Lesson video

Hi everyone, it's Ms. Panchal here, I'm so glad you've decided to join me on today's science lesson.

So we're going to be comparing characteristics of living things.

So when we compare, we look at things that are similar, but we also look at things that are different as well.

So we're going to be comparing some animals, but also some plants as well.

We've got lots to cover in today's lesson, so let's get started.

So the outcome for our lesson today is I can compare the characteristics of living things and describe their similarities and differences.

So as I said, when we think about comparing, we're thinking about things that are similar but also things that are different as well.

So we're going to think about some key words that we're going to use in our lesson.

So observable, characteristic, compare, similarity, and difference.

So some of these words you may already be familiar with and may have used them before in your science lessons, but some of them may be new to you, but don't worry, because we're going to be using them in today's science lesson, and so you'll have some practise of using them within a context.

So I'm going to put up the definitions now, and what I'd like you to do is pause the video here and just have a little bit of quiet time to yourself and read through these definitions.

Once you've had a chance to read over them, I want you to click play and continue the lesson.

Great job everyone.

So our lesson today is split up into three parts.

So the first part we're going to be thinking about observable characteristics.

Then we'll move on to comparing living things.

And then we'll finish off with identifying living things.

So let's get started with the first part of the lesson.

So Sofia has been learning about classifying and grouping living things.

She wants to practise her skills at putting things into groups using her friends.

So what characteristics could she use to divide her friends into groups? So we've got some of Sofia's friends here.

So pause the video here, maybe jot down on a post-it note or on a whiteboard, what characteristics could she use to divide her friends into groups? Have a think.

Great job everyone, well done.

So there's actually a couple of different ways that she could divide her friends into groups.

So Aisha has said, "You could sort us by our hair colour." Izzy says, "You could put us into groups based on our eye colour." And Lucas says, "You could put us into groups of boys and girls." These are all observable traits.

So did you get any of the same suggestions as Aisha, Lucas, or Izzy, or did you get some different ones? So all of these suggestions here are observable traits, meaning things that we can see.

A characteristic is a feature or property of something that we can use to help identify it.

Something observable is something we can see or describe using our senses.

Let's just recap on our senses, so our five senses are hearing, smell, sight, touch, and taste.

And an observable characteristic is a feature or property of something that we can see or use our other senses to observe.

Some observable characteristics of Sofia are: she has light, shoulder-length hair, she has a smile on her face, she has two arms and two legs.

So what observable characteristics of these children can you see? So pause the video here and I would like you to create a mind map with your partner or in small groups, what are observable characteristics of these children? Have a look at the picture really carefully and then we'll talk through some suggestions.

Great job everyone, well done.

So maybe you can share your observable characteristics with another group, did you get the same or did you get slightly different ones? So we can see here all the children have got a beautiful smile on their faces.

We've got children with two arms and two legs.

But we can also see that there's lots of differences between these children as well.

For example, they've got slightly different hair colours, they might have slightly different skin tones, they've got different hairstyles, you can see some have got some less teeth, some have got some more teeth.

So there are things that are similar, but there are also things that are different as well.

Let's do a quick check of our learning.

Which of these are observable characteristics of Jun? A, he has dark hair, B, he has a pet goldfish, C, he likes cheese sandwiches, D, he is wearing trousers.

So which of these are observable characteristics of Jun? And remember we said observable characteristics are things that we can see.

Great job everyone, the fact that we can see he has dark hair and he's wearing trousers are both observable characteristics.

Now, whether he has a pet goldfish or not, I'm not sure, that's not an observable characteristic, but also the fact that he likes cheese sandwiches is not an observable characteristic.

Good job everyone.

So Sofia has sorted herself and her friends into groups according to an observable characteristic.

So we've got children with curly hair and children with straight hair.

Someone is in the wrong group, can you see her mistake? So pause the video here, have a look really carefully at Sofia and her friends, someone is in the wrong group, can you point out who it is? Excellent, well done.

