Classifying Organisms
Describe how living things are classified into broad groups (micro-organisms, plants, animals) according to common observable characteristics, similarities, and differences
What a learner can do afterwards
- Name the broad classification groups: micro-organisms, plants, animals (and fungi if known)
- Describe observable characteristics used for classification (e.g. plants make own food, animals move and eat)
- Give examples of organisms in each group, including micro-organisms like bacteria
The lesson
Scientists sort every living thing into a few big groups. To decide which group something belongs to, look at how it gets food, whether it moves on its own, and how big it is.
Plants make their own food using sunlight, and they stay rooted in one place. Animals cannot make their own food, so they move around to find and eat it. Micro-organisms are living things so small you need a microscope to see them, like bacteria.
Look at an oak tree, a rabbit, and a drop of pond water. The oak tree stays still and makes its own food from sunlight, so it is a plant. The rabbit moves around and eats grass, so it is an animal. The pond water holds bacteria too small to see without a microscope, so they are micro-organisms.
Some scientists add a fourth group called fungi, like mushrooms and mold. Fungi cannot make their own food like plants. Instead, they feed by breaking down dead plants and animals.
Living things sort into big groups, plants, animals, and micro-organisms, based on how they get food, whether they move, and how big they are.
Watch it
Where it sits
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.