Reptile Round Up. An Educator s Guide to the Program

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1 Reptile Round Up An Educator s Guide to the Program GRADES: K-3 PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: This guide provided by the Oklahoma Aquarium explores reptiles and their unique characteristics. The Reptile Round Up guide allows students to be able to recognize the main groups of reptiles and to state the common traits they possess. During your student s visit to the Oklahoma Aquarium they will come in contact with more reptile species such as crocodilians. This guide contains information and activities for you to use both before and after your visit to the Oklahoma Aquarium. You may want to read stories about reptiles, observe reptiles, present information in class, or utilize some of the activities from this booklet. 1

2 Table of Contents Reptile Round Up Abstract 3 Educator Information 4 Vocabulary 5 Internet resources and books 6 PASS/OK Science standards 7 Accompanying Activities Measuring a Turtle (K-3) 9 What are Reptiles? (2-3) 11 Reptile Defense mechanisms (2-3) 13 Reptile Color (4) (K-3) 14 2

3 REPTILE ROUND UP: ABSTRACT Some scientists believe that reptiles have been around for millions of years. Extinct reptiles such as dinosaurs, which were land dwelling and icthyosaurs, which were marine reptiles have strong similarities to modern day reptiles. Modern day reptiles share several characteristics. Reptiles are vertebrates meaning they have a back bone. Scales are not only found on the skin of reptiles they are also found on the shells of turtles. The scales found on a turtle s shell are known as scutes. Reptiles have to breathe air and even a sea turtle which spends most of its life in the water has to come up to breathe air. Most reptiles lay eggs which are laid on land. Reptiles are known as ectothermic (cold-blooded), which means that they cannot regulate their own body temperature. Reptiles rely on their surroundings to provide warmth for their bodies. Without the sun s warmth a reptile cannot move around or even digest their food. Unfortunately reptiles cannot shiver to warm up or sweat to cool off like mammals. The following animals are considered to be reptiles: lizards, snakes, turtles, and crocodilians. Crocodilians are not just crocodiles, they also include alligators, caiman and gavials. Some reptiles are strictly carnivores, such as snakes, while others are herbivores like the green sea turtle. Some lizards like bearded dragons have an omnivorous diet, consuming both meat and vegetation. The largest living reptile is the saltwater crocodile which grows to ft in length and can weigh up to 3000 lbs. The smallest reptile is the brookesia chameleon which is the size of your fingernail. Crocodiles and alligators are very similar but can be distinguished from each other by the following factors; alligators have a u-shaped snout while crocodiles have a v- shaped snout. Alligators have a wider top jaw, so when their mouths are closed their bottom teeth are hidden while a crocodile s jaws are approximately the same size causing a large tooth from the bottom jaw to stick out when the jaws are closed. There are other differences between alligators and crocodiles however the differences listed above are the most noticeable. There are 3 different types of turtles, the sea turtle, the tortoise and the terrapin. The main differences between turtle types are where they live; whether freshwater, saltwater, or terrestrial. A turtle has three main parts to its shell which affect their ability to swim. The top part of the shell is the carapace, the bottom part is the plastron and the side mechanism that hooks them together is called the bridge. An aquatic turtle must have thin bridges in order to have enough room for their legs to effectively move in the water. Sea turtles only live in saltwater, and instead of having legs they have flippers. Terrapins are turtles that like to spend their lives in fresh water, and in order to support their aquatic life style they have adapted long toe nails and webbed toes in order to swim. Tortoises are built like tanks possessing short toe nails and large bridges. This cumbersome shell prevents the tortoise from swimming. 3

4 Reptile Round Up EDUCATOR INFORMATION: Reptiles can carry salmonella so students should wash their hands after class. All animals with a mouth can bite, so students will be asked to touch the animals gently. 3 groups of reptiles will be examined during the program, a tortoise, snake and a lizard. All animals have been handled extensively and are docile representatives of their reptile group. Other reptiles such as water snakes, green iguanas, and American alligators can be viewed at the Oklahoma Aquarium. If you have a student you are concerned might be rough with the animals please let us know before class. None of the reptiles in the class or at the Oklahoma Aquarium are venomous. There are only a few types of venomous snake in Oklahoma, the copperhead, cottonmouth, western diamond back, timber rattlesnake, prairie rattlesnake and western massasauga. The banded water snake on exhibit is not venomous, the only venomous water snake in Oklahoma is the cottonmouth. In North America, venomous snakes have cat eye pupils while nonvenomous have round pupils. In North America venomous snakes have a more diamond shaped head while non-venomous have a rounder head. On other continents these traits do not hold true, for example a king cobra has a round pupil and is highly venomous. The most venomous snakes in the world is a Belcher s sea snake with a potent venom able to kill 1000 people. 4

