---
title: "Grouping Living Things"
description: "Recognise that living things can be grouped in a variety of ways based on observable features"
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/grouping-living-things-mt_AylKwhbDWM
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/grouping-living-things-mt_AylKwhbDWM.md
retrieved: 2026-10-19
---

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# Grouping Living Things

Recognise that living things can be grouped in a variety of ways based on observable features

Subject: Science · Area: Ecosystems & Habitats · Ages 8 to 9
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/grouping-living-things-mt_AylKwhbDWM

## Ready when they can

- Group a set of organisms using at least two different criteria (e.g. by habitat, by body covering, by diet)
- Explain the reasoning behind each grouping choice
- Recognise that the same organism can belong to different groups depending on the criteria used

## Lesson: Many Ways to Group Living Things

Living things can be grouped in more than one way. You pick a feature to sort by, like where something lives, what covers its body, or what it eats. Change the feature, and you get a new set of groups.

**Example.** Look at an owl, a rabbit, and a fish. Sort by body covering: the owl has feathers, the rabbit has fur, and the fish has scales. All three land in different groups. Now sort by diet: the owl eats mice and the fish eats smaller water creatures, so they group together as meat-eaters. The rabbit eats grass, so it stands alone this time.

*(drawing: Sort the owl, the rabbit, and the fish by diet: two are meat-eaters, one is a plant-eater.)*

**Tip.** The same animal can belong to different groups. Sort by habitat and the owl joins the rabbit as a land animal. Sort by diet and the owl joins the fish as a meat-eater. The animal did not change, only the feature you chose to sort by.

**Recap.** Pick a feature to group by, and the same living things can land in new groups every time.

## Practice

8 questions on this page, each with its working shown.

## Needs first

- [Classifying Ocean Animals](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/classifying-ocean-animals-mt__aHSZTm5k5)
- [Animal Classification Vocabulary](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/animal-classification-vocabulary-mt_1J5fwxNDxL)
- [Not all minibeasts are insects](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/not-all-minibeasts-are-insects-mt_4vHa3I5bNj)
- [Classifying Rainforest Organisms](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/classifying-rainforest-organisms-mt_OtShuvs3x8)
- [Local Plants & Animals](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/local-plants-and-animals-mt_ppENoD8vf1)
- [Naming Common Animals](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/naming-common-animals-mt_zVLOm6U7bh)

## Opens up

- [Animal Life Cycles](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/animal-life-cycles-mt_A1Xfu5p5KT)
- [Classification Keys](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/classification-keys-mt_brgde1Vx0P)
- [Variation in Species](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/variation-in-species-mt_k1HXbEwG8f)