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Classifying Living

Things
Lea d S t ory He ad lin e

CUSD 200

Inside this unit

Authors note 2

Learning Standards 3

Fourth Grade Science Planning Pyramid 4

By Peggy Clutter Teacher Resources 5

And Learner Activities 6

Heather Schmit Assessment 7

CUSD 200 Modifications 8


Authors Note

This unit is intended for use with fourth grade students


in CUSD 200. It is written with Illinois Learning Stan-
dards in mind. The unit weve chosen is the Classification
of Living Things and it should be completed over 3-4
weeks. The purpose of the unit is to explain why scientists
classify living things, to understand how it is done and to
identify the 5 kingdoms of living things.

As an ESL teacher it is my job to modify district curricu- Here are some


suggestions for
lum to meet the needs of a broad range of culturally di- modification of
curriculum for
verse students. Some students can learn from visual me- all kids
dia only, especially the new arrivals. Others are capable
speakers of English, but need lots of background knowl-
edge blanks filled in.
I am working with an elementary Special Education
teacher. Her job also requires modifying and adapting ma-
terials to meet IEP goals. She, too works with students
with a broad range of abilities. Together we hope to pro-
vide good suggestions for teaching plant and animal classi-
fication to all students from non-English speakers, to
gifted general education students.
Peggy ClutterESL K-5
Heather Schmit SPED K-5 Page 2
Relevant Learning Standards
http://www.isbe.state.il.us/ils/

-12. A.2a Describe simple life cycles of


plants and animals and the similarities and
differences in their offspring.

-12. B.2a Describe relationships among


various organisms in their environments (e.
g., predator/prey, parasite/host, food
chains and food webs).

-12.B.2b Identify physical features of


plants and animals that help them live in
different environments (e.g., specialized
teeth for eating certain foods, thorns for
protection, insulation for cold tempera-
ture).

-13.A.2b Explain why similar investigations


may not produce similar results.

-13.A.2c Explain why keeping accurate and


detailed records is important

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PLANNING PYRAMID

Some students
will know

>Give characteristics and ex-


amples from each of the 5
kingdoms.
> 5 classes of vertebrates and
2 classes of invertebrates.
>Explore how characteristics
of species affects habitat
and
place on the food chain.
>Some scientists differ in

Most students > The broadest classification of living things


will know is kingdom. The two smallest classification
groups are genus and species.
> All living things can be classified into five
kingdoms: animals, plants, fungi, protists,
and monerans.
> Characteristics of vertebrates and inverte-
brates and an example of each.
> Humans are mammals.
> Plants are either vascular (have tubes) or
nonvascular (no tubes) and make their own
food.

All > Plants and animals are living things; all other objects are
students non-living.
will > Plants and animals can be sorted into groups depending
know on characteristics so they can be more easily studied
and discussed.
> Students will learn to differentiate between plants and
animals.

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TEACHER RESOURCES

Best Of Sites

http://linnaeus.nrm.se/botany/fbo/welcome.html.en. Good information on classifiction methodsby


Linnaeus.

www.google.com Click on to Images for pictures to download.

http://animal.discovery.com/guides/atoz/atoz.html Good site for animals in action.

http://schooldiscovery.com/lessonplans/programs/animaladaptations

http://discoveryschool.com/schrockguide/

Also Good : to browse for extras for those eager future scientists.
http://www.animalplanet.com

http://www.educationplanet.com

http://www.scienceteacherstuff.com

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Hands On Activities
Internet Fun -Teacher will sort students into
Scavenger Hunt: 2-3 groups. Class will brain-
http://www.education- storm as to why they
world.com/a_lesson/ are in a certain group. Teacher will disclose the
criteria used to separate students. Discuss how
Lesson068.shtml
else students could be divided.
Puzzlemaker: -Do Classifying Shoes activity in Hatcourt Sci-
http://puzzlemaker. ence TE pg. A4 & Plant invest. Pg.A16.
Schooldiscovery.com/ - Using toy animals or pictures:
http://www.world A. Sort into vertebrate & invertebrate
almanacforkids.com/ 1. Sort vert. Into 5 categories (mammal,
reptile, fish, bird, and amphibian)
fun-games/printables/
2. Sort invert. Into 2 categories (arthropod,
html mollusk or worm)
3. Sort by families (eg. Canine,feline etc.)
4. Sort pictures of plants(vascular,nonvasc)

Learner Activities
Learner ActivitiesThese can
be done by kids to reinforce
classroom learning

Book Picks
>What is the Animal Kingdom?
(Science of Living Things) by
Bobbie Kalman, Greg Nickles
Rdg Level: Ages 4-8
>What is a Plant? (The Science
of Living Things) by Bobbie Kalman
Rdg Level: Ages 9-12
>The Animal Kingdom: A Guide
To Vertebrate Classification and
Biodiversity (Classification) by
Kathryn Whyman Rdg Ages: 9-12
>New Animal Discoveries by Jane
Goodall Rdg Ages: 9-12
>A Whale Is Not a Fish: And Other
Animal Mix-Ups by Berger
& Peck Rdg Ages:4-8

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Great Sites For Assessment

Electronic Quizzes
http://www.funbrain.com

http://quiz.4teachers.org/

http://school.discovery.com/quizcenter.html

Project Scoring Guides and Rubrics

http://www.ncrtec.org/tl/sgsp/index.html

http://rubistar.4teachers.org

Authoring Software

http://www.inspiration.com
(Kidspiration)
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CUSD 200

Modifications

materials in a language other than English you


If you have students who need the instructional
materials in a language other than English you
might visit these addresses:
CAST e Reader @ http://www.cast.org
Sp. Ed. Res. In Spanish @ http://paidos.rediris.
es/needdirectorio/
index.html
The Nat. Assoc. for Bilingual Ed. @ http://www.
ncbe.gwu.edu

For students who cannot read at grade level we


suggest:
Write OutLoud @ http://www.donjohnston.com
WordQ @ http://www.wordq.com
Start-to-Finish Books @http://www.donjohnston.
com/catalog/catalog.htm

Those students with difficulty in writing may look to:


Kidspiration @ http;//www.inspiration.com
Intellipics Studio @ http://www.intellitools.com
PowerPoint @ http://www.microsoft.com

For those students who need additional challenge &/or


research materials, visit:
Alexa @ http://www.alexa.com
My Yahoo! @ http://my.yahoo.com
Karnak @ http://www.karnak.com 8
Yahoo! Reference @ http://dir.yahoo.com/reference/

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