So Alex should be in the first group because he has curly hair.

So these are the correct groups now based on children with curly hair and children with straight hair.

So when sorting things into groups, the groups do not need to be equal in size.

So in this example, children with curly hair, there's four children in this group, and children with straight hair, there's only two children, but that's okay.

The groups do not need to have an equal amount of people in each side.

So let's move on to the next question.

How has Sofia sorted her friends into groups? So we've got group one and we've got group two.

So think carefully, how has Sofia sorted her friends into groups? Have a think.

Great job everyone, so one way we can say is that she has sorted her friends into groups of boys and girls.

But we could also have a look at this next question, so how has Sofia sorted her friends into groups in this question? So have a look really carefully, as the children have been grouped differently this time.

So we've got group one and group two.

Excellent, well done, so the children are wearing trousers and the children are wearing skirts.

So there are a few different ways that Sofia could have sorted her friends into groups, and actually there's probably quite a few other different ways as well.

Well done for having a good go at these questions.

So let's move on to the first task.

So choose six people in your class or the people below and sort them into groups using observable characteristics.

A reminder, observable characteristics are things we can see, not someone's likes or dislikes or what pet they have at home, it's about things that we can see.

Find at least three different ways to sort them.

So you can either choose six people in your class, including yourself, or you can use the children at the bottom of the screen here.

Have a go at sorting them into groups, but remember, you're thinking about their observable characteristics.

Have a go and we'll talk through some example answers really soon.

Great job everyone, so Izzy says, "Here are some ways you could have sorted your people." So you could have sorted boys and girls, wears glasses or no glasses.

The next part of the task is I would like you to use observable characteristics to decide which of these three children is the odd one out.

So thinking about observable characteristics, things that we can see, we have got Laura, Alex, and Jun.

So which of these children is the odd one out? What do you think? Super job everyone, well done.

So Aisha says, "Alex is the odd one out because he's the only one wearing glasses." Lucas says, "Jun is the only one with dark hair." And Izzy says, "I think it's Laura because she's the only girl." So I love odd one out question, 'cause a lot of the time there's not just one answer, as long as you can justify your answer, there can actually be lots of different examples.

Did you get any of the same answers as Aisha, Lucas, and Izzy, or did you get a different one? Maybe you can compare your work with a partner.

Did you get similar answers or different ones? Well done for having a go at this task everybody.

So we're going to move on to the second part of our lesson.

So we're going to be thinking about comparing living things.

Now, anything can be observed and compared to other things using observable traits, and we can look at the similarities and differences to compare things.

So scientists use observable characteristics to compare living things.

This helps them to sort living things into groups and work out what they are.

What similarities and differences can you see between these two types of plant? So pause the video here, you may need to come a little bit closer to the screen to see them a little bit carefully, but I want you to think about what's similar and what's different between these two types of plants.

Have a go.

Well done, so we can see we've got a holly bush and bramble, so they are two different types of plants, but there are things that are similar between them, but there's also things that are quite different.

So Aisha says, "I observed some similarities.

They both have green leaves and berries." And Sam says, "I observed some differences.

The berries are different colours and shapes.

The holly has spiky, waxy leaves and the bramble doesn't." So we can see when we are comparing, we are thinking about things that are similar but also things that are different.

Did you get the similar answers to Aisha and Sam or did you get some different ideas? Well done for having a go.

So we've got tulips and buttercups, and tulips are my personal favourite.

So Aisha says, "The flowers on these plants are different to each other." And Izzy said, "The flowers on these plants are similar to each other." Who do you agree with? So Aisha is saying that they're different to each other, but Izzy is saying they're similar to each other.

So look really carefully at the tulips and the buttercups, who do you agree with, Aisha or Izzy? Great job everyone, actually, both children are correct, because there's things that are similar but there's also things that are different.

So the flowers are similar to each other as they both sit at the top of long, green stems and they both have yellow petals.

The flowers have differences in their shapes and sizes.

