Instructions

Show children the picture of a shark.

Ask: What do you notice in this picture of the shark?

Have children list everything they notice. Once the teeth are named highlight that the shark has many sharp teeth.

Show children the picture of the horse.

Ask: What do you notice about this picture of the horse?

Listen and respond to each of the comments and give children some time to come up with a comment about the horse’s teeth.

Ask: What is different about the shark’s teeth and the horse’s teeth?

Listen and respond using guiding questions to see that the horse’s teeth have flat tops and are not sharp.

Ask: And what do animals do with their teeth?

Encourage the use of descriptive words and include talk about eating and chewing. (Note: Elephant tusks ARE very long teeth but are primarily used for defense from predators rather than for eating.)

Ask: How are animal and human teeth alike? Different?

Talk about the different shapes of teeth and how they help animals eat different types of food.

Show children they can spend time in the discovery center deciding whether the animal is likely to eat meat or plants. Have children sort meat eaters (sharp teeth) from plant eaters (flat teeth) into the two baskets.