Animal Phyla
by 20th Street Elementary School

May be sung/chanted to the tune of “The Jellicle Ball” from the musical Cats

Vertebrates have bones inside
Endoskeletons deep within
Mammals, amphibians, birds, and fish
And reptiles with bones beneath their skin!

Crocodiles, catfish, finches, frogs
Wallabies, whales, bears and boars
These are vertebrates, all with bones
And vertebrae for their spinal cords!

Chorus (repeat this after each verse)
Animal phyla organize
The animal kingdom just for you
Cutting the kingdom down to size
That’s what animal phyla do!

Arthropods are creepy, crawly
With exoskeletons like a shell
Jointed legs are chitin-covered
Arthropods move pretty well

Arthropods have exoskeletons
Grasshopper, spider, giant prawn
Insect, arachnid, and crustacean
With exoskeletal armor on!

(repeat the chorus)

Molluscs have no legs to run on
Slugs and snails are gastropods
Look for a skeleton, you’ll find none on
A squid or an octopus: cephalopods.

Bivalves have a shell to hide in
Clams and mussels and oysters too
Open ‘em up, put what’s inside in
A pot for a tasty mollusc stew

(repeat the chorus)

There are so many other phyla
Far too many to sing for you
Like nemata, radiata,
And loricifera to name a few

Dozens of phyla in lengthening lists
Dozens of phyla we won’t describe
That’s the job of taxonomists:
To organize the animal tribe!

(repeat the chorus)

Notes

Third Grade: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.2: Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.3: Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.5: Refer to parts of stories, dramas, and poems when writing or speaking about a text, using terms such as chapter, scene, and stanza; describe how each successive part builds on earlier sections. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3.8: Describe the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in a text (e.g., comparison, cause/effect, first/second/third in a sequence). CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.8: Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.

Fourth Grade: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.2: Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.5: Explain major differences between poems, drama, and prose, and refer to the structural elements of poems (e.g., verse, rhythm, meter) and drama (e.g., casts of characters, settings, descriptions, dialogue, stage directions) when writing or speaking about a text. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.2 Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.4.3a Use combined knowledge of all letter-sound correspondences, syllabication patterns, and morphology (e.g., roots and affixes) to read accurately unfamiliar multisyllabic words in context and out of context. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.3d: Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and events precisely.

Fifth Grade: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.2 Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.7 Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem). CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.4: Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.5.3a: Use combined knowledge of all letter-sound correspondences, syllabication patterns, and morphology (e.g., roots and affixes) to read accurately unfamiliar multisyllabic words in context and out of context. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.1a Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which ideas are logically grouped to support the writer’s purpose.