Living things & their habitats
The scientist who sorted all of life into groups — his brilliant system, and how science has improved it since.
⏱ Whole lesson ≈ 44 min · pick a tier in the bar, or leave on "All"
Whiteboard task as you come in — recap of the whole block so far.
Match: vertebrate → has a ____ · flowering plant → makes ____ · virus → ____ shape
In one sentence: how can living things be identified, grouped and classified?
Pose the challenge. Take ideas.
Imagine it's 300 years ago — no computers, no microscopes. You must organise every living thing on Earth. Where would you even start?
What two big groups could you split all life into first?
Would you group by size, colour, or features? Which is fairest, and why?
Why is a shared system so useful for scientists all over the world?
Teacher models. Watch, then unpack his big idea.
Swap the clip: change the ID after /embed/ (now mv0OBOtzt8A).
Place organisms into a simple hierarchy together.
🐕 dog 🌹 rose 🦅 eagle 🌲 pine
Show the tree of life, then the limits of his model.
Linnaeus sorted life into nested groups, from big to small.
Big idea: a model can be useful and still have limits. Science keeps improving its models.
Then vs now — what changed and why.
On your own. Sort each statement, then answer the block question at your tier.
Tap a statement to sort it…
Sort the statements. Then finish:
Sort them, then write one thing Linnaeus did well and one his system missed.
Explain why Linnaeus's system wasn't perfect, and how better tools let scientists improve it.
Answer at your tier, then hand it in.
🧭 Final block answer: How can animals, plants and microorganisms be identified, grouped and classified? Use everything you've learned.