Year 6 Science · Classifying living things · Summary
Year 6 Science Classifying living things: summary and key words
Part of the Year 6 Science classifying living things chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Chapter summary
| Skill | Method |
|---|---|
| Broad groups | Living things are sorted into plants, animals and micro-organisms, using observable characteristics. |
| Plants | Flowering plants make flowers and seeds. Conifers make cones. Ferns and mosses reproduce with spores. |
| Animals | Vertebrates have a backbone: fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Invertebrates have no backbone. |
| Micro-organisms | Too small to see clearly without a microscope. Many are single-celled, such as bacteria and amoebas. |
| Keys | A key is a set of yes or no questions. Each answer leads to the next step, until the group is named. |
Can you…?
- I can sort living things into plants, animals and micro-organisms
- I can use flowers, seeds, cones and spores to sort plants
- I can name the five vertebrate groups, and two invertebrate groups
- I can describe a micro-organism, and say why a microscope is needed
- I can use a yes/no classification key to name a group
- I can write a new key question, and give a reason for a group
Key terms
- classify
- to sort things into groups using their characteristics
- observable characteristic
- a feature that can be seen, measured or tested
- micro-organism
- a living thing too small to see clearly without a microscope
- single-celled
- made of one cell
- vertebrate
- an animal with a backbone
- invertebrate
- an animal without a backbone
- conifer
- a plant that makes cones and seeds, and no flowers, such as a pine tree
- spore
- a tiny cell that a fern or moss uses to reproduce
- classification key
- a list of yes or no questions that leads to the name of a group
- amphibian
- a vertebrate with moist skin that lives on land and in water, such as a frog