How are People Like Animals? How are they Different?

All living things are called organisms. Scientists group organisms to make it easier to study them. This type of organization is called classification and is done by characteristics.

For instance, one way of grouping could be by the number of body parts that organisms have. Body parts do not include legs, arms, and tails. This means that people, cats, and insects could all be grouped together because they all have three body parts as shown on the diagrams.
1. head   2. neck  (thorax) 3. torso (abdomen)

So how are people, cats and insects different? In other words, what characteristics makes them different so that they would not be classified as being in the same group?

How about the number of legs they have? People have two, cats have four, and insects have six.

Where the legs are attached also separates them. People and cats have their legs attached to their torso. Insects have all six legs attached to their thorax.

Kids can draw pictures of a cat, a person, and an insect and attach the limbs: legs, arms, and, for insects, 2-antennae on the top of their head.

List other ways that these three organisms are alike as well as how they differ. Don’t forget the fuzzy tail on the cat.

Just For Fun

Switch the body parts and make goofy drawings. People with six legs attached to their necks. Yike!! That would make it difficult to get around.

Did you Know?

Dogs, cats, and giraffes are classified as mammals. One characteristic of mammals is that they have seven neck bones. YEP!! There are only seven vertebrae (neck bones) in the long neck of every giraffe.

What are other characteristics of mammals? Are people mammals?

You can find more information about insects in this Janice VanCleave book:

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