So let's do a check of our learning.

Which of these things are similar and which are different between these two plants? So we've got water lily and lily of the valley.

A, leaf shape, B, leaf colour, C, flower shape, or D, flower colour.

So which of these things are similar and which are different between these two plants? Pause the video here and you might need to come up a little bit closer to the screen to look at it really clearly, have a go.

Excellent work everyone, well done for having a good go at this question, it was a little bit tricky.

So the leaf shape is different, the leaf colour is similar, the flower shape is different, and the flower colour is similar.

So we can see here that there's lots of similarities, but actually there's some differences as well.

Well done for having a go.

So my next question to you is, which of these is the odd one out? So think about what is the same and what is different about each one.

So we've got a penguin, a butterfly, and a macaw.

So which one is the odd one out? Remember what I said earlier, odd one out questions are a great question to do, because actually sometimes there's more than one answer, but please make sure you're remember to justify why you think that your chosen one is the odd one out.

Pause the video here, have a think on your own first, and then share your idea with your partner, maybe you had the same answer or maybe you had a different one, off you go.

Great job everyone, well done.

So Aisha says, "I think it's the penguin because it can't fly." And Lucas says, "The butterfly is the odd one out because it's the only one that's not a bird." And Izzy says, "I think it's the macaw because the other two are just black and white." What do you think? Did you get similar examples to Aisha, Lucas, and Izzy, or did you get a different answer? Well done for having a good go everyone.

So let's do a check of our learning.

Which of these is not an observable characteristic we could use to compare animals? A, the shape of their tail, B, their body covering, C, the noise they make, or D, the date they were born.

So which of these is not an observable characteristic we can use to compare animals? Have a think, look at the options again, maybe read over them again just so you have a good understanding, and we'll go through the answer really soon.

Great job everyone, the answer is D, the date they were born.

So this is not an observable characteristic and we would not use this or be able to use this to compare the animals, well done everyone.

So let's move on to the next task.

So I would like you to choose three animals and complete the comparison table, and we'll talk through the table in a moment on the next slide.

You can pick animals that you are familiar with or you can use the pictures on the screen here.

Choose your own characteristics to compare in the empty boxes in the first column.

So we've got a tapir, a blue tit, tiger, fly, and salamander.

So you can choose your own animals or you can use the animals on the screen here.

So let's talk through this table.

So we've got key facts, so you can decide what characteristics to compare.

So for example, you could do colour, how it moves, or the body covering.

And we've got animal one, animal two, animal three.

So this is your opportunity to compare, for example, the colour of each of the animals, comparing how it moves, the body covering, but there's also lots of other characteristics you can compare.

So pause the video here, you might want to copy out this table or you can ask an adult to print it out for you.

You can either choose your own animals or you can use the animals on the previous slide.

We will go through some example answers really soon, off you go and have fun.

Super job everyone, so we are going to go through an example and your example may have looked very similar or it may have been a little bit different based on the different animals you chose.

So Lucas says, "How are the animals you chose similar and different to mine?" So the key facts here we've got in this example were colour, how does it move, body covering, and this person has chosen number of legs and tail.

Did you choose similar characteristics or did you use different ones? So this person here has chosen a fly, a blue tit, and a tiger.

So in terms of their colour, the fly was green, the blue tit is blue, black, yellow, and white, and the tiger is black, white, and orange.

So we can see there probably which one is the odd one out.

How does it move? We can know that the fly walks and flies, the blue tit walks and flies, and the tiger walks, runs, and climbs.

So again, there's things that are similar between all three animals, but actually there's things that are different as well.

And let's now look at body covering.

So the fly has very short hairs, the blue tit has feathers, and the tiger has fur.

Moving onto the number of legs, the fly has six, the blue tit has two, the tiger has four.

So you can see here the number of legs for each of these animals is different.

Then moving onto the tail, the fly has no tail, the blue tit has a thin tail made of feathers, and the tiger has a long tail and has black rings.

