
Purpose
To help students understand the great variety of organisms found in the animal world and their interdependence.
Context
This lesson uses the book Sisters & Brothers: Sibling Relationships in the Animal World by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page to explore the sibling relationships of different animals. The book is one of the winners of the 2009 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books.
Read MoreMotivation
Before reading the book with your students, ask them the following questions about their relationships with their own brothers and/or sisters (or cousins if they do not have siblings). This may be the first time your students have heard the word "sibling," so the idea of this discussion should be to check for their understanding of what a sibling relationship is in both human and animal families.
Ask students:
- What is a sibling?
- (You will probably need to first define the word "sibling." Once they understand what it means, this question will probably result in a wide variety of answers. Webster's Dictionary defines sibling as: 1) one of two or more individuals having one common parent; 2) one of two or more things related by a common tie or characteristic.)
- What is it like for you to have a sibling? Or, if you don't have a sibling, what's it like to not have a sibling?
- (Answers will vary.)
- Is there another person in your life whom you feel is like a sibling?
- (This question will lead students to explore biological and nonbiological relationships, as well as friendships that feel like sister/brother relationships. Answers should be varied.)
Development
After discussing sibling relationships, read the book to the students. If they have copies, they should follow along while you read to them. If you don't have enough copies for all of the students, you can have students share the available copies of the book. There is a lot of information to digest, so you will need to read slowly and pause for any questions. You can refer to the Sibling Characteristics teacher sheet for information about each of the animals.
After you and the students have read the book together, have each student choose one of the animals in the book and use the Animal Facts student sheet to answer more questions about that animal. Show the students where the additional animal facts are at the back of the book so they can refer to that information when answering these questions:
- Which animal did you choose?
- How many siblings does this animal usually have?
- What do you think is most unusual about this animal?
- If you were a member of this animal's family, how would you and your siblings get along?
- What else do you think is interesting about this animal?
- Where in the world does your animal live?
- What does your animal eat?
Assessment
To help students understand what they have read, lead a class discussion with these questions:
- What are three ways animal siblings differ from human siblings?
- (Some animals have hundreds of siblings. Some animals eat their siblings. Some animal siblings are so much alike they are clones of each other.)
- What are three ways animal siblings are like human siblings?
- (Some have only sisters. Some fight all the time. Some siblings have different parents.)
- If you have any animals in your home, do you know if they have siblings? If you have more than one animal, such as two dogs, or one dog and one cat, do you think of them as siblings even though they have different parents or are different species? Why or why not?
- (In discussing these questions, check for students' understanding of what constitutes a sibling, i.e., same species, same litter, same parents, etc.)
Extensions
Where in the Wild? explores animal camouflage using another AAAS/Subaru SB&F award-winning book, Where in the Wild? Camouflaged Creatures Concealed and Revealed. Students will enjoy locating hidden animals in the illustrations and learn why the animals benefit from hiding in their natural habitats. The students also could discuss how siblings might cooperate in a camouflage environment.
Animal Diversity exposes students to different plants and animals and how they are different and alike. This lesson also addresses anthropomorphizing, which K-4 students most often learn about through stories. They'll learn some of the reasons we humans tend to give animals characteristics they don't really have.
Animal or Plant? provides a quick reference guide that defines plants and animals. It also suggests activities that further the discussion of how plants and animals differ, taking students on walks to observe and identify what they find in nature.