Objective: Have students understand taxonomic classification using various types of pasta
PROCEDURE:
• Students completed a worksheet which broke down the “ Food
Kingdom ” into the various taxonomic levels
• Groups of students classified 13 pasta types ranging in shape and ingredients
Food
Carbs
Pasta
Protein
Bread
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
RESULTS:
• Student groups successfully classified pasta down to “species” level
• Student groups debated which characteristics of the pasta were most important to classify pasta at each taxonomic level (color, shape, texture, etc.)
Laungani
Mickle
In this activity the students were given a wide variety of pasta and were asked to separate the various types based on morphological characteristics. The pasta ranged in shape color and major ingredient (rice, egg, flour). The students had to also explain to the RSEMs which characteristics were being used to break groups of pasta into smaller sub-groups. The individual pasta types were the “species” while larger more inclusive groups were the higher taxonomic levels. After the student groups completed their pasta taxonomy, they were given an “unknown” pasta which had many of the same characters as multiple “species” of pasta and the students debated which characters of the unknown were going to be used to classify it. The most important idea that the students got out of this activity was the role of shared characteristics in classification, which is central to the fields of taxonomy, phylogenetics, and evolution.
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