edHelper.com Life Science Animal and Biomes Basics Theme Unit

Vertebrate Classification: Phylum Chordata

---

Vertebrate Classification: Phylum Chordata
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 6 to 8
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	7.81

Vocabulary

challenging words:

archaebacteria, chordate, chordates, endoskeleton, eubacteria, fayr, lancelets, many-celled, monera, notochord, pharyngeal, protista, Tunicates, phylum, characteristic, internal

---

Print Vertebrate Classification: Phylum Chordata

Print Vertebrate Classification: Phylum Chordata  (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)

Quickly Print - PDF format

	Quickly Print: PDF (2 columns per page)
	Quickly Print: PDF (full page)

Quickly Print - HTML format

Quickly Print: HTML

Proofreading Activity

Print a proofreading activity

---

Feedback on Vertebrate Classification: Phylum Chordata

Leave your feedback on Vertebrate Classification: Phylum Chordata  (use this link if you found an error in the story)

---

Vertebrate Classification: Phylum Chordata By Cindy Grigg

---

¹     Biologists have described more than one million different kinds of living things on Earth. In order to study them, scientists divide them into groups based on similar traits. One system of classification divides all living things into five different kingdoms. They are animals, plants, fungi, monera, and protista. Some scientists use a six-kingdom system. This system divided monera into archaebacteria and eubacteria.
 
²     The kingdoms are then divided into five smaller groups: phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species. The animal kingdom is divided into about thirty-five different phyla (plural of phylum), or major groups. The animal kingdom has more species than any other kingdom.
 
³     Although a jellyfish and a person may not look very much alike, they belong to the same kingdom. People and jellyfish are both classified as animals. Animals are many-celled organisms that must obtain their food by eating other organisms. In addition, most animals reproduce sexually and can move from place to place. Biologists look for these characteristics in deciding whether an organism is an animal.
 
⁴     One important characteristic used to classify animals is whether or not they have a backbone or spine. An animal that does not have a backbone is called an invertebrate. Jellyfish, worms, spiders, and insects are all invertebrates. Most animal species are invertebrates (about ninety-five percent of all animals).
 
⁵     Vertebrates are all animals that have a backbone. Vertebrates are in the phylum Chordata. Members of this phylum are called chordates. Chordates share some common traits. At some point in their life cycle, they have a notochord, a nerve cord, and pharyngeal (fayr uhn JEE uhl) slits in the neck or throat. The notochord is a flexible rod that supports the animal's back. Lancelets are one chordate species that keep the notochord throughout their life cycle. Tunicates, on the other hand, have a notochord in the larval stage, but lose it when they reach the adult stage.

Paragraphs 6 to 13:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable

---

Weekly Reading Books

Create Weekly Reading Books Prepare for an entire week at once!

---

Life Science

Life Science

---

Animal and Biomes Basics Theme Unit

Animal and Biomes Basics Theme Unit

---

Science

Science

Careers in Science         Caring for Earth         Clouds         Dinosaurs         Earth's Land         Earth         Earthquakes         Electricity         Energy         Erosion         Food Pyramid         Food Webs and Food Chain         Forces and Motion         Fossils         Health and Nutrition         How Things Work         Landforms         Life Science         Light         Magnets         Matter

Moon         Natural Disasters         Photosynthesis         Plant and Animal Cells         Plants         Rocks and Minerals         Science Process Skills         Scientific Notation         Seasons         Simple Machines         Soil         Solar System         Sound         Space and Stars         Sun         Tsunami         Volcanoes         Water Cycle         Water         Weather

---

More Activities, Lesson Plans, and Worksheets

Back to School Graphic Organizers Alphabet Worksheets Sight Words Math Worksheets Mazes 50 States Education Teaching Monthly Themes January February March April May June July August September October November December

Fractions Place Value Time and Calendar Money Earth Day Solar System Analogies Nouns Following Directions Listening Capitalization Cursive Writing Patterns and Sequencing Dinosaurs All About Me Kindergarten First Grade Second Grade Third Grade Fourth Grade Fifth Grade Sixth Grade

Multiplication Division Main Idea Cause and Effect Measurement Decimals Rounding Order of Operations Verbs Community Helpers Adjectives Plants Grammar Addition and Subtraction Contractions Bulletin Board Ideas Word Searches Crossword Puzzles Printable Puzzles Reading Comprehension Reading Skills English Language Arts

Copyright © 2013 edHelper