, tape and marker A variety of books on mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, birds and insects Worksheet (included) Create A Book: ALL ABOUT ANIMALS (included)

Learning Goals

Classify animals into six categories: reptiles, mammals, insects, fish, birds and amphibians

Describe some major physical characteristics of different types of animals

Teaching and Learning Strategies

Tape six large pieces of paper on the blackboard, title the papers as follows: Reptiles, Mammals, Insects, Fish, Birds, and Amphibians. Ask students, what animals are reptiles? Write their responses. Repeat the same question for each category.

Ask students, how do we tell if an animal is a mammal or a reptile? After the brainstorming session write down the main physical characteristics about each class of animal. Reptiles are cold blooded, born on land, have scaly skin. Mammals drink milk when a baby, has hair on its body, live birth. Insects have a body made up of more than one part, they fly, they creep and they crawl. Fish live in the water, has gills, scales and fins. Birds have feathers and is born out of a hard shelled egg. Amphibians are born in the water, have gills like fish when they are born, when they grow up they develop gills and live on the land.

Bring books from the library, your classroom, and other resources on the different classification of animals. Let students explore these books at six different centres. Have groups of students rotate through each centre. While at each centre, students will have to fill in the worksheet WHAT I KNOW ABOUT ANIMALS! Ask students to draw a picture of one animal for each classification of animal; write 5 or 6 names of animals from that class; write an interesting fact about the classification of animal; write something more they would like to know about mammals, reptiles, birds, insects, amphibians and fish.

Discuss the similarities and difference between each animal class. What do all mammals have in common? What are some differences between mammals? (some are big, some are small, some have lots of hair, some have little hair, they eat different things – carnivore, herbivore, omnivore, live in different habitats – forest, desert, city, farm, jungle). Add these to your lists.

Create a book about ALL ABOUT ANIMALS. Use the template provided.

WHAT I KNOW ABOUT ANIMALS

ANIMAL CLASS ANIMAL NAMES WHAT I LEARNED WHAT I WONDER

Mammals

Reptiles

Birds

Fish

Amphibians

Insects

ALL ABOUT ANIMALS

MAMMALS

Mammals live in many different habitats. Draw three pictures of different places

mammals live. Label your habitat and your animals.

Some mammals eat plants. They are called ____________________.

Some mammals eat other animals. They are called ____________________.

Some mammals eat both plants and animals. They are called ____________________.

omnivores herbivores carnivores

REPTILES

There are 4 groups of reptiles: Turtles, which include all turtles and tortoises;

Squamata, which include lizards and snakes; Crocodilians, which include alligators

and crocodiles and Tuataras, which are two lizard-like species who only live on islands

near New Zealand.

All reptiles breathe ______________, are covered in _____________ and lay hard-

shelled _______________.

Draw a picture of a reptile from each group. Label the reptile.

TURTLES

SQUAMATA

CROCODILIANS

TUATARAS

This is a picture of a Tuatara. There are only 2 species left and they all live on 30 small islands off the coast of New Zealand. They are called a living fossil because its closest relative died off 6 million years ago during the age of the Dinosaurs. These reptiles like cool weather and are nocturnal!

BIRDS

Do you know which birds are native to Canada? Here is a small sample of Canadian birds:

The Great Horned Owl

This owl is one of Canada’s large birds of prey. It can be found in every province and territory of Canada. It is large in size and has prominent ear tufts or ‘horns’. This owl hunts at night. It mainly eats rabbits and birds, but sometimes mice and voles. It also likes to eat skunks, geese and songbirds. It makes a whoo-hoo-ho-o-o sound.

Do you know who I am?

The Northern Cardinal

This songbird is bright red with a black mask and red bill. Female cardinals are lighter in colour and slightly smaller in size. It likes to eat insects, berries, grains, leaf buds and weed seeds. It lives mainly in Ontario and Quebec, but has been found in Manitoba and in the Atlantic provinces. The male and female cardinal build a nest together and care for their young.

Colour me red!

The Red-winged blackbird

This bird is black with red patches and a yellow band on the tips of its wings. It can be found in wetlands. It likes to eat seeds and grains as well as insects and caterpillars. Males defend their territory, chasing away any competitors. However, it has to watch out for hawks and owls who like to have them for dinner.

FISH

Fish live in oceans, rivers, streams, and lakes. Fish use their gills to breathe the oxygen in the water. Fish are covered in scales, which are covered with slime that help them swim in the water.

Colour these fish.

This fish is a clown fish. It lives in the warn ocean waters near India and Australia.

This fish is a salmon. Salmon can be found in both oceans of Canada, the Atlantic and the Pacific. They will swim upstream to lay their eggs.

INSECTS

There are six million species of insects. Insects have three body parts: the thorax, abdomen and head. Insects have two antennae and three pairs of legs. Bees and ants are very social insects and live in colonies.

