Classifying Organisms Using
the Internet and Smart Board
Michelle Ledford
The College of New Jersey
Introduction
Introduction
The following lessons were implemented within a simultaneous
communication sophomore Biology class within a high school for the
deaf. The students within this class ranged in age from 15-17. The
time frame for this unit was approximately two weeks. Included
within this time frame was preparation time, as well as the time
needed to create the newly discovered organism.
The idea for these lessons was inspired by a unit created by
Mary K. Bechold of Freehold Boro High School, Freehold, NJ.
Specifically, the phylums and classes to be researched by the
students, the traits within these phylums and classes to be
researched, and portions of the rubric were adapted from Ms.
Bechold’s lessons. A link for Ms. Bechold’s lessons can be obtained
in the reference section of this document.
Goals
Goals
Within the following lessons students will attempt to classify a
newly discovered organism. This new organism will contain traits
that would allow for it to fall into a number of different phylums and
classes. It is the responsibility of each student to label the
kingdom, phylum, and class that they feel best describes their
organism.
The students will also create a PowerPoint Presentation that
will educate their classmates on this newly discovered organism.
A diagram of the organism will also be created by each of the
students. A rubric will be presented so that the students are
fully aware of the teacher’s expectations.
Objectives
Objectives
-
-
-
-
SWBAT select a phylum and class for their organism that will
correspond with each of the provided traits, and list these
phylums and classes on the provided worksheet.
SWBAT research each of the selected phylums and classes,
and indicate their findings under the “characteristics of
phylum/class” column of the provided worksheet.
SWBAT construct their “newly discovered organism” based upon
the information acquired during their Internet searches.
SWBAT classify the kingdom, phylum, class, genus, and species
that they believe the organism belongs to.
SWBAT create a PowerPoint Presentation to display their
findings of the newly discovered organism.
SWBAT give a presentation on their newly discovered organism
using the Smart Board.
SWBAT objectively evaluate the presentations of their
classmates using the provided evaluation sheet.
Standards
Standards
These lessons adhere to the following New Jersey
Core Curriculum Content Standards:
Standard 1.3 – All students will utilize arts elements
and arts media to produce artistic products and
performances.
Standard 5.1 (Scientific Processes) – All students
will develop problem-solving, decision-making and
inquiry skills, reflected by formulating usable
questions and hypotheses, planning experiments,
conductive systematic observations, interpreting
and analyzing data, drawing conclusions, and
communicating results.
Standards
Standard 5.2 (Science and Society) – All students
will develop an understanding of how people of
various cultures have contributed to the
advancement of science and technology, and how
major discoveries and events have advanced
science and technology.
Standard 5.4 (Nature and Process of Technology) –
All students will understand the interrelationships
between science and technology and develop a
conceptual understanding of the nature and
process of technology.
Standards
Standard 5.5 (Characteristics of Life) – All
students will gain an understanding of the
structure, characteristics, and basic needs of
organisms and will investigate the diversity of
life.
Unit Overview
Unit Overview
Days 1-4 – Lesson Preparation
Day 5 – Lesson introduction, selecting phylums
and classes for each trait of the newly
discovered organism, begin research
Day 6 - Complete research, begin construction of
creature
Day 7 – Complete construction of creature, select
a kingdom, phylum, class, genus, and species
for organism
Unit Overview
Day 8 – Create a PowerPoint Presentation to
educate classmates about the newly
discovered organism
Days 9 & 10 – Present PowerPoint
Presentations using the Smart Board
Lesson Preparation
Days 1 to 4
Background Information
Prior to beginning the lessons, in which the
students would begin to classify their newly
discovered creature, it is necessary to provide
them with an introduction to classification.
Within this preparation the students would be asked
to define the word classify, and also to label
things around them that are classified (grades
within schools, aisles within a grocery store, etc.)
Linneaus’ and Aristotle’s methods of classification
would also be discussed.
Background Information
One activity that I implemented to
illustrate how scientists classify
living organisms was illustrated by
providing the students with different
types of beans. The students
worked with a partner to classify the
beans using any rule they wished.
