Carolus Linneaus, a botanist in the 1700's developed the modern system of classification. He organized organisms, initially plants, into seven categories for an easier and more efficient way to classify. The kingdom is the largest category and is followed by these subgroups respectfully - phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species.

Lesson 2

Objective: The students will be able to:

* describe the levels of the system used to classify organisms

Engage: The teacher will have each of the Linnean subgroups written on a piece of light cardboard. Tape them to the board in a jumbled order. Have the students rearrange them in correct order.

Explore: The teacher will have students research a specific group of animals tat are scientifically related by family (or genus). The student will have to list the traits these animals share that make them related. This activity may be done in pairs.

Explain: The teacher will now enable the students to become knowledgeable about Carlous Linneaus, how and why he developed the modern classification system. Refer to text age 225-232.

Elaborate: Have students work in groups to create a matching game. Students can write a description of organisms that offer clues about the kingdom it belongs to on an index card. Have groups exchange cards and try to identify what kingdom the organism belongs to.

Evaluate: Ask students to identify their own classification (of a human) pyramid. Starting with kingdom to species.