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Animal Themes
Animal and Biomes Basics Theme Unit

Animal Classification

Animal Classification
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 9
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   11.76

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    anatomy, bookstore, classification, novels, identify, spinal, hence, classify, plural, reading, scheme, lowest, alphabetical, lower, confusion, painstaking
     content words:    Example Kingdom Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Chordata, Kingdom Animalia, Class Class Mammalia, Order Order Artiodactyla, Class Mammalia, Family Family Giraffidae, Order Artiodactyla, Genus Okapia, Genus Giraffa Species Species Camelopardalis

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Animal Classification   
1     When we go to a bookstore, we see thousands of books neatly arranged first by subjects (such as novels, memoirs, comics, and history) and then by the alphabetical order of authors' last names. Since all the books are put away in a methodical order, it is easy for us to look up a book that we are interested in.
 
2     Scientists use a similar approach to categorize all the animals that have ever lived on Earth. By observing each animal's anatomy and behaviors, scientists are able to identify animals of comparable traits and group them together. From there, scientists make further distinctions among animals of a given group and break the group into many smaller groups. Scientists continue this process until they can dissect the group no more.
 
3     If we are to draw out a diagram to demonstrate scientists' methodology, we will construct a multi-level classification system. The rule of the thumb is this: the higher a level is in the animal classification scheme, the more animals it has. Let's look at the table below to see how many levels the animal classification system has and how scientists classify giraffes.

Paragraphs 4 to 6:
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