Teacher Page

•Second Grade,

•The elements of Living Systems and communication skills are integrated in the activities.

•We suggest that students keep a journal.

•It is critical for students to use writing skills to explain answers. When you see this symbol students should use their journals.

•Please take time to discuss possible answers.

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Non-fiction Activity

Reptiles belong to a group of animals called vertebrates. They are cold-blooded and breathe through their lungs. Most reptiles hatch from eggs, and while the young look much like their parents, they may be colored differently. Most reptiles are meat-eaters and feed on the prey in their environment.

Reptiles Vertebrate- an animal with a backbone.

Cold-blooded-

body

temperature

is same as the

air around them.

Prey- thecreatures another

animal huntsand eats.

The tortoise is one member of the reptile family. It lives entirely on land, has scaly skin, and a hard shell to cover its body. Unlike most reptiles, the tortoise eats grass, fruit, and plants. Some tortoises have been known to live up to 100 years and weigh over 500 pounds. The turtle also belongs to the family of reptiles. Most turtles have hard shells, but some water turtles have soft shell. All turtles have scaly skin. Turtles can live both on land or in water. Turtles feed on earthworms, snails, insects, fish, or anything it can catch.

Questions

1. Give an example of how the shell of a tortoise or turtle could help them in times of danger.

2. Are you cold-blooded? Explain

3. Are you a vertebrate? Explain

Answers next

Answers1. In times of danger the turtle and tortoise can pull their bodies inside the shell to protect it from predators, such as a fox or coyote.2. Humans are not cold-blooded. Their body temperatures stay the same. We sweat when we are hot and shiver when we are cold. To adjust to our environment we change types of clothing and shelters. For example, in the winter we use heat in our homes and we wear coats and gloves. In the summer, we use air-conditioning to cool our homes and we wear shorts or light weight clothing. Answers continued……….

3. Humans are vertebrates. We have a backbone, or spine. The backbone allows us to bend and twist.

Complete the following Venn Diagram usinginformation from the story.

turtle tortoise

live only on landlive on land orin water

cold-blooded

answers

to story

turtle tortoise

live only on landlive on land orin water

cold-blooded

Venn Diagram

vertebrate

reptile

shell

scaly skin

meat-eater

soft or hard shell

plant-eater

hard shell

End of Activity