So we can see here that there are lots of different animals that we've considered and actually some key observable characteristics as well.

Were your findings similar or a little bit different? Maybe you can compare your work with your partner, maybe they were similar or maybe they were different.

Well done for having a go at this task everyone.

I know it was a little bit tricky to think about all of these different animals, but you gave it a really, really good go, so well done.

So we're now going to move on to the third part of our lesson today, you're doing such a good job, well done everyone, I know we've covered a lot of content already.

So we're now going to think about identifying living things.

So scientists can compare similarities and differences between living things to help us work out whether they belong in certain groups.

Alex has found an animal in his backyard and is curious about what it is.

So this is the animal that Alex has found.

He looks at the observable characteristics.

Alex notices here, "It has six legs and a pair of antennae.

I think it must be an insect." Alex compares his insect to another type of insect.

He's looked at bees.

What similarities does it have with this group of insects? So pause the video in here and have a think, compared to Alex's animal and bees, what things are similar? Great job everyone.

So what similarities does it have with this group of insects? Butterflies, so we looked at bees first, now let's think about butterflies, how does Alex's animal compare to a butterfly? What things are similar and what things are different? Have a think and we'll talk about them.

Great job everyone.

What similarities does it have with this group of insects? We've now got moths, so compare Alex's animal to moths.

Think about things that are similar, but also maybe have a think about things that are different.

Have a think.

Super job everyone, well done.

So which group of insects do you think Alex's animal has the most in common with? Do we think it's bees, butterflies, or moths? So which do you think, which group of insects do you think Alex's animal has the most in common with, things that are the most similar? Great job, it's actually moths.

So the shape of my insect's body and wings is most similar to the moths.

I think my insect must be a type of moth.

Now he knows what kind of insect it is likely to be, Alex can carry out research using secondary sources to identify the type of moth he has found.

Now, secondary sources can include lots of different things.

We could use the internet, but we could also use some books as well to help us.

Well done everyone.

Let's do a check of our learning.

Which group does this unknown animal have the most similarities with? So we've got the unknown animal on the left hand side here, and we've got A, reptiles, or B, amphibians.

So which group does this unknown animal have the most similarities with? Look really closely, if you need to, pause the video and come a little bit closer to the screen so you can see the unknown animal a little bit better, have a go.

Super job, actually, the unknown animal has the most common similarities with reptiles.

Did you get the same answer? Well done.

So let's move on to the next task.

So Laura has seen a bird in her garden, help her to identify it by comparing it to different types of birds.

Carefully observe each group of birds and decide which group it belongs to by seeing which it has most observable characteristics in common with.

Then I would like you to explain your reasoning.

So we've got pigeons here and we've got Laura's bird, what are the similarities? Have a go.

We've also got finches now and Laura's bird, so what things are similar? And we've now got wagtails and Laura's bird, what things are similar? Good job everyone.

So what I'd like you to do is pause the video here and maybe look back at the last couple of slides and think about the similarities between Laura's birds and the other types of birds.

Off you go having a go at this task.

We'll go through an example answer really soon.

Super job everyone, well done.

So the task was to carefully observe each group of birds and decide which group it belongs to by seeing which it has most observable characteristics in common with.

So an example answer may have been, "I think it is a type of finch because it has a similar body shape.

It also has a very similarly shaped beak as the other finches and a short tail made of feathers like the others.

The pigeons have longer necks so it doesn't look like a pigeon, and I don't think it belongs in a group with the wagtails, because its tail and beak are shorter than theirs." Did you get something similar to this example or did you get something a little bit different? Well done for having a go, 'cause I know you had to look really, really carefully at all of the different types of birds.

I'm so impressed with your learning, well done everyone.

So we've now come towards the end of today's lesson, so let's do a summary of our learning.

Observable characteristics are properties about things that we can describe using our five senses.

And living things have many observable characteristics we can use to compare similarities and differences between them.

Comparing and grouping living things can help us to identify them.

Now, a big well done to you all