Hello, my name is Mrs. Merin and I'm really excited to be learning all about classification keys to identify plants with you.

Let's begin.

Welcome to today's lesson.

From the unit, Living things and their environment.

Your learning outcome is I can identify plants using classification keys.

Now, I know that learning can sometimes be a little bit challenging, but that's okay because it just means that we are going to work really hard together and we're going to learn lots of fabulous new things.

Let's begin.

So here are your keywords for today's lesson, along with the definitions for those keywords.

I am going to be referring to these throughout today's video, however, if you find that it is helpful for you to have these written down, you can pause the video here and jot these down now.

Fantastic, well done.

So our lesson is split into two parts.

Let's begin with the first part using classification keys to identify plants.

So Andeep and Jacob are in the school gardening club.

Andeep says, "We have been asked to make a list of the plants that we see in the school grounds but there are some plants that I do not recognise." Jacob says, "Well, we could use a classification key to help us identify the plants we do not know the names of." What is the classification key? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

So a classification key is a diagram which helps us to identify living things using yes or no questions.

The questions on a classification key are based on the observable characteristics of living things.

So what observable characteristics does this plant have? So what can you see? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

So this here is a classification key and observable characteristics can be used to decide which group a living thing belongs to.

So let's do this first one and then we're going to move on to the next one.

So the first question says, does it make flowers? So the answer is yes, it does.

So you would follow the arrow along where it says yes, and that means that this is a flowering plant.

Now let's do the next one.

So does it have long thin leaves? Yes, it does.

So again, you follow that arrow down towards the yes and you'll see that this time there's another question.

Does it produce purple flowers? Yes, it does.

So again, you follow along with the arrow that says yes.

So the answer is lavender.

Now, classification key is a what? Is it A, a series of yes or no questions.

B, a series of scientific definitions, or C, a series of true or false answers.

Again, I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

The answer is a series of yes or no questions.

So knowing the structure of a plant is useful when using classification keys.

And Laura says, "The parts of a plant are its structure." So for example, on a rose, we have colourful, soft pedals.

We have leaves with serrated edges, so they're slightly spiky.

There are long thin stems and there are sharp pointed prickles or thorns.

Now, the outer structures of a plant includes observable characteristics like bark, thorns, leaves, flowers, and fruit.

It's those things that you can see.

So on an apple tree, does it have a bark? Yes.

Does it have thorns? No.

Does it produce fruit? Yes.

So remember, it's a lot of yes and no questions.

Now the structure of these two plants is very different.

Can you spot the differences? I'll give you five seconds, but if you need longer, you can pop this video on pause and then you can come back once you're ready.

Off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

So we've got branched leaves here and we've got spines instead of leaves on a cactus.

There's hard, round fruit and there's no visible fruit on a cactus.

There is a rough, dry bark.

And there on a cactus there are soft fleshy stems. Now, what do you observe about the structure of these plants? Again, I'll give you five seconds, but if you need longer, you can pop the video and pause and you can come back once you are ready.

Off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

So we've got pink and white flowers, but we have no visible flowers on sea grass.

We have on in sea grass, we have leaves that float in the water and on a water lily, the leaves float on the surface of the water, so on the very top of the water.

Now, which of these do we use when using a classification key to identify plants? Is it A, the name of the plant, B, where we bought the plant, or C, the structure of the plant.

So which of these do we use when using a classification key to identify plants? So I'm going to give you five seconds now to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

The answer is C, the structure of the plant.

Now, which of these plants has fleshy leaves that grow to a point? Is it A, aloe vera, B, cactus, or C, lily pads? Again, I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

The answer is A, aloe vera.

So here is your first task.

So let's look at the structure of the Norway spruce tree.

Use the classification key to identify which plant group it belongs to.

So I'd like you to pause the video here and have a go at doing this.

Off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

So does it produce flowers? No, it doesn't.

Does it produce cones? Yes, so it's a conifer tree.

So Norway spruce is a conifer.

So here is your second task.

It says, look closely at the plants on the next slide.

Make a list of observable characteristics of the plants, including the structure of each one.

