What are animals ? Animals are living things that move, eat, breathe grow, and change. Are you an animal ?

Deep in a pond a fish goes swimming by. A frog hops to a lily pad. It flips its long tongue to catch a fly. Overhead a bird flies swiftly across the blue sky. A squirrel runs up a tree. A snake slips silently over the ground. How are they all alike ?

The fish, the frog, the bird, the squirrel, and the snake do not move in the same way. They are not the same size, color, or shape. But in one way they are alike. They are all animals.

How many kinds of animals are there ? More than a million ! Animals are almost every size, shape, and color you can imagine.

Some animals are several colors. Other animals are mostly one color. What colors are these animals ? Many animals have spots or stripes. The skunk and the zebra both have stripes How are their stripes alike ? How are they different ? People are different colors, too. What colors are you ?

What shape are animals ? Are they round as a ball ? thin as a rope ? tall as a tree ? Animals are almost every shape you can think of. How many of these animals can you name just from their shapes ?

Animals eat many kinds of foods. Many animals eat only plants. Cows and horses eat grass and grain. Rabbits eat plants, too.

Some animals eat other animals Hawks and owls eat snake They eat mice and other animal

Animals move, eat, breathe, grow, and change. How do animals grow and change ? Some animals grow from eggs that the females lays outside her body. Can you name an animal that lays eggs ?

Some animals grow from eggs inside the female’s body. Can you name an animal that grows from this kind of egg ? All baby animals grow and change. Are you growing ? Are you changing as you grow ?

In what ways are all these animals alike ? In what ways are they different ?