Animal Classification: Amphibians

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

• Were you able to pick out the amphibian above?

The turtle on the left is a reptile, the ram in the middle is a mammal, and the frog on the right is the amphibian.

Frogs, toads, newts, and salamanders are all amphibians.

Amphibians are similar to reptiles because they are cold-blooded, too!

Amphibians cannot regulate their body heat like mammals can. They need to warm up in the sunlight and cool down in the shade.

When their body is nice and warm, they are much more active, just like reptiles!

Telling the difference between reptiles and amphibians is easy. All you have to do is look at the skin. Reptiles have rough, scaly skin.

• What do you notice about the skin on the amphibians below?

• Did you notice the frog and newt below have smooth skin?

Amphibians have smooth skin. Most amphibians also have moist skin. This means their skin feels wet.

All amphibians have four legs. Frogs, toads, salamanders, and newts all have four legs.

Amphibians lay eggs just like most reptiles do. When an amphibian lays eggs, it lays many eggs.

• Did you know that some frogs can lay up to 20,000 eggs at a time?

That's a lot of babies!

• Why do you think they lay so many eggs?
• Do you think they all survive? Why or why not?

Not all amphibian eggs survive. Some of the eggs get eaten by other animals or don't hatch.

Sometimes, the babies get eaten by other animals right after they hatch. This is why they have to lay so many eggs. The picture below shows frog eggs.

• Can you see the baby frogs growing inside?

Amphibians are like reptiles and mammals because they are vertebrates, too! This means they have a backbone.

• Do you know another name for your backbone?

If you said "spine," you have a great memory! Point to the frog's spine in the picture below.

You have learned a lot about amphibians!

Say three things reptiles and amphibians have in common before moving on to the Got It? section.