Veterinarians often compare the age of an animal to the age of a human being on the basis of bone and tooth growth, as well as general maturity. Most animals mature more rapidly than human beings.
Young children can practice skip counting to complete the table.
An old myth says 1 dog year equals 7 human years, but that comparison is not accurate. 21 Years 101 Have children make a number line from 0 to 25, representing years, placing round stickers on points where the table compares human and animal ages. Ask students the ages of their own dogs and cats, and place additional stickers on the number line showing approximately where the ages of their animals would fall. Point out that this relationship is not linear, but students can use the table to make reasonable comparison of relative ages of dogs or cats to human beings. The independent variable is the animal age, and the dependent variable is the approximate human equivalent age.