Captain Planet Foundation
Which Plant Is Which?
Learn about dichotomous keys, plant identification, and how to care for the planet with a lesson that includes several hands-on and innovative activities. Kids go on a plant scavenger hunt and classify the plants that they find...
Science 4 Inquiry
The Classification of Living Things
It's a classification sensation! Demystify why we classify using an inquiry activity that helps your class sort things out. Groups begin by classifying a variety of shoes before they research organisms and design their own dichotomous...
Columbus City Schools
Get Your Organisms Organized
From large to small, show your class how to organize them all! Included within the guide is everything you need to take their knowledge of classification from the cellular to the species level. The worksheets focus on...
Curated OER
Keys and Classifying
Students classify plants and animals. In this organisms instructional activity, students define classification and sort various objects according to its attributes. Students then research wildlife of Utah and group the organisms into...
Curated OER
"Five Little Seeds"
Fourth graders complete various activities related to the plant life cycle.  They read the book "The Tiny Seed," read and discuss the poem "Five Little Seeds," complete a "Plantenstein Mystery" and other online activities, write and...
Curated OER
Environmental Conditions: Friend or Foe
Students research and answer questions on how organisms are classified and how their needs are met through their environment.  They work in small groups and create a poster, chart, rap, PowerPoint, or brochure demonstrating how organisms...
Curated OER
From One Seed Grow Many Seeds
First graders practice identifying plants by singing a song.  In this plant life lesson, 1st graders sing the song "Parts of a Plant" which is based on the anatomy of sunflowers.  Students discover agriculture techniques while...
Curated OER
Dichotomous Key
Eighth graders use a dichotomous key to identify unknown fictitious organisms.  They work individually during this exercise.  The task is designed to take students approximately 15-25 minutes to complete.
Curated OER
Classifying Living Organisms into Kingdoms
Learners create a flip book that describes the basic characteristics of the five main animal kingdoms. They research the animal kingdoms, include examples of organisms for each kingdom and illustrate the finished text.
Curated OER
The Circle of Life
Fourth graders examine how the different organisms living in an ecosystem affect one another. In groups, they research a specific ecosystem and present their findings to the class based on the type of organisms found in it. To end the...
NASA
Consumers Get Energy From Other Living Things
How do plants and animals get their food? Learn about where energy comes from, how animals store energy, and aerobic respiration, in a lesson that allows scholars to diagram energy flows. 
Curated OER
Classify That!
Students get acquainted with diverse forms of life by using modern biological classification systems to group animals that are related. They explore basic scientific groupings like genus, species, mammals, fish, birds, amphibians, and...
Curated OER
Understanding Science Vocabulary And Categorization
Pupils explore and examine scientific language and categorization as related to commonly known plants and animals. They hypothesize about a specific plant or animal, how it was scientifically named, what concepts and vocabulary is...
Curated OER
Local Animal Sort
Students examine the concepts of sorting and classifying animal. They use familiar animals to determine the connections between physical characteristics and categorization.
Curated OER
Soil Stories
Tenth graders collect and analyze soil samples and extrapolate the characteristics needed to support different types of plant life. They research different types of prairie soil and how it supports plant and animal life.
Curated OER
Prairie Predator and Prey
Fifth graders brainstorm a list of animals that live on the prairie, and classify them as predators and prey. They conduct interviews where they ask the animals what they need to look out for to sustain life on the prairie.
Curated OER
Variation
Students participate in an online lesson to reinforce the similarities and differences in plants and animals. They classify living things according to observable characteristics.
Curated OER
The Key To Classifying Animals
Explorers of the environment construct a dichotomous key for a variety of organisms and design a key to classify Galapagos animals based on descriptions and images. The lesson includes a link to an animal gallery and the worksheet for...
Curated OER
Understanding Science Vocabulary and Categorization
Students analyze scientific vocabulary words.  In this life science vocabulary activity, students complete a worksheet using VisualThesaurus as they evaluate words related to plants and animals and how the words are used.
Curated OER
Focus on Food Chains
Third graders collect and analyze data about food chains. They conduct Internet research about the habitat of a selected organism, write a narrative, and create a computer slideshow using Kid Pix computer software that illustrates the...
Curated OER
Caterpillar, Caterpillar How Do You Grow?
Students work in small groups of three or four to create books based on the Eric Carle books studied. Topics may include tadpoles, guppies, people, moths, and plants. Media used may include Kid Pix, sound recordings, art pieces,...
Curated OER
Origin of Coal
Students explore how coal is formed.  They then discuss the information and answer any questions that they may have on the formation of coal.  Students then answer questions in reference to the coal discussion and reading.
Curated OER
Food Webs
Students research rainforest animals and use that information to make a flow chart to show the order in which energy is transferred through several organisms.  They label the producers, consumers, and decomposers in their chart.
Curated OER
Taxonomy Project
Students act as a taxonomist and, given a certain situation, classify existing organisms.