National curriculum content

• Recognise that living things can be grouped in a variety of ways.
• Explore and use classification keys to help group, identify and name a variety of living things in their local and wider environment.
• Recognise that environments can change, and that this can sometimes pose dangers to living things.

Lesson objectives

• To understand the meaning of classification.
• To recognise that living things can be grouped in a variety of ways.
• To explore the school grounds for vertebrates and invertebrates.
• To classify the living things we found in our school grounds and present our findings.
• Recognise that environments can change and that this can sometimes post dangers to living things.       

What we want children to know

• That living things are divided into different groups.
• Living things can be grouped in different ways.
• What characteristics are identified to classify.
• The characteristics of vertebrate and invertebrate.
• The human impact on different environments.

What skills we want children to develop

• To make a classification key.
• To identify vertebrate and invertebrate based on their characteristics.
• To present findings in a variety of ways.
• Use scientific evidence to support their reasoning.

Vocabulary

Amphibian, bird, centipede, classify, fish, flowering plant, habitat, insect, invertebrate, key, mammal, organism, reptile, vertebrate.