20 Questions: Animals

1) Do you have a pet?
2) Do you like animals?
3) Do you have a favorite animal?
4) Which types of animals do you like (e.g. amphibians, birds, fish, invertebrates, mammals, reptiles)?
5) What kinds of animals are kept as pets where you live?
6) Which animals should not be kept as pets?
7) What is an endangered animal?
8) Name an endangered animal.
9) What are the key characteristics of amphibians?
10) What are the key characteristics of birds?
11) What are the key characteristics of fish?
12) What are the key characteristics of invertebrates?
13) What are the key characteristics of mammals?
14) What are the key characteristics of reptiles?
15) Name and talk about some animals that live on land.
16) Name and talk about some animals that live in the water.
17) Name and talk about some animals that can fly.
18) Name and talk about some animals that can swim very well.
19) Which animal do you think is the smartest animal in the world?
20) If you could be any animal, which kind of animal would you be?

*This lesson might require additional preparation. Here's a key to questions 9-14:



The key characteristics of invertebrates include:
    no backbone (spine)
    some of the earliest animals
    more than 97% of all living species = invertebrates
    ectothermic (dependent on external sources of body heat; cold-blooded)

The key characteristics of fishes include:
    backbone/spine (vertebrates)
    first animals to evolve jaws
    breathe with gills
    no arms or legs
    ectothermic (dependent on external sources of body heat; cold-blooded)

The key characteristics of amphibians include:
    backbone/spine (vertebrates)
    tetrapods (four-footed)
    ectothermic (dependent on external sources of body heat; cold-blooded)
    larvae form in water
    first vertebrates to colonize terrestrial habitats

The key characteristics of reptiles include:
    backbone/spine (vertebrates)
    tetrapods (four-footed)
    ectothermic (dependent on external sources of body heat; cold-blooded)
    scales and scutes (shells)
    lay eggs

The key characteristics of mammals include:
    backbone/spine (vertebrates)
    tetrapods (four-footed)
    endothermic (can internally generate source of body heat; warm-blooded)
    hair
    mammary glands
    lower jaw consists of a single bone
    diaphragm
    three-chambered heart

The key characteristics of birds include:
    backbone/spine (vertebrates)
    tetrapods (four-footed)
    endothermic (can internally generate source of body heat; warm-blooded)
    feathers
    bills
    lightweight bones (bones that are either hollow or spongy/strutted)
    fused bones in pelvis, feet, hands, and head
    no teeth or maxillary bones of the jaw
    four-chambered heart
    produce large, richly provisioned external eggs