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Topics Discussed During Mammal PORTS Program

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Topics Discussed During Mammal PORTS Program

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1. Mammals have the ability to grow hair or fur.
2. Mammals have live births
3. Mammals feed their young milk
4. Mammals have spines/backbones
5. Mammals use lungs to breath
6. Mammals are warm blooded

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From Department of Fish and Wildlife

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Make Your Own Sea Otter Puppet Then Create a Story

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Make Your Own Sea Otter Puppet Then Create a Story

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1. Characteristic: a feature or quality belonging typically to a person, place, or thing and serving to identify it.

2. Lungs: a pair of breathing organs located with the chest which remove carbon dioxide from and bring oxygen to the blood.

3. Warm blooded: relating to or denoting animals (chiefly mammals and birds) which maintain a constant body temperature, typically above that of the surroundings, by metabolic means; homeothermic.

4. Cold blooded: (of a kind of animal) having a body temperature varying with that of the environment; poikilothermic.

5 Live birth: a birth at which a child or animal is born alive and thus can breath, move, and vocalize.

6. Mammary gland: the milk-producing gland of women or other female mammals.

7. Spine: a series of vertebrae extending from the skull to the small of the back, enclosing the spinal cord and providing support for the thorax and abdomen; the backbone.

8. Reptiles: a vertebrate animal of a class that includes snakes, lizards, crocodiles, turtles, and tortoises. They are distinguished by having a dry scaly skin and typically laying soft-shelled eggs on land.

9. Fish: any of various cold-blooded, aquatic vertebrates, having gills, commonly fins, and typically an elongated body covered with scales.

10. Amphibian: any of a group of cold-blooded vertebrate animals (as frogs and toads) that have gills and live in water as larvae but breathe air as adults.

11. Bird: any of a class (Aves) of warm-blooded vertebrates distinguished by having the body more or less completely covered with feathers and the forelimbs modified as wings.

12. Insect: any of a group of small and often winged animals that are arthropods having six jointed legs and a body formed of a head, thorax, and abdomen.

13. Mammals: Any of various warm-blooded vertebrate animals of the class Mammalia, whose young feed on milk that is produced by the mother's mammary glands.

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This page provides information to support educators and families in teaching K-3 students about mammals. It is designed to complement the Mammals topic page on BrainPOP Jr.

Together with children, brainstorm different animals they know and write them on chart paper or whiteboard. Ask how the animals are alike and different. Then ask how scientists group different animals. You may want to watch the BrainPOP Jr. movie Classifying Animals for review. Explain that mammals are vertebrates, which means they have a spine, or backbone. They also have hair or fur, breathe air through lungs, and feed milk to their offspring. Most give birth to live young that require care from the parent. Share some examples of mammals such as cats, zebras, humans, and more. Children may not realize that some ocean animals, such as whales and dolphins, are mammals, too. Point out that they come up to the surface to breathe air through their lungs and that they are born with tiny hairs that eventually fall out.

How are mammals different from each other? Lead a discussion with children. Help them understand that mammals live in a range of habitats. You may want to explore the movies in the BrainPOP Jr. habitats unit, such as Ocean Habitats , , Rainforests , and Arctic Habitats . Discuss how mammals' unique adaptations help them survive in their habitats. For example, explain how the camel's humps store body fat that can be turned into water-an important adaptation to the hot desert where it lives. Discuss how how the anteater's long, sticky tongue allows it to grab insects to eat and how chimpanzees have long, muscular arms that help it grab and swing from tree branches. Prompt children to consider the purposes of other adaptations such as a horse's hooves or an antelope's horns.

Point out that camouflage, or the ability to blend in with surroundings, is also an adaptation that helps animals survive in their habitats. Remind them that camouflage allows animals to hide from predators and sneak up on prey without being noticed. To review this concept, you may want to explore the BrainPOP Jr. Camouflage movie. Discuss the appearance of different mammals such as leopards, giant pandas, and deer and how their colorings help them survive in their habitats.

Explain to children that when an animal or plant is endangered, it means there are only a few left of its species. You may want to screen the Extinct and Endangered Species movie for further exploration. Discuss different reasons why species become endangered. One major cause is habitat destruction. People clear areas to make space for farmland or homes or to gather natural resources, like timber and minerals. When this happens, animals lose their homes, making it challenging for them to survive. Hunting also contributes to endangerment and even extinction. Animals are often killed for valuable parts, such as as elephants' tusks and snow leopards' fur. Fortunately, people are working together to save habitats and protect animals and plants.

Remind children that we share Earth with a wide array of living organisms, many of which are on the brink of extinction for reasons we can control. Encourage them to be global citizens by getting involved in ways to protect animals and our Earth. Actions may be as simple as recycling to conserve our natural resources, joining an organization that protects endangered organisms, or writing letters to local politicians.

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Mammals Background Information for Teachers, Parents, and Caregivers | BrainPOP Educators

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This page provides information to support educators and families in teaching K-3 students about mammals. It is designed to complement the Mammals topic page on BrainPOP Jr. Together with children, brainstorm different animals they know and write them on chart paper or whiteboard. Ask how the animals are alike and different.

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Dolphin Facts : Why Are Dolphins Considered Mammals?

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Wild animals don't need your handouts.
They need your respect.

You may not realize it - a simple bag of garbage, bowl of pet food, or a wild bird feeder, can create problems with wildlife. If wild animals have access to human food and garbage, unnatural foraging behavior can begin. Wildlife venturing into neighborhoods, puts both people and animals at risk. Wildlife become susceptible to vehicle strikes, pesticide poisoning, injury from other wildlife, and disease. Public safety may be compromised.

Whether you live in a city or a rural part of California, wild animals are your neighbors. They naturally fear humans and keep their distance - so long as they remain fully wild. Be a good steward of wildlife. Stash food and trash.

Keep them wild.

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Wild animals don't need your handouts. They need your respect. You may not realize it - a simple bag of garbage, bowl of pet food, or a wild bird feeder, can create problems with wildlife. If wild animals have access to human food and garbage, unnatural foraging behavior can begin.