Classification

In seventh grade, science students build upon these organization skills. They are expected to use a dichotomous key to classify objects and organisms. They also learn how to create their own dichotomous key and assess the effectiveness of keys written by fellow students. As third graders, formal organization is new to them. They may not realize that they categorize things everyday. The class discussion is a collaborative effort to help them build a foundation of knowledge. Talking with their classmates will help give them a more concrete understanding of how they use classification systems in their lives on a daily basis. The research is directed inquiry that allows them to find and learn about key characteristics of each kingdom and classification in general. Callison states that this inquiry level is __directed__ inquiry because the teacher helps choose the questions from the standards (who and what). The final assessment allows them to use their new found knowledge to classify organisms according to various features. This is similar to what scientists do when they find a new species of animal or plant. As seventh graders, students have evolved in their thinking. They already realize that they use organizational systems. The research they do is at a __guided__ inquiry level. They develop their own questions on a topic determined by the teacher. Students must use prior knowledge to create the questions they want to search. They must also now build on that new and prior knowledge to create their own classification key. The final test is to see if their key will hold up under the scrutiny of another team of students. They must create a key that will allow others to use it and get the same results.
 * CLASSFICATION **
 * __Lesson Overview__: **Beginning in third grade, science students are expected to develop their skills in classifying. They must be able to analyze separate features of objects and organisms and determine which features would be most useful to develop an organizational system. They must also learn that by using different features, the entire classification scheme may change.
 * __Inquiry Skill__: **The main inquiry skill that these lessons focus on is organizing information so that it is useful. This is a skill that is very necessary in today’s world with the overwhelming influx of information that we receive from a variety of sources and media. Students need to be able to distinguish between what is important and what is irrelevant. They then need to categorize the significant information so that it is in a practical format for later use.

** THIRD GRADE LESSON ** **3.4.1** Demonstrate that a great variety of living things can be sorted into groups in many ways using various features, such as how they look, where they live, and how they act, to decide which things belong to which group. **2.1.2** Organize knowledge so that it is useful. **2.1.5** Collaborate with others to exchange ideas, develop new understandings, make decisions, and solve problems. **3.3.4** Create products that apply to authentic, real-world contexts. __Engage__: and class discussion
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__Explore__: Jelly Bean Classification

__Explain__: Directed Inquiry: Students will go to the library and research the questions that were derived from class discussion. These questions should include: what is the current classification scheme (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species), who developed the classification scheme we use now, and what are the major characteristics of each of the kingdoms. They will record the information they find and their search process in their science notebooks. Students will NOT know what the final assessment will be so that they will make a good effort to find as much information as they can.

__Elaborate__: Add the “new” specimen of jelly bean to the classification key.

__Evaluate__: A Touch of Class activity (write down student scores) A Touch of Class activity and Grouping Organisms Worksheet
 * __Student Materials__: **

** SEVENTH GRADE LESSON ** **7.4.1** Explain that similarities among organisms are found in external and internal anatomical features, including specific characteristics at the cellular level, such as the number of chromosomes. Understand that these similarities are used to classify organisms since they may be used to infer the degree of relatedness among organisms.
 * __Science Standard__: **

**1.1.2**  Use prior and background knowledge as context for new learning . **2.1.2** Organize knowledge so that it is useful. **2.1.5** Collaborate with others to exchange ideas, develop new understandings, make decisions, and solve problems. **3.3.4** Create products that apply to authentic, real-world contexts. **3.4.2** Assess the quality and effectiveness of the learning product. __Engage__: Have the students do a KWL chart in their science notebooks. Have them list what they Know and Want to know about classification. They should remember that there is a classification scheme for science. Remind them of the current system (KPCOFGS) and talk about how organisms are named with Latin names. __Explore__: Shoe Sort ( [] ). Have students answer the analysis and conclusion in their science notebooks. __Explain__: Guided Inquiry: Have students go to the media center and research the questions that they came up with on the KWL. Have students record the search process and the information they gathered in their science notebooks. Again, students will NOT know what the final assessment will be so that they will make a good effort to find as much information as they can. __Elaborate__: Have students review using a dichotomous key by completing the worksheet for Pamishan Classification. __Evaluate__: Pamishan activity: ( [] )
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Kingdom of Pasta activity ( [] **)** The third grade lesson is basically an introduction to organizing objects. Students begin to notice different properties and features and use those for classification. They use a basic dichotomous key and learn how to organize the features of organisms in a practical way. They progress from novice to expert by applying their new skills in a different and more complex manner with each activity (donuts to jelly beans to animals). They learn how to develop questions with the help of the teacher. The teacher provides scaffolding by leading the class to create questions that align with the standards and that will allow the students to gather the information they will need for the final assessment. Scaffolding is also provided by having the students complete the assessment online in the form of a game. This allows students to take the time they need and go back to their notebooks to make sure they are on the right track. It also makes them use knowledge they have previously learned about plants and animals. The students then complete the final assessment and are able to group organisms according to several different features. The seventh grade lesson builds upon the learning that took place in third grade. The KWL forces students to remember the things they learned in the past. The Know section can be done as a class so that students can discuss and remind each other of things they have already learned. The Want to know section allows students to develop their own questions. This is a big leap in maturation. It is difficult for students to come up with their own research questions. The teacher provides scaffolding by helping guide them to create searchable questions. Also, at both levels, the teacher must not tell the students the details surrounding the assessment. “Holding back the details about the final product allows students to focus on attempting a thorough answer of the strategic questions to their personal satisfaction. This is important because students often try to find only what information they feel is necessary to complete the final product.”(Callison) I find this to be very true with my students, and I think it will allow for a more authentic inquiry. The students use this inquiry to create their own dichotomous key and binomial nomenclature. This is much more complex than what is expected at the third grade level. In addition to organizing the information, the seventh grade students are expected to evaluate the final learning product. Evaluating the work of other students with the Kingdom of Pasta activity will help them see the areas where they did well and the areas where they need to improve.
 * __Lesson Comparison__: **

**__ Works Cited: __** Callison, D. and Preddy, L. //__ The Blue Book on Information Age Inquiry, Instruction and Literacy __//. Westport, CN: Libraries Unlimited, 2006. Indiana Standards and Resources, Indiana Department of Education, (2009). Available online: **[]**
 * __Other Resources__: **
 * [|www.accessexcellence.org]**
 * [|www.biologycorner.com]**
 * [|www.middleschoolscience.com]**
 * [|www.sciencenetlinks.com] **