How much do you really know about reptiles? Get ready to be astonished as I tell you a little bit about our Reptiles Family Unit Study! 

Did you know that all reptiles shed their skin – even crocodiles and alligators? Or that the smallest snake in the world could curl up on a coin, while the largest is as long as a school bus?! 

This is only the beginning! Get ready to be astonished as we discover REPTILES with hands-on fun!

Wondering what our unit studies are like? Download a sample right here:

This unit study, like all of our ever-growing library of unit studies, takes one big topic (Reptiles) and breaks it down into 10 manageable, bite-sized, learning opportunities. This format allows you to dive all into learning about one area whenever you are set.

Perhaps you do one area per day, perhaps one per week. Whatever suits your fancy! You can learn and explore from start to finish in about 1-2 hours per bite-sized learning topic.

Dive in and watch the sparks of wonder ignite. Watch the child-led learning take off. Watch what happens when children are engaged in what they are learning!

For this Reptiles Family Unit Study, we have broken the unit study up into the following 10 bite-sized learning topics. Each one includes everything you need for that topic:

• from a curated YouTube video,
• to information to read,
• to a “what’s happening” section,
• interesting fact,
• discussion questions
• Literacy and Math extensions
• and an ultimate-can’t-be-beat Hands-on Activity!

Ready to grab your copy? Get the Reptiles Family Unit Study right here! Need a bit more information? Keep reading!

Reptiles: An Interdisciplinary Family Unit Study for Ages 4-12 years old.

Here are some of the hands-on learning activities you and your little ones will be enjoying in this Reptiles Family Unit Study:

Topic One: What is a Reptile? 

Reptiles are a class of animals that have a vertebrae (a backbone), dry scaly skin, and usually lay soft-shelled eggs. Reptiles need to breathe air and are cold-blooded, which means they need to seek out warmth and heat from their environment.

Hands on Activity: To explore exactly what a reptile is, we look at some reptiles in-depth, focusing on many things – such as the animal tracks they make! With a printable animal tracks game, we discover exactly why and how reptiles make the tracks they do.

Topic Two: Cold-Blooded

Reptiles are cold-blooded, which means they need to absorb warmth from the sun through their body.

Hands on Activity: As we explore what it means to be cold-blooded through our unit studies readings and videos, we always finish with a culminating hands on activity. For this section on reptiles being cold-blooded, we explore various temperatures and how they fluctuate using rocks.

Topic Three: Scales or Scutes?

Reptiles are different than other animals for several reasons, one of which is their dry, tough skin. Most reptiles have very dry skin that is covered with scales or small bony plates.

Hands on Activity: Using some beautiful reptile silhouette printables, we cover these printables with salt dough and use a toothpick to make either scutes or scales! This artwork turns out gorgeous!

Topic Four: Lay Eggs

Most reptiles lay soft eggs (the shells are not hard like bird eggs). Reptiles do not incubate—or sit on—their eggs, so they do not need to be strong enough to withstand the mother’s weight.

Hands on Activity: Using vinegar and an egg, we make our own ‘soft-shelled’ eggs and explore the chemistry that is taking place as we do! 

Topic Five: Lungs and Vertebrates

Two characteristics that make an animal a reptile are that they have lungs and are vertebrates. Reptiles have lungs and breathe air, which differentiates them from fish and animals with gills. Reptiles are also vertebrates, which means they have backbones. Animals other than reptiles also have lungs and are vertebrates, which is why these two features alone are not enough to classify an animal as a reptile.

Hands on Activity: We explore how to use a Venn Diagram with this activity, as we research to reptiles to find out how they are alike and how they are different. 

Topic Six: Turtles

A turtle’s shell is made up of bony plates called scutes. Each year, the turtle grows bigger scutes. Inside each scute, you can see growth rings, very similar to the rings found inside a tree. Count the rings, and you can determine approximately how old a turtle is! 

Hands on Activity: Using playdough, we discover how exactly scutes grow with a turtle!

Topic Seven: Lizards

There are about 6,000 species of lizards in the world, and they really do live all over the world! Lizards can be found on all continents except for Antarctica. They are a varied species, ranging from iguanas to geckos to monitors!

Hands on Activity: As we explore lizards, we create our very own out of beads! This handwork project builds fine motor skills, hand dexterity, patterning and math skills, and more.

Topic Eight: Snakes

While it might be tempting to think of snakes as having no bones since they slither and slide so well, they actually have hundreds – even more than humans!

Hands on Activity: We have another math art project for this hands on activity as we build an origami snake! So full of learning and loads of fun!

Topic Nine: Crocodiles

Alligators and crocodiles look very similar to one another, but they are in fact, quite different and cannot interbreed.

Hands on Activity: We research and discuss similarities and differences between alligators and crocodiles by comparing snouts, location, habitats, teeth, size, color, speed, behavior, and more!

Topic Ten: Tuataras

Tuataras might look an awful lot like a lizard, but they are actually quite different, which is why they are classified separately from lizards. Tuataras have no external ears (while lizards do), they prefer cool weather (while lizards like to bask in the heat), and they are nocturnal (while lizards spend their nights sleeping).

Hands on Activity: Make animal tracks in a salt tray! Now that we know so much about reptiles, we explore animal tracks with our new knowledge as we create our very own.

And there you have it. The 10 bite-sized learning topics that make up our great big Reptiles Unit Study! I hope you will pop on over to check it out and consider purchasing it for you and yours.

Grab your complete Reptiles Unit Study for Kids right here: https://shop.howweelearn.com/products/family-unit-study-reptiles

Thank you so much for reading!

xo
Sarah