Teacher pack: Vertebrates and invertebrates: features and examples

Teacher guide

Phase D · Grade 7; Phase D · IPA · Phase D · Grades 7–9 (Phase D) · IPA

An original supplementary PanduanHewan resource; not an official module or specialist teacher review.

Goals

• Students can explain the difference between vertebrates and invertebrates by whether the animal has a backbone.
• Students can sort Indonesian animals into the five vertebrate groups and the main invertebrate groups.
• Students can use a simple dichotomous key to identify an animal's group from a picture.
• Students can explain tricky examples such as the pangolin, the Irrawaddy dolphin and the echidna.

Materials

• Photo cards of Indonesian animals (printed or hand-drawn)
• Large sheets of paper and markers
• Notebooks and pencils
• The vertebrates and invertebrates worksheet

Suggested timing, adaptable by the teacher

11 minutes introduction · 38 minutes activity · 14 minutes discussion · 7 minutes reflection (70 minutes).

• Sorting cards (20 minutes): small groups sort 16 photo cards of Indonesian animals into vertebrates and invertebrates, then into smaller groups, and explain their reasons.
• Dichotomous key (20 minutes): students draw a yes/no chart on large paper, then test it with another group's photo cards.
• Observation from a distance (20 minutes): in the school grounds, students record the animals they see without touching or catching them, then mark which are vertebrates and which are invertebrates.
• Class discussion (10 minutes): discuss the pangolin, the Irrawaddy dolphin and the echidna as tricky examples, then write one shared conclusion.

Suggested formative rubric

Teachers may adapt this. Score each criterion 0 (not yet shown), 1 (partly) or 2 (clear); the 0–6 total is not an official passing standard.

• Concepts match the reading.
• Reasoning is supported by an example or evidence.
• Can revise an answer and identify uncertainty.