And then you're going to use the classification key provided to identify each plant.

So let's have a look.

So here we have all of our plants, and here we have the classification key.

So what I'd like you to do now is to pause the video here and remember, you can go back in this video so you can find the information.

You can have a look at the pictures, and then use the classification key to identify them.

Okay, off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

So we've got the bottle brush plant was E, the silver birch was D, the pea plant, oh, that's a bit of a tongue twister.

The pea plant is C, the moss was B, and the venus fly trap was A.

Well done.

So now we are onto the second part of our learning, scientists use classification keys.

So Swedish biologist, Carl Linnaeus, born in 1707 used classification keys to help him identify different plants that he had discovered.

He used his classification keys to ask questions about observable characteristics that only had a yes or no answer.

Since then, many other types of scientists have used classification keys to help with their work.

Now do you know which type of scientists studies plants? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

So some scientists are called botanists and their job is to discover, identify and study plants in the local and wider environment.

Andeep says, "I'm really interested in studying plants.

I think being a botanist sounds like a great job! Do you know the names of any famous botanists so I can find out more about them?" Jacob says, "I have watched programmes about gardening with my mum, and some of the presenters know a lot about plants.

I wonder if they're botanists too?" Can you help? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

So Agnes Arber studied how plants reproduce and was the first woman botanist to be elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society.

David Bellamy was a prominent British botanist and broadcaster.

He spent much of his life raising awareness about protecting plants and their habitats.

True or false.

Botanists work in shops that sell plants.

Is that true or false? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic, the answer is false.

Now let's see if you can justify your answer.

Is it because A, botanists identify and study plants that live in the local and wider environment, or B, botanists only identify and study plants they have grown themselves? Again, I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

The answer is A.

Botanists identify and study plants that live in the local and wider environment.

Now, George Washington Carver was born in Alabama in the 1860s and had a very, had very little formal education.

He was initially refused entrance to college because he was black.

He travelled around America studying plants and spent lots of time observing and drawing them.

He was the first black American to obtain a degree in agricultural science.

His knowledge of growing crops helped poor black farmers to increase the amount of food they could grow.

Andeep says, "Scientists including botanists and naturalists, use classification keys to help them in their jobs." And Jacob says, "When botanists discover a plant they have not seen before, they use classification keys to help identify and group them." George Washington Carver might have used a classification key to identifying an unknown plant like this.

So I want you to think really carefully.

What are the observable characteristics of this plant? I'll give you five seconds, but if you need longer, you can pause the video here and come back once you are ready.

Okay, off you go.

So let's use this classification key to see whether or not we can identify this plant.

So are its leaves all one colour? Yes, they are.

Does it make yellow flowers? Yes, it does, which means that it is a peanut plant.

Now, which type of scientists might use a classification key to identify and group plants in the environment? Are they called A, botanists, B, physicists, or C, zoologists? I'll give you five seconds to think about your answer.

Off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

The answer is A, botanist.

So now you are going to be using the classification key on the next slide to identify these plants.

And Andeep says, "These are plants that I saw in the school garden, but I don't know what type of plants they are." So pause video here and have a go at identifying plant A.

Off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

So are its leaves all one colour? Yes, they are.

Does it produce yellow flowers? No.

Does it have a stem? No, which means it is a cabbage.

Now I'd like you to have a go at identifying plant B.

Off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

So plant B is a hosta.

Now I'd like you to do the same thing for plant C.

So I'd like you to pause the video here and have a go at identifying plant C.

Off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

So plant C is a foxglove.

And again, I'd like you to pause the video here and have a go at identifying plant D.

Off you go.

Fantastic, well done.

So plant D is a nettle.

Well done.

Now we are onto the summary of your learning today.

So a classification key is a series of yes or no questions about the observable characteristics of living things.

Knowing the structure of plants is useful when using classification keys.

Botanists discover, identify and study plants in the local and wider environment.

Scientists, including botanists, use classification keys to identify and group plants.

Now, you have worked really hard today, and I'm so proud of your fantastic work and your brilliant critical thinking.

Well done.