Diversity of Life

Curriculum Outcomes

• Knowledge
• Skills
• STSE

Subtopics

	The Role of a Common Classification Scheme for Living Things
	The Animal Kingdom: Vertebrates and Invertebrates
	Microrganisms
	Adaptations and Natural Selection

Introduction

Students are able to recoginze that living things can subdivided into smaller groups. As an introduction to the formal biological classification system, students should focus on plants, animals and microganisms. Students should have the opportunity to learn about and increasing varity of living organisms, both familiar and exotic, and should become more precise in identifying similarities and differencies among them.

Focus and Context

Observations and classification are the main focuses of this unit. Students should be involved in closely observing living things (plants, animals and microorganisms), noting their features, and constructing classification schemes that group organisms with like features together. They should also be introduced to informal classifacation schemes by focussing mainly on some animal classifacation. Students will gain an appreciation for the diversity of life in their local habitat, in their province, in the world, and, through fossil studies, over time.

Curriculum Links

Students have investigated the needs and characteristics of living things, and explored the growth and changes in animals and plants in primary science.

In this unit, students continue to sort living things by being introduced to formal classifacition systems. This unit, and the concept developed in the "Habitats" unit in grade 4, will give students the foundation for a grade 7 unit, "Interactions within Ecosytems".