Mississippi Science ZOO.8.10
The Standard
- ZOO.8
- Students will understand the structure and function of phylum Chordata, classes Amphibia and Reptilia, and how they demonstrate the characteristics of living things.
Dissect representative taxa and compare their internal and external anatomy and complexity.
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Phylum Chordata, Classes Amphibia, and Reptilia
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students dissect a frog and a lizard, then compare their body coverings and internal organs. They use what they observe to explain differences in breathing and life on land.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students can locate the heart, lungs, stomach, and kidneys in both specimens. They can compare the animals' skin and lung structure without treating larger organs as more complex.
Common Misconceptions
- Some students think frogs have no lungs because they can breathe through their skin. Others assume a larger organ is more complex, rather than looking at its structure.
How to Assess It
- Give students external and opened-specimen photos of a frog and a lizard. Ask them to label each animal's lungs and stomach, compare their skin and lungs, and explain one breathing difference.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Dissect preserved frog and lizard specimens, then have pairs sketch and label the heart, lungs, stomach, and kidneys in each.
Ask: How do moist skin and scales affect breathing? Have students support an answer with observations from their specimens.
Give pairs shuffled photos of frog and lizard skin, lungs, and rib cages to sort by animal and explain their choices.
Show a frog beside a pond and a lizard in dry scrub; have students connect each habitat to its animal's skin and lungs.
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Printable ZOO.8.10 Worksheet
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Related Standards
- ZOO.10.5
Dissect representative taxa and compare their internal and external anatomy and complexity.
- ZOO.4.6
Dissect representative taxa and compare their internal and external anatomy and complexity.
- ZOO.6.7
Dissect representative taxa and compare their internal and external anatomy and complexity.
- ZOO.5.9
Dissect representative taxa and compare their internal and external anatomy and complexity.
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