Discovering Mammals
Begin this lesson by finding out what your child already knows (or thinks he knows) about mammals.
1. What is a mammal? Are humans mammals?
2. What characteristics do all mammals have in common and how are mammals different from other animals?
3. How many different mammals can you name?
Mammals are everywhere — in the sea, on land and in the air. But what makes a mammal a mammal is a number of defining characteristics that its neighbors in the water, air and on land don’t have. All mammals have mammary glands to nurse their young, hair and backbones. They are all warm-blooded, breathe air with lungs and have highly developed brains. Though other types of animals share many of these traits, mammals are the only animals with mammary glands and hair. In fact, the word “mammal” is derived from “mammary glands.” Take the time to examine these identifying characteristics in detail, including some who have specialized characteristics. The porcupine, for example, has sharp, spiny hairs called quills that it uses to ward off any predators.
There are three different ways that mammals are born. Most baby mammals — like humans — grow inside the mother until they are ready to be born. But marsupials, like kangaroos and koalas, are born very tiny and must crawl into their mother’s pouch in order to continue their development. There are even a few kinds of mammals that lay eggs! No matter how their young are born, mammal mothers typically take care of them for a long time and teach them how to survive. Mammals have fewer young than other animal species, in large part because of the time and energy it takes to care for them.
Mammals have more advanced brains than other animals, making them the most intelligent animals on Earth. Some mammals, like humans and monkeys, have opposable thumbs and can use them to make and use tools, while others have unique ways of finding and eating food.
Vocabulary
mammals — Warm-blooded vertebrates that have hair and mammary glands that produce milk to feed their young.
vertebrates — Animals that have a backbone as part of their skeleton.
mammary glands — Specialized structures on the bodies of mammals that in adult females produce milk to feed their young.
nursing — The process of getting nourishment by drinking milk from mammary glands.
weaned — When a young mammal stops getting all of its nourishment by drinking milk from its mother’s mammary glands and starts to eat otherfood.
lungs — The organs that mammals and some other types of animals use to breathe in air and exhale.
warm-blooded — A term describing animals that maintain a constant body temperature no matter what the temperature of their environment is.
cold-blooded — A term that describes animals that cannot control their body temperature so they assume the temperature of their environment.
marsupials — Mammals that give birth to tiny young that must develop in an external pouch located in the mother’s abdomen.
endangered species — Animals and plants that are in danger of becoming extinct; some endangered mammals include certain whales, gorillas, pandas, elephants and tigers.
opposable thumbs — Thumbs that freely move and rotate, allowing mammals like monkeys, apes and humans to use their hands to grasp and use tools.
carnivore — An animal that eats other animals.
herbivore — An animal that eats plants.
omnivore — An animal that eats both plants and other animals.
Follow-up Activities
• Research the typical number of babies that different kinds of animals have at a time (insects, reptiles, amphibians, birds, fish and mammals). Integrate this into a math lesson by creating line or bar graphs to summarize the data.
• Divide your kids into groups and assign specific habitats for them to study. Each student should choose a mammal present in that habitat to research, then present the findings through illustrations and oral reports.
• Have each student choose a mammal from the endangered species list to research. Encourage students to collect information about the animal’s habitat, intelligence, any unique characteristics and the ways people are trying to prevent the extinction of these rare mammals.
• Fun Game: To demonstrate the value of having opposable thumbs, get into small groups. Have students attempt to complete a series of tasks with their thumbs secured to the side of their hands with rubber bands or strong tape. Then observe and record outcomes. Brainstorm a list of things people could not accomplish without the use of their thumbs. Use this information to write an essay on what life would be like if humans had not developed opposable thumbs.
Recommended Reading:
What Is a Mammal? (Science of Living Things)