The students began with one group,
which they divided into two. They
continued to divide the groups until
there were eight groups.
A sample of this division can be seen
on the right side of this slide.
The purpose of this activity was to
display that scientists begin with
very broad traits and move to very
specific traits to classify organisms.
Background Information
This activity was then related to a scientist’s use of
classification beginning with the most broad
(kingdoms) and moving towards much more
specific traits (species).
After the students had complete their
classifications, each set of partners labels the
rules they used for their methods of classifying.
The purpose of this activity is to display that any
rule can be used within classification as long as
the person doing the classifying continuously
adheres to that rule.
Lesson Introduction
Day 5
Problem
The teacher states to the student that they are to
imagine that they are scientists who have just
discovered a new organism on another planet,
in a galaxy far away. It is now their mission to
show and present their organisms to the
scientific world.
The teacher would then provide the students with
a table, and indicate that the only information
that they have on the creature is information
regarding the traits listed on that table. (See
Identifying Your Organism slides). At this time
any new vocabulary would be discussed.
Problem
The teacher would then state that they will be finding
information to go along with these traits and then
creating their own organisms based upon this
information. The students would be informed that
they will be creating a genus and species name for
their creature as well at a later time. They would
also be informed that they will making a
PowerPoint presentation to describe their newly
discovered organisms. At this time the teacher
would present the students with the rubric that is to
be used in grading this project. (See Rubric
slides).
Listing of Materials
Materials
- 10 party cups
- Scissors
- Labels for the cups
- Glue
- Note cards with
- Markers
-
phylums and classes
written on them
Laptops
Rubrics
Worksheet – Identifying
Your Organism
Paper to create
organism
- Crayons
- Textbooks
- Worksheet – Classifying
Your Newly Discovered
Creature
- Smart Board
- Evaluation Sheets
Identifying Your Organism
Worksheets
Identifying Your Organism
Student’s Name __________________________________
Name of Organism ________________________________
Trait
How does the organism
reproduce? (sexually/
asexually, internal/ external
fertilization)
How does the organism eat?
(sting or attack its prey/wait
for food to come to it)
What does the organism
eat? (plants/animals/ both)
Assigned Phylum/Class
Characteristics of that
Phylum/Class
Identifying Your Organism – Page 2
Trait
How does the organism move
around? Does it move in water?
(fins/float with current/does not
move)
What type of vision does your
organism have?
(simple/compound eyes,
good/bad sight)
What type of body covering
does your organism have?
(hair/skin/scales)
How does your organism protect
itself? (sting/teeth/fast
moving/camouflage)
Assigned Phylum/Class
Characteristics of that
Phylum/Class
Identifying Your Organism – Page 3
Trait
Is your organism warm blooded
or cold blooded?
How is your organism born?
(live birth/eggs)
What type of skeleton does your
organism have? (endoskeleton/
exoskeleton/none)
How does your organism
breathe? (gills/lungs/ through
skin)
Assigned Phylum/Class
Characteristics of that
Phylum/Class
Rubric
Rubric for Grading of the Newly Discovered Organism Project
Name _________________________________________
Important! A rubric is a tool to help you earn a good grade on your project. This project is worth a
lot of points, and it is very important that you read this paper so that you know what you are
being graded on. It may help you to check off the items as you go along so that you know you
have not forgotten anything. If you have any questions please ask!

