Year 7 Science Unit 1
Week 4 – Classification
Learning Goal
Achievement standard:
classify and organise diverse
organisms based on observable
differences
I will be able to

Classify organisms based on their physical characteristics

Use a dichotomous key to classify organisms
I will understand

The Linnean system for classifying living things
Lesson 1 - Classification
Learning Goals:

I will understand that classification is based on
identifying physical characteristics.

I will be able to classify living things based on their
physical characteristics.
Cognitive Verb - CLASSIFY
CLASSIFY means to

arrange, distribute or order in
classes or categories according to
shared qualities or characteristics
What do you know…?
Let’s check what you already know
about this topic.
Log in to Education Perfect and
complete the Term 1 Final Pre-test
You have 30 minutes to complete the
test with your best answers
Why do we classify?
Can you think of different ways we classify the objects
around us?

Pens & pencils

Living and non-living things

Items in a supermarket
Why do we classify?

Classification is the organisation of
items into groups with similar
characteristics.

Observable characteristics are the
features of an object that you can
see.

Scientists classify living organisms
into groups based on similar
physical characteristics.
Activity – Classify it!
Your turn!
Your teacher will give you some objects to classify.
How many different ways can you classify them?
What different physical characteristics could you use?
What characteristics could you use that are not visible?
(eg, behaviour, diet)
What characteristics would be best?
How many different ways can you classify into two groups?
Activity – Write it!

Describe how some items in your kitchen get classified
into groups.

HINT – How do you organise your groceries, cutlery, or
recipes?
5 minutes
Learning Check
Learning Goals:

I will understand that classification is based on identifying physical
characteristics.

I will be able to classify living things based on their physical characteristics.
Lesson 2 – Classifying Living things
Learning goals:

I will understand the scientific classification of living things

I will be able to research the characteristics of an animal phylum
Classifying living things
Living things can be classified in many different ways:

Based on how they obtain energy
Classifying living things

Based on their position in a food web


(Producer/consumer/decomposer)
Other physical characteristics

Feathers/fur/scales

Backbone/no backbone

Numbers of wings/legs

Shape of leaf/type of flower
Taxonomy of living things
Classification of living things involves 8 levels.
All living things are given a scientific name which
includes their genus and species names.
Eg: honey bee
Apis mellifera
This is called “binomial nomenclature”
Activity – Reading 4 Life
- Animal Phyla

In this activity, you will learn about some of the physical
characteristics of an animal phylum

There are 33 different animal phyla
Why am I reading this?

Today we will be reading and learning about
different animal phyla

You will each be given a different animal
card
What am I looking for?

Classification of my animal – what phylum?

Scientific name

What do animals in this phylum have in common?

Physical characteristics
Predict and Highlight

Predict: What are some key words that you could use to
help your search
(1 minute)

Highlight: Do a quick google search and scan through
the search results. Which result looks the most useful?
(2 minutes)
Read and Discuss

Read: Take time to read through the text in-depth, focus on the
parts where you saw the key words. Note down any important
pieces of information.
(5mins)

Discuss: This is your opportunity to collaborate with your peers
and discuss your notes. Steal and share! If someone has recorded
an important piece of information that you don’t have, write it
down too. If you have a lot of information already recorded, share
it with others!
(3mins)
Show me what you know

Write down a few sentences that answer the questions we
asked in ‘What am I looking for?’. Use the information from
the text (and the notes you have gathered so far) to answer
each question.
(5mins)
Draw and Write

Draw: Draw a picture to represent the physical characteristics of animals
in your phylum.
(3mins)

Write: Write a TEES paragraph using the information you have recorded
today. You should already have the first E(Explain) in your notes, which
means you need to create a T(Topic) sentence, the second E(Elaborate),
and S(Summarise) your information.
Learning check
Learning goals:

I will understand the scientific classification of living
things

I will be able to research the characteristics of an animal
phylum
Lesson 3 – Using dichotomous keys
Learning goal:

I will be able to use a dichotomous key to classify living
organisms.

I will be able to give reasons to justify my classification
Dichotomous keys

Scientists use dichotomous keys to classify and
identify organisms.

Is this snake venomous?

How would you know if you can’t identify exactly
what type of snake it is?
Dichotomous Keys

A key with a set of steps that helps us identify objects by giving two
choices at each step.

"di-" means two so "dichotomous" means branching into two.

How many different ways can we divide these buttons into two
groups?
Branched Dichotomous Keys

At each stage you are given two choices.

Each choice leads to another two choices and so on, until there are no more choices and the
object is identified.
Tabular Dichotomous Keys
Strong and weak keys
Some features of organisms are much better to use in a
dichotomous key than others.

Structural features are strong features because they will be the same in all
organisms of the same species (eg, feathers, number of legs)

Size, colour, shape, behavioural features are weak features, because they
could vary over time, or between different individuals
Your turn – Activity!
Now it’s your turn to practice using a dichotomous key to
identify living things.

Complete the questions in the Education Perfect lesson
“Introduction to dichotomous keys”

Complete the Alien dichotomous worksheets found on your
OneNote
Cognitive Verb - JUSTIFY
JUSTIFY means to

give reasons or evidence to support
an answer, response or conclusion;
show or prove how an argument,
statement or conclusion is right or
reasonable
Use the dichotomous key to
classify the character in the
picture.
ANSWER:
The character is Fizz!
This is a C standard
question and answer
Justify the reason for your
classification.
ANSWER:
The character is Fizz!
The first step in the key asks
If the character has legs or flies, and
because the character has legs, I then
looked at step 2. Because the character
makes fire, I then looked at step 3. The
character is not made of rock, so
therefore, it must be Fizz.
Justifying the answer
makes this an A
standard response
Your turn!
Use the dichotomous key to classify the
character in the picture.
Justify the reason for your classification.
Learning goals - Check
Achievement standard:
classify and organise diverse
organisms based on observable
differences
I will be able to

Classify organisms based on their physical characteristics

Use a dichotomous key to classify organisms
I will understand

The Linnean system for classifying living things