5 VOCABULARY: Archelon- an extinct species of turtle that was a relative of the leather back and 16ft from flipper to flipper Carapace- the dorsal portion (upper part) of the of the turtle shell Carnivore- an animal that only eats meat ectothermic- cold-blooded the inability of an animal to regulate its body temperature Herbivore- an animal that only eats vegetation Plastron- the ventral portion (lower part) of the turtle shell Reptile- a class of animals that are cold blooded vertebrates such as snakes, lizards, turtles and crocodilians Salmonella- an infection caused by a bacteria that can be carried by all reptiles Scutes- the scales found on turtle shells Terrapin- a group of turtles that spend most of its time in freshwater and possess long nails, webbed toes, and thin bridges Tortoise- a group of turtles that live strictly on land which lack toe nails and webbed toes making swimming impossible Vertebrate- a group of animals which have a backbone 5

6 RESOURCES: INTERNET RESOURCES: BOOKS and REFERENCES: Hutchinson, Dr. Mark (2006) Reptiles and Amphibians. Weldon Owen Pty Ltd Winner, Cherie (2004) Everything Reptile. NorthWord Press Seuss, Dr. (1950) Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories. Random House Sievert, Greg and Sievert, Lynnette A Field Guide to Oklahoma s Amphibians and Reptiles. Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation 6

7 PASS STANDARDS MET: All education programs and their accompanying materials at the Oklahoma Aquarium will meet several Oklahoma PASS objectives in various disciplines. The following list is not all inclusive. SCIENCE Science Processes and Inquiry (grade K) Process Standard 1- Science Processes and Inquiry (grade 1-3) Process Standard 1- Observe and Measure (grade 1-3) Process Standard 2- Classify (grade 1-3) Process Standard 3- Experiment an Inquiry (grade 1-3) Process Standard 4- Interpret and Communicate Physical Science (grade K) Standard 1- Physical Science (grade 1) Standard 1- Properties of Objects and Materials (grade 2) Standard 1- Properties and Interactions of Objects and Materials (grade 3) Standard 1- Properties of Objects and Materials Life Science (grade K) Standard 2- Life Science (grade 1) Standard 2- Characteristics and Basic Needs of Organisms (grade 2) Standard 2- Life Cycles and Organisms (grade 3) Standard 2- Characteristics and Basic Needs of Organisms and Environments Earth/Space Science (grade K) Standard 3- Earth Science (grade 1) Standard 3- Changes of Earth and Sky (grade 2) Standard 3- Properties and Changes of Earth and Sky 7

8 OKLAHOMA ACADEMIC STANDARDS FOR SCIENCE MET: K-3 K-LS1-1 K-ESS2-2 K-ESS3-1 1-LS1-1 1-LS1-2 1-LS3-1 2-LS4-1 3-LS1-1 3-LS3-1 3-LS3-2 3-LS4-2 3-LS4-3 8

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11 What are reptiles? 1. Place a check mark beside each reptile characteristic. a. Have webbed feet c. Have scales e. Are ectotherms g. Have one pair of legs i. Have a three- or four-chambered heart k. Breathe through their skin m. Lay eggs in water b. Can have clawed feet d. Have moist skin f. Can have two pairs of legs h. Have gills throughout life j. Have waterproof skin l. Breathe with lungs n. Lay eggs on land 2. What animals make up the largest order of reptiles? 3. What animals make up the smallest order of reptiles? 4. What characteristics do turtles and tortoises have that other reptiles do not have? 5. How do the eggs of reptiles differ from the eggs of amphibians? Skill Challenge Skills: comparing, analyzing, identifying Label the reptiles pictured below as either a sea turtle or a tortoise. Write your answers in the spaces below each diagram. Then, answer the question How are the reptiles above adapted to their environments? 11

12 Answer Key Concepts and Challenges in Life Science, Teacher s Resources CD-ROM (c) by Pearson Education, Inc./Globe Fearon/Pearson Learning Group. All rights reserved. Animals With Backbones What are reptiles? Lesson Review 1. Statements b, c, e, f, i, j, l, and n should have check marks. 2. snakes and lizards 3. tuataras 4. shells 5. The eggs of a reptile are laid on land and covered by a leathery shell to keep them from drying out. Skill Challenge 1. tortoise 2. turtle 3. Possible answers: Both turtles and tortoises can retract their heads and limbs inside their shells to guard against predators. Turtles have _at, streamlined shells and paddle-like _ns which aid them in swimming. The coloration of the turtle s and tortoise s shells help them blend in with their environment. 12

13 Reptile Defense Mechanisms Research and discover the type of defenses used by the following reptiles. Reptiles Defenses Resources Used Bearded Dragon American Box turtle Chameleon Garter Snake Gila monster Hognose snake 13

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