When Completed
Item Being Graded
Possible
Points
Points
Received
Work Ethic
_________
On task while
researching
10
________
_________
Completed worksheet
10
________
_________
On task while making
creature
10
________
Rubric for Grading of the Newly Discovered Organism Project

When Completed
Item Being Graded
Possible
Points
Points
Received
__________
On task while designing
PowerPoint
Presentation
10
_______
__________
Provided a name for
creature
10
_______
__________
Provided a kingdom,
phylum, and class for
the creature
10
_______
__________
Labeled reproduction
method of organism
5
_______
Graded during
presentation
Rubric for Grading of the Newly Discovered Organism Project

When Completed
Item Being Graded
Possible
Points
Points
Received
____________
Labeled how the animal
eats
5
________
____________
Labeled the type of
vision
5
________
____________
Labeled type of body
covering
5
________
____________
Labeled how the
organism is protected
from predators
5
________
____________
Labeled if creature
was warm blooded or
cold blooded
5
________
Rubric for Grading of the Newly Discovered Organism Project

When Completed
Item Being Graded
Possible
Points
Points
Received
___________
Labeled if organism
gives birth to live
animals or lays eggs
5
________
___________
Labeled type of
skeleton
5
________
___________
Labeled method of
breathing
5
________
___________
Appropriate completion
of evaluation sheets of
classmates
5
________
Rubric for Grading of the Newly Discovered Organism Project

When Complete
Item Being Graded
Possible
Points
Points
Received
Other Items
__________
Total creativity of
creature
15
Total Points: _______/125 = _______ %
Remember…If you have any questions – ask!!
________
Selecting Phylums and Classes
Day 5
Selecting Phylums and Classes
The teacher would explain to the students
that they will be selecting a phylum and
class for each of the traits listed within the
first objective.
Eleven party cups would be presented to the
students, each labeled with a different trait,
which are listed on the “Identifying Your
Organism” worksheet. Inside each of the
cups would be a card with each of the
phylum/class combinations. (See following
slide for listing of combinations).
Phylum/Class Combinations
Phylum – Porifera
Phylum – Cnidarian
Phylum – Echinodermata
Phylum – Molluska, Class – Bi-Valve
Phylum – Molluska, Class – Cephalopod
Phylum – Arthropod, Class – Crustacean
Phylum – Chordata, Class – Chondrichthyes
Phylum – Chordata, Class – Osteichthyes
Phylum – Chordata, Class – Reptilia
Phylum – Chordata, Class - Mammalia
Selecting Phylums and Classes
The students would select a phylum/class card
out of each of the cups that would correspond
to each of the traits of their organisms.
As the students select a phylum and class for
each trait they would write the phylum and
class onto the provided worksheet in the
“assigned phylum/class” column.
Research
Days 5 & 6
Research
The students would use their laptops to acquire
information for each phylum and class that they
selected so that they may complete the provided
worksheet.
The teacher would email the students the following
links to help them begin their search:
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/~nhi708/classify/animalia/
http://www.virtualology.com/virtualmuseumofnaturalhi
story/halloftaxonomy/
In addition to using those websites given, the students
would need to independently find other information
on the Internet to complete their research.
Construction of Organism
Days 6 & 7
Construction of Organism
After the students have completed their research,
they would begin construction of their newly
discovered organism.
The students would utilize the information acquired
during their research to create this organism.
The students would be given the choice of how they
will construct their organism. They may either
use their computers, or use the other materials
provided to them including white paper,
construction paper, glue, scissors, markers and
crayons.
Selecting a Kingdom, Phylum,
& Class
Day 7
Selecting a kingdom, phylum, & class
After creating the organism, the students will
attempt to find the one kingdom, phylum, and
class that they feel their organism best fits into.
When selecting the phylum and class they must
classify the creature using the traits that appear
to be most important.
The students are likely to become frustrated with
this task, since the creature would be likely to fit
into a number of phylums. When this occurs, the
teacher would take the opportunity to explain
how difficult it is for scientists to classify newly
discovered creatures.
Selecting a kingdom, phylum & class
The students would be reminded that there is no “right”
or “wrong” means of classification as long as you can
justify the rules that were used.
The students would then complete the following
worksheet while classifying their organism. (See
following slides). The purpose of this worksheet is to
assist the students in the process of classification.
The students would select a genus and species name
for their organism on this day.
The students would be reminded that the genus
describes the body structure, while the species is
often named after the person who discovered the
creature.
Classifying Your Newly
Discovered Organism
Worksheets
Name ____________________________________ Date ____________________
Classifying Your Newly Discovered Organism
1. What kingdom did you place your organism into?
2. Why did you select this kingdom?
3. What phylum did you place your organism into?
4. Why did you choose this phylum? List the traits that you felt were most important
when classifying your organism into a phylum.
Classifying Your Newly Discovered Organism – Page 2
5. How did you decide which traits were more important than others in your
classification?
