Grouping living things

For grown-ups: this lesson in words

Years 4 to 6 · Science

Grouping living things: I can sort living things into groups, use a key to name them, and explain how changes can help or harm them.

1. Scientists sort living things into groups by the features they can observe.

   Plants, like this oak tree, make their own food using sunlight.

   Animals, like the fox and the bee, move about and get their food by eating.

   Micro-organisms, like mould and bacteria, are living things too tiny to see one at a time without a microscope.

   Picture: Sorting into 3 groups: Plants, Animals, Micro-organisms. Plants: Oak tree (tree). Animals: Fox, Bee. Micro-organisms: Mould on bread (loaf of bread), Bacteria under a microscope (microscope).

2. Your turn: Here are four living things: a rose, a rabbit, mould on old cheese and a snail. There are three groups: plants, animals and micro-organisms. Put each living thing in its group.

   Picture: Sorting into 3 groups: Plants, Animals, Micro-organisms. Things to sort: Rose, Rabbit, Mould on old cheese (piece of cheese), Snail.

   Sort the cards into the groups.

   Answer

   The answer: Rose: Plants; Rabbit: Animals; Mould on old cheese: Micro-organisms; Snail: Animals

   The rose is a plant. The rabbit and the snail are animals. Mould is a micro-organism.

   Picture: Sorting into 3 groups: Plants, Animals, Micro-organisms. Plants: Rose. Animals: Rabbit, Snail. Micro-organisms: Mould on old cheese (piece of cheese).

3. Animals can be split into two big groups by one feature: a backbone.

   Vertebrates have a backbone inside their body. The fish and the dog are vertebrates.

   Invertebrates have no backbone. The snail, the ladybird and the octopus are invertebrates.

   A snail has a hard shell, but its shell is on the outside. It is not a backbone.

   Picture: Sorting into 2 groups: Vertebrates: backbone, Invertebrates: no backbone. Vertebrates: backbone: Fish, Dog. Invertebrates: no backbone: Snail, Ladybird, Octopus.