Living things & their habitats
Grouping is good — but scientists need a tool to identify any animal. Meet the classification key.
⏱ Whole lesson ≈ 44 min · pick a tier in the bar, or leave on "All"
Whiteboard task as you come in — recap of last lesson: grouping organisms.
Circle the vertebrates:
A vertebrate has a ____.
Choose two vertebrate groups and explain one feature that tells them apart.
Play "Guess my animal" — you may only ask yes/no questions.
Teacher thinks of an animal. The class narrows it down — but every question must have a yes or no answer.
Pick a good question from these:
Ask three yes/no questions that would split the animals into groups.
What makes a question fair for a key? Why is "Is it scary?" no good?
Teacher models. Watch, then read a key together.
Swap the clip: change the ID after /embed/ (now 1xkJIr1XUaE).
Read a key together to identify each animal.
🦅 eagle 🐟 trout 🐍 snake 🐝 bee
Model good vs poor key questions, then watch a key build.
A key asks yes/no questions to split animals, step by step.
Watch for: classifying by where an animal lives or how it moves — use body features instead.
Turn opinion questions into fair ones together.
On your own. Sort each question, then build your own key.
Tap a question to sort it…
Sort the questions. Then write one good yes/no question.
Sort them, then write a two-question key to tell a bird from a fish.
Build a key with three yes/no questions to separate a bee, a snake and a robin. Explain each choice.
Answer at your tier, then hand it in.
Write a two-step key that would sort any animal into vertebrate groups. What's your first question, and why?