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Primary Science · Year 4Chapter 3 · Classification keys
Year 4 Science · Classification keys · Lesson 3.3

Year 4 Science: Using a key for leaves

Part of the Year 4 Science classification keys chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page

3.3

Using a key for leaves

Year 4
LH2: use and apply classification keys to identify living things, using features such as the shape of leaves
Story. Aisha collects four leaves from the trees in the school field. “How do I know which tree each leaf came from?” she asks. Mr Patel gives her a leaf key. “Look at the edge of the leaf first,” he says. “Then follow the steps.”

Leaves have different shapes and edges. A leaf key uses these features to name the tree. Look at the picture of four leaves, and then use the key.

Hollyspiny edgesSycamorefive pointed lobesOakrounded lobesBirchoval, pointed tip
Four leaves: holly with spiny edges, sycamore with five pointed lobes, oak with rounded lobes, and birch, an oval with a pointed tip.

This is the leaf key. Start at step 1.

StepQuestionIf yesIf no
1Are the edges spiny, and are the leaves green all year?hollygo to step 2
2Does the leaf have five pointed lobes, like a hand?sycamorego to step 3
3Does the leaf have rounded lobes?oakbirch

Key ideas

  • Leaves can be named by their shape and the edges.
  • Holly leaves have spiny edges, and stay green all year.
  • Sycamore leaves have five pointed lobes, a bit like a hand.
  • Oak leaves have rounded lobes. Birch leaves are oval with a pointed tip and no lobes.
Worked example 3.3.1
Using the leaf key, a leaf has spiny edges and stays green all year. Write the name the key gives.

Method. Start at step 1.

  1. Read step 1. The leaf has spiny edges and stays green all year, so the answer is yes.
    yes
  2. Read the name. The yes column of step 1 gives holly.
    holly
  3. Write the answer.
    holly

Check. Holly leaves are spiny, and the tree is evergreen. ✓

Worked example 3.3.2
Using the leaf key, a leaf has five pointed lobes. Write the name the key gives.

Method. Follow the steps.

  1. Step 1. The edges are not spiny, so go to step 2.
    step 2
  2. Step 2. The leaf has five pointed lobes, so the yes column gives sycamore.
    sycamore
  3. Write the answer.
    sycamore

Check. The five pointed lobes are the feature of sycamore. ✓

Worked example 3.3.3
Using the leaf key, a leaf is oval with a pointed tip and no lobes. Write the name the key gives.

Method. Follow the steps.

  1. Step 1. No spiny edges, so go to step 2.
    step 2
  2. Step 2. No pointed lobes, so go to step 3.
    step 3
  3. Step 3. The leaf has no rounded lobes, so the no column gives birch.
    birch
  4. Write the answer.
    birch

Check. Birch is the leaf with no lobes. ✓

Watch out

Watch out: look at the edge of the leaf carefully. A lobe is a rounded or pointed part that sticks out from the middle of the leaf, not a small tooth on the edge.

Try it at home or school (with a grown-up). Collect two different leaves from a tree in a garden or park, with a grown-up. Use the leaf key on each one. Write the name, or write that the key does not name it. Do not eat or taste any leaf.

Exam tip

Grown-up tip. Ask: “What is the edge like? Does it have lobes? Where does the arrow go next?” Let your child follow each step with a finger on the key.

Exercise 3C  Using a key for leaves

1
FUsing the leaf key, a leaf has spiny edges and stays green all year. Which step is the last one used? Write the number.
2
FUsing the leaf key, a leaf does not have spiny edges. Which step do you go to next? Write the number.
3
FUsing the leaf key, a leaf has five pointed lobes. Write the name the key gives.
4
FUsing the leaf key, a leaf has rounded lobes. Write the name the key gives.
5
FUsing the leaf key, a leaf is oval with a pointed tip and no lobes. Write the name the key gives.
6
FWhich leaf in the picture is holly? Write the name of the leaf in the picture that has spiny edges.
7
PSA leaf does not have lobes, and its edge is toothed with a pointed tip. Which tree is it? Write the name.
8
PSA friend says a sycamore leaf has spiny edges. Is the friend right? Write yes or no.
9
PSWorking scientifically. Predict the question that would separate an oak leaf from a birch leaf. Write one question.
10
RWrite one question you could add to the leaf key to separate oak from birch, if the key did not already do this.
11
RExplain why the leaf key asks about spiny edges first. Write one sentence.

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