6. What class did you classify your creature into?
7. Why did you choose this class? List the traits that you felt were most important
when classifying your creature into a class.
8. If you can justify your reasons for classifying your creature in this way, can
anyone tell you that you are incorrect?
Creating a PowerPoint
Presentation
Day 8
Creating a PowerPoint Presentation
The students will then prepare a PowerPoint
Presentation, which would contain information
regarding each of the different traits of the newly
discovered creature.
The PowerPoint Presentation would also include the
final kingdom, phylum, class, genus, and species
selected by each of the students.
If students are having difficulties with this task the
teacher may suggest that the make a slide for
each of the different traits of their creature.
Presenting the PowerPoint
Presentations
Days 9 & 10
Presenting the PowerPoint
Presentations
The students would then present information to their
classmates regarding the traits of their newly
discovered creatures taken from the PowerPoint
Presentations that they had developed.
The PowerPoint Presentation would be displayed on
the Smart Board so that all of the students may see
it, and so that they would gain experience using the
Smart Board.
The students would also discuss the pictures of the
creatures that they had created based upon those
traits.
Presenting the PowerPoint
Presentations
The students would then objectively evaluate the
presentations of each of their classmates to
ensure that all of the necessary components
are included within the presentations.
The students would be given an evaluation sheet
to foster the evaluation of their classmates.
(See following slides).
Evaluation Sheets
Evaluation Sheet
Name of classmate that you are evaluating ____________________________
Genus and species name of organism __________________________
Item Being Evaluated
Did he/she label the method of reproduction?
Did he/she label how/what the animal eats?
Did he/she label how the creature move?
Did he/she discuss the creature’s vision?
Did he/she discuss the creature’s body covering?
Yes
No
Evaluation Sheet – Page 2
Item Being Evaluated
Did he/she discuss the creature’s ability to protect
itself from predators?
Did he/she label if the creature is warm blooded or
cold blooded?
Did he/she discuss if babies are born through live
birth or hatched from eggs?
Did he/she label the type of skeleton?
Did he/she label how the animal breathers?
Yes
No
My Reflection
My Reflection
I was extremely impressed with the amount of effort
that each of the students put into these lessons.
It was interesting to see how each of the students
decided to set up their PowerPoint Presentation.
It was also very interesting to see how each of
the students decided to create their creature.
Some of the students drew their creatures on
paper, while others created them using the
computer. Those students who created their
creatures using the computer were then able to
display their creatures on the Smart Board.
My Reflection
It was especially helpful for the students to see the
creatures displayed on the Smart Board because it
allowed all of the students to clearly see the actual
creature that their classmate had described at the
same time.
Having access to the Smart Board greatly enhanced
this project. It allowed those students who were
watching the presentations to be given the
information twice. They first saw it signed by their
classmates, and they were then able to read the
information on the screen.
My Reflection
This repeat of information was also helpful to the
students due the fact that they were using very
technical scientific names since they were discussing
the different classifications of their creatures.
Through the Smart Board the students were able to
see their classmates fingerspell these words, and
then were also able to see the printed version of the
words on the screen in front of them.
In addition, using the Smart Board in this manner
allowed for the presentations to be more exciting
than if the students had simply stood up, told about
their creature, displayed a picture, and then sat back
down.
References
References
Animal diversity web. 2004. The University of Michigan
Museum of Zoology. Retrieved November 30, 2003,
from http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/.
Bechold, M. K. Taxonomic twisters. Ocean
Biogeographic Information Systems. Retrieved
November 30, 2003, from
http://www.iobis.org/education_twister.shtm.
Hall of taxonomy. Museum of Natural History. Retrieved
November 30, 2003, from
http://www.virtualology.com/virtualmuseumofnaturalhi
story/halloftaxonomy/.
References
New Jersey core curriculum content standards,
Retrieved November 30, 2003, from the New
Jersey Department of education Web site:
http://www.state.nj.us/njded/cccs/.
The phyla of kingdom animalia. Zoology Museum:
The Major Phyla. Retrived November 30, 2003,
from
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/~nhi708/classify/animalia/