What is an animal?
MADDIE MOATE: Hi everyone. Right who likes animals?
CHILDREN: We do!
MADDIE: Animals are a really important part of all our lives. Some live at home with us as pets, but some animals provide us with food, and all animals are part of a healthy, thriving environment. Animals can be many different shapes and sizes, from teeny tiny ants to huge elephants. And humans - like you and me - are animals too! Animals can be sorted into different groups…
CHILD: Mammals… Birds… Fish… Amphibians… Reptiles…
CHILD: And invertebrates - they’re all the different kinds of minibeasts. My favourite!
MADDIE: Let’s look at mammals first. Mammals have babies that drink milk when they are born. All mammals have hair or fur at some point in their lives. Some have a lot. While others, like whales and dolphins, appear to have little or none. Mammals can all look very different. Mice, blue whales and humans are all mammals!
CHILD: [Indicating one of the other children] I’ve found a mammal here on the farm.
MADDIE: So you have!
CHILD: Hey!
CHILD: [Indicating an animal on the farm] Me too, a very hairy one!
MADDIE: Aw, that’s true, and he’s very cute! Ok, what’s our next type of animal?
CHILDREN: Birds!
MADDIE: Birds lay hard-shelled eggs and baby birds hatch out of those eggs. All birds have feathers and wings, which most can use to fly. But not every bird can fly - for example, penguins and emus can’t fly. So they get around in other ways: penguins are great swimmers and emus can run very fast!
CHILD: These peacocks have beautiful blue and green feathers. Only the males are called peacocks the females are called peahens.
MADDIE: That is a gorgeous bird! Now let’s find out more about reptiles.Reptiles are a group of animals with scaly skin. Unlike us mammals, reptiles are cold-blooded, which means they don’t make heat inside their bodies. So, many reptiles live in warm places where the sunlight helps to keep their bodies warm. Most reptiles hatch from eggs. Snakes, lizards, crocodiles, and turtles are all reptiles.
CHILD: This reptile is called a bearded dragon.
CHILD: Its skin is scaly and soft, and it’s warmer than I thought it would be.
CHILD: She stays under a big heat lamp so then she doesn’t get cold.
MADDIE: Let’s find out more about our cold-blooded friends the reptiles from our expert.
YUSSEF: Hi, I’m Yussef and I’m an animal expert. And this right here is Cookie, and he’s a crested gecko. Crested geckos come all the way from the other side of the world, on a small island called New Caledonia, near Australia. But did you know we have six of our very own reptile species right here in the UK? And just like snakes and some other types of geckos, you may notice that crested geckos don’t actually have any eyelids, so that means they can’t blink. But they still need to keep their eyes nice and clean and moist, so what they do instead is they lick their own eyeballs. And just like other reptiles, crested geckos are cold-blooded, but it’s not just reptiles, there are some other cold-blooded animals too, just like fish.
MADDIE: Fish live in water. They have scales on their bodies and fins to help them swim. Fish are able to breathe underwater using their gills. There are lots of different types of fish. There are fish with no eyes, fish with long faces and even fish that crawl onto land and hop about!
Amphibians are born in water. When they are born, they breathe through gills like fish. But when they grow up they develop lungs and can live on land. Frogs and newts are both types of amphibians.
Our last group is the minibeasts - or invertebrates - these are animals like insects and spiders. They don’t have a back-bone, so lots of them have a hard-shell layer around their body to give them support and protect them. Some minibeasts have no legs - like worms - and some minibeasts have lots and lots of legs - like centipedes!
Oh, that looks like fun! You’re creating soundscapes for the different animal groups. What do you think a mammal walking sounds like? What about a spider running? Or a frog hopping? What soundscapes could you make for all the different types of animals?
Video summary
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In this video a group of children discover the defining characteristics of animals.
With narration from Maddie Moate and expert input from zoologist, Yussef Rafik, they learn how to identify and name a variety of common animals from different groups including mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles and invertebrates.
The video compares and contrasts a variety of animals and explores how they are adapted to live in their particular habitats.
Teacher notes
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Discussion points:
1. Animal families:
- What makes the groups of animals similar?
- Dicuss common features of the varying animal groups - can children think why they are grouped as they are?
- What do different animal families need to live successfully? What are their needs?
2. Humans:
- Discuss whether humans are animals and why.
- Why are humans classed as mammals?
- What do other mammals and humans have in common?
3. Reptiles:
- Discuss what the most important things are for reptiles to live well.
- Why are warmer temperatures so important to reptiles?
- Discuss in which kinds of countries you find more reptiles and why.
4. Amphibians:
- What is an amphibian?
- What is special about where amphibians are born and where they then live?
- Discuss the life cycle of a frog.
5. Birds:
- What makes a bird a bird? Discuss that not all birds can fly.
- How are new birds brought into the world? What is the life cycle of a bird?
- Can you think of a bird which lives in a very cold environment and how do you think they adapt to these cold environments?
6. Invertebrates:
- What mini beasts have you seen recently?
- How are they similar and how are they different?
- Discuss whether all mini beasts have legs, if not, how do they move?
Suggested activities:
1. Animal sorting activity:
- Provide a selection of pictures of different animals for children to view and discuss.
- Can children sort these into the animal families and give reasons for their choices?
2. Seasonal calendar activity:
- Create a simple calendar for the year and have children label each season with its corresponding months.
- Discuss the activities and changes they associate with each season.
3. Animal presentation:
- Give the children time to think of their favourite animal and what makes this special.
- After giving further time to research into this animal, children can present their findings to their peers.
4. Animal soundscapes:
- After finding out about the different families of animals, can pupils work together to create a musical response to each group.
- After performing, can other children work out which animal family the group were representing.
Curriculum notes:
This video aligns with Science in the National Curriculum in England, Northern Ireland, and 1st Level in Scotland. It also supports the Science and Technology Area of Learning and Experience within the Curriculum for Wales.
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