SCRIPT

GROUP 4
Jaymard & Sophia: Good day to everyone.
Jaymard: I am Jaymard Licas, the reporter
Sophia: And I am Sophia Lorenzo, the secretary
Jaymard & Sophia: And we are representing the Group 4.
Sophia: In this day, we are going to learn about Vertebrates animals.
Jaymard: Vertebrates animals are animals that have a backbone, a nervous system
and a brain. Also, all vertebrates belong to the phylum Chordata.
Sophia: Animals in this phylum are called chordates. They have a supporting rod
that runs most of the length of their body for at least part of their lives.
(Then students show the chart)
Jaymard: We have here five different animals that are all Vertebrates. The
mammals, the birds, the reptiles, the amphibians, and the fishes.
(Jaymard point each of the animals as he say)
Sophia: The first one are the mammals. Milk, hair and large brains are the key
characteristics of mammals. Mammals are unique because they produce milk to
feed their young. All mammals have hair and fur. They are warm-blooded. They
generate their own body heat by burning food.
Jaymard: The second one are the birds. Birds have several features that make them
different from other vertebrates. Rather than four legs, birds have two legs and two
wings. They also have hollow bones to reduce their weight. Birds are warm-blooded
because their feathers help keep heat inside their body.
Sophia: The third one are the reptiles. Reptiles is a true land animal with one or two
lungs. They have thick, scaly waterproof skin. These include lizards, snakes, turtles,
alligators and crocodiles. They are cold-blooded. They stay warm by sunning
themselves and taking advantage of heat in their environments.
Jaymard: The fourth one are the amphibians. Amphibians bridge the gap between
land and water vertebrates. They spend part of their lives in the water and part of
their lives on land. Amphibians are cold-blooded. They rely on the temperature of
their environment to help them keep warm or cool enough to survive. Examples are
frogs, toads and salamanders.
Sophia: The last one are the fishes. There are three classes of fish: jawless fish,
cartilaginous fish and bony fish. Jawless fish like the lamprey, has a flexible nerve

cord. Without jaws, they are forced to suck in their food. Cartilaginous fish like
sharks, has skeletons made of cartilage rather than bone.
Jaymard: While, Bony fish like tuna have nerve cord covered by bone. They have
balloon-like swim bladders that allow them to go easily go up or down in water. It
has moving flaps that allows them to get oxygen while not moving in water. Fishes
are cold-blooded. They cannot keep their body temperature steady.
Sophia: Now we have learned the vertebrate animals. Let us know how scientists
classify animals. How do they organize all these living organisms?
Jaymard: Good question, Sophia. Scientists organize these organisms by classifying
them into groups according to shared characteristics. One classification system
used today divides all organisms into six major groups called kingdoms.
Sophia: Oh, I know that. Kingdom is the broadest group an organism is classified
into. Rather than outward characteristic, such as color, kingdoms are grouped by
internal form and structure. Scientists classify organisms into kingdoms by carefully
comparing their cells, tissues, organs and organ systems.
Jaymard: Youre right. Clearly, more and smaller groups are needed to fully classify
an organism. Scientists use six subgroups to classify within kingdoms. This allows
scientists to separate organisms into smaller groups that have the most
characteristics in common.
Sophia: These subgroups include phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species.
The broadest group is the kingdom and the narrowest group an organism can be
classified into is the species.
Jaymard: A species contains only organisms that are very closely related. For
example, Mindoro dwarf buffalo and Philippine carabao share many traits, but they
are not similar enough to be the same species.
Sophia: It looks confusing at first glance. But without this system, scientists would
not make millions of organisms identified and grouped according their striking
appearance and nature.
Jaymard: Thats right. If this classification system has not been use until today, we
cannot determine the animals living in our surrounding. We dont know what to call
them, their way of surviving in the environment, and the list goes on.
Sophia: I think this will end our discussion.
Jaymard: We hope you have learn something from us.
Sophia: Because we are glad to help you.
Jaymard & Sophia: Have a Good day! (bow)