Insect Anatomy

Write the names of these insects.

_________________________ _______________________

______________________ ________________________

AMPHIBIANS

Frogs, toads, salamanders and newts belong to the amphibian class of animals. These animals are born in the water and when they grow up they live on land.

FROGS

Tadpoles are born in the water and become frogs who live out of the water but always

near it.

SALAMANDERS AND NEWTS

Wondering what the difference is between newts and salamanders? All newts belong to the salamander family, but newts have dry, bumpy skin. Salamanders have smooth, wet skin like a frog’s. Newts spend most of their time on land. Salamanders can live on land or in the water, depending on the species. Salamanders often look like tadpoles when they’re born. They slowly develop their front and back legs. Unlike frogs, salamanders keep their tails

Lesson 2: The human life cycle

Lesson Overview

By end of this lesson students will have examined the human life cycle and be able to describe the basic stages of development. They will be able to explain some basic changes that occur during different life stages.

Materials

Blackboard and chalk Worksheet (included) Assessment sheet (included)

Lesson Goals

Identify human life stages

Explain some changes that occur at each life stage

Curriculum Connections

Health and Physical Education, Grade 2, Healthy Living - Human Health and Sexual Development C1.4 outline the basic stages of human development (e.g., infant, child, adolescent, adult, older adult) and related bodily changes

Teaching and Learning Strategies

All living things are born, grow, change and die. Introduce students to the concept of the life cycle by brainstorming the stages and changes in human development (newborn, infant, toddler, child, adolescent (teenager), adult, older adult). Ask students to identify some life stages. Write the following on the board, INFANT, TODDLER, CHILD, TEENAGER, ADULT, and SENIOR. Use accompanying pictures of different life stages.

Ask students to describe some things we can or cannot do at each stage. Ask, What changes happen? (height, weight, ability, responsibilities, physical changes, grey hair) Write these responses down.

Use the first worksheet, INFANTS AND TODDLERS to ask students to write some things the baby can do compared to things kids in Grade 2 can do.

Show students the second illustration and ask them individually to tell you what changes happen to the baby, and what things the baby can do as he continues to grow.

INFANTS AND TODDLERS

KIDS IN GRADE TWO

What happens to the baby as he gets older? What things can he do as he gets older?

Lesson 3: Comparing Animal Lifecycles

Lesson Overview

In this lesson students will explore a variety of life cycles. They will be able to compare these life cycles and gain an understanding of the changes and differences animals go through as they complete the life cycle.

Curriculum Connections

2.3 investigate the life cycle of a variety of animals (e.g., butterflies, frogs, chickens)

2.4 observe and compare changes in the appearance and activity of animals as they go through a

complete life cycle (e.g., frog, butterfly)

Materials

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle A Butterfly Is Patient by Dianna Hutts Aston Worksheets (included) Internet access

Learning Goals

Investigate the life cycle of variety of animals

Compare the life cycle of various animals

Teaching and Learning Strategies

Like humans, animals also have very specific life cycles (chicks are hatched from an egg, cows give birth to live calves). Read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle or A Butterfly is Patient by Dianna Hutts Aston to explore the life cycle of butterflies.

Use the Butterfly Life Cycle worksheet so students can demonstrate and explain their basic knowledge about this life cycle. Use the other life cycle worksheets to compare the life cycles of other animals. Examine each life stage and compare it to the life stages chart the class created for human development. How is it the same as humans? How is it different? How are the animal life cycles the same as well as different? (everything starts out small and grows bigger, some animals grow slower or faster than others). Check out www.teachtube.com for videos on frog, chicken and butterfly life cycles.

Here are two examples of the life cycle of farm animals

Beef Cow

Calf: weighs about 40-45kg at birth; 75cm tall; drinks 2kg of cow’s milk per day

Weaned Calf: at 6 months the calf is weaned; weighs 200-250kg; 95-105cm tall; eats 7kg of hay, oats, grasses, chopped plants and grains per day

Heifer (female) or Bull (male): yearlings are 350-400kg in weight; 105-115cm tall; eat 8kg of hay, oats, grasses, chopped plants and grains

Cow or Bull: full grown at 2 years old; weighs 550-650kg; 110-135cm tall; eats 10kg of hay, grasses, oats, chopped plants and grains a day

Sheep

Lamb: weighs about 2-5kg at birth; drinks milk

Weaned Lamb: lambs are weaned at 3 months old; weighs about 27-32kg; eats 1kg of grain and 1 kg of hay and grass

Ewe (female) or Ram (male): 3-12 months; weighs 45-65kg; eats less than 1kg of grains and more than 2kg of hay and grass

Adult Ewe or Ram: full grown at 1 year old; weighs 70-125kg; eats 3 kg of hay and grass

LIFE CYCLE OF COW

____________________ ___________________

___________________ ____________________

Write the correct word with the matching picture.

