After watching a short film about the anatomy and physiology of fungi, discuss with your class the seven provided Think questions, or make up your own. The animation is in the style of colorful artistic drawings and text that appears in...

This resource provides thorough instruction in scientific classification for your elementary scientists. They classify a set of alien organism cards, rock samples, a mixture of beans, and a pile of pasta. This provides plenty of practice...

Students examine a painting by Frans Snyders and use Internet research to classify the animals portrayed in the painting according to genus and species.

The author of this presentation elaborates on the details of insect classification, information apparently required to become a master gardener in the horticulture program at Oregon State University. Though lengthy (110 slides), it is an...

Five pages provide thorough coverage of three protozoans: euglena, amoebae, and paramecia. For each, junior biologists read factual text, label the organism, and write answers to several questions. This neatly organized assignment is...

Four red shoes are featured in this video, which has viewers identify which item doesn't belong. This is a great film to show before a lesson on classification.

Discuss bullying, folk tales, and more using this resource. Learners read the story The Lion and the Mouse by Toni and Slade Morrison, engage in cause and effect activities, make predictions, and discuss bullying. This is a motivating...

After looking at a group with three pairs of sunglasses and a hat, viewers have to identify which item doesn’t belong. As a critical thinking and classification activity, this video could be linked to a lesson on grouping objects.

Viewers can identify which of the four hats, three red fire fighter hats, or a silver, sparkly New Year's hat, does not belong with the group. This film could be a good way to introduce the idea of classification and sorting in the...

Sarah Jessica Parker helps Elmo understand the concept of a pair. She uses shoes, mittens, and ice skates to define a pair. This video could be used before a math lesson to define this concept.

Mike Rowe does a dirty job with Oscar the Grouch in this video. Rowe has to find the stinky cheese in Oscar's garbage can and count it. He then has to pile up trash and sort it.

Before a trip to the zoo, you can have your students complete these motivating activities. Learners listen to the book Do Pigs Have Stripes by Melanie Walsh, and classify a group of animals based on attributes. Then students draw a...

The arsenal of tools a scientist uses to observe the world are varied. This great presentation gives students a look at some of the strategies they should use when looking at the world around them. The information can be used as a...

Challenge young learners to cut the clutter with this fun engineering project. As employees of a home and office supply company, young engineers are asked to develop devices that organize everyday items. After participating in a...

How are living organisms grouped? In this eight-minute video clip, the system of grouping them according to similarities and relationships is broken down in a simple and straightforward manner. Sal explains the definition of species and...

Can you tell the difference between a bug and an insect? Aren't they the exact same thing? Let your learners explore, identify, classify, and document the differences they see in bugs and insects. The activity sheet suggests several...

Life science learners discuss the characteristics of five kingdoms of life: animals, plants, fungi, protists, and bacteria in this video. Viewers find out from the dialogue that scientists group organisms according to similarities. This...

Focus on classification using this resource. A young girl demonstrates how to sort and classify objects by cleaning her room. It is a great way to link classroom learning to real life tasks.

Learners use classification skills and clues to determine which flying insect is the one they need to circle. They read four clues and examine each of the five insects depicted. They then deduce which one is the mystery insect. Answers...

A branching key is a great way to classify different types of animals and plants! Fifth graders answer several yes/no answers about three different plants. They then create their own key to differentiate between an iris, a rose, and a...

Give each group a set of the included deep-sea organism cards and have them sort the cards based on different characteristics. The link for the cards takes you to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute website where you will find...

Compare and contrast eukaryotes, prokaryotes, and viruses with a chart and a Venn diagram. Beginning microbiologists consider motility, reproductive ability, DNA content, and the presence of organelles. They write short answers to...

Junior biologists journey through the hiearchy of living things with these activites. Using a dichotomous key, they identify common algae, plants, and fish. They design their own key for a mixture of seeds and a collection of...

Beginning biologists learn the characteristics of the five classes in the arthropod phylum. A student handout lists characteristics to help them identify five specimens. You will need to collect an example of each: arachnida, crustacea,...