Identification and Classification Lesson Plan: Rainforest Arrangers

A pair of KS2 science lessons inspired by Eden’s Rainforest Biome. These lessons encourage students to research a variety of unfamiliar rainforest organisms before discussing and grouping them based on their characteristics.

www.edenproject.com/learn/schools/teaching-resources

Tropical rainforests support the greatest diversity of living organisms on Earth. In this activity your pupils begin by discussing the conditions in a tropical rainforest and researching the characteristics of plants and animals that make it their home. They are then tasked with summarising and sharing the most important information with their classmates and then grouping the organisms as they see fit.

Finally, they are presented with some new information and are given the opportunity to reassess their current groupings during a round of ‘classification bingo’.

Several of the activities in these lessons are designed to promote group discussion and exploratory talk. Research has shown that thinking is encouraged when pupils talk about science and that this can lead to better reasoning and scientific understanding.

Outcomes and curriculum links
These lessons enable students to:

• Describe various observable characteristics of different living organisms and name them.
• Discuss and categorise living organisms into broad groups based on physical characteristics.
• Justify their classification decisions.