COW YEARLING CALF WEANED CALF

Write one animal fact about each life stage of a cow.

1. _________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________

3. _________________________________________________________

4. _________________________________________________________

LIFE CYCLE OF A CHICKEN

__________________________ _____________________

_____________________________________

chicken egg chick

LIFE CYCLE OF BUTTERFLY

_____________________________

________________________________

________________________________

_________________________________

pupa butterfly egg on leaf caterpillar

THE LIFE CYCLE OF A FROG

____________________________ ____________________

__________________________ _____________________

_________________________ ______________________

frog tadpole eggs froglet

tadpole with legs young tadpole mature tadpole

Lesson 4: Ontario Farm Animals: How do Farm Animals Meet the Needs of Humans

Lesson Overview

By the end of this lesson students will be able to describe how some farm animals have adapted to an herbivore diet by developing teeth and stomachs made specifically for the digestion of this type of diet. Students will be able to identify some ways farm animals are helpful and meet the needs of humans with specific emphasis on the provision of food and clothing.

Curriculum Connections

Science and Technology, Grade 2, Understanding Life Systems – Growth and Changes in Animals, Understanding Basic Concepts

3.2 describe an adaptation as a characteristic body part, shape, or behaviour that helps a plant or animal survive in its environment

3.3 identify ways in which animals are helpful to, and ways in which they meet the needs of, living things, including humans, to explain why humans should protect animals and the places where they live

Learning Goals Describe how cows, goats and sheep are ruminants and why

Investigate how farm animals depend on humans to meet their needs of food, water, shelter and good health

Investigate how farm animals help humans by providing us with food and wool for clothing

Materials Blackboard and chalk Worksheet (included) Internet access A Farmer’s Life for Me by Jan Dobbins

Teaching and Learning Strategies Have students name as many farm animals as possible. Discuss the following with students, FARM ANIMALS All animals need to eat to stay alive. Just as every animal has unique features, each animal has a unique diet - a set of foods it has adapted for eating. Some animals are carnivores, animals that eat other animals. Others are herbivores (cattle, sheep), plant-eating animals. Still others are omnivores (pigs, chickens), animals that eat both plants and meat. All animals have adaptations that allow them to find and eat their food. Sharp teeth and keen eyesight are common adaptations of meat-eaters. Plant-eaters often have a good sense of smell and ways to defend themselves against meat-eaters or escape from meat-eaters. Farm animals also have unique features and a unique diet. Sheep, cows and goats are called ruminants. This means they have four parts to their stomach. This special design allows them to slowly digest the plant-only diet they eat. Being an herbivore, these animals have broad flat teeth that allow them to chew the hay, grasses, grains and other plants they eat every day. Cows, goats and sheep spend hours chewing their food over and over again until they swallow and slowly digest their food.

In Ontario, farmers raise all kinds of farm animals. They raise dairy cows, beef cattle, pigs, chickens, goats, sheep, Llamas, Alpacas, horses, rabbits and even honeybees.

These animals are dependent on the farmer and his family to make sure they stay healthy, eat the proper amount and kind of food they need, get enough water to drink and are kept cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Read A Farmer’s Life for Me by Jan Dobbins (You Tube also has a fun sing-a-long version). Ask students, In what ways do humans on a farm help the farm animals? How are the farm animals help us meet our needs? Why is it important that farmers keep their animals safe and healthy? Why is it important that we make sure farms are protected? Also visit www.virtualfarmtours.ca to learn about farming in Canada and the care of farm animals.

Use the Which Farm Animals Live in Ontario and What Animals Give Us worksheets to consolidate learning.

WHICH ANIMALS LIVE ON ONTARIO FARMS?

THINGS ANIMALS GIVE US

Who gives us eggs?

Who gives us wool?

Who gives us milk?

Who gives us bacon?

Who helps us pull or carry things?

MORE THAN JUST MILK

Cheese

Yogurt and ice cream

WOOL

Sheep, goats, Llamas, Alpacas and rabbits give use wool or fibers that can be spun to make clothing, blankets and even rugs. Some of the wool is fine and some is coarse. Fine wool is usually made into sweaters and other clothing while coarse wool is strong and can be used to make rugs. Angora and Cashmere goats are two kinds of goats that make wool.

Angora and Jersey Wooly rabbits are used to make wool too!

Cow’s, sheep and goat’s each give us milk. But, we get more than just milk from cows, sheep and goats. Milk is used to make lots of other dairy products that we eat every day!

Lots of different kinds of cheeses are made from cow, sheep and goat milk. Too many to list them all here! Cows milk makes cheddar, Swiss, Colby, mozzarella and parmesan chesses. Feta is made from goat or sheep milk. But so are lots of other kinds.

That’s right! Cow’s, sheep and goat’s milk can all be made into yogurt and even ice cream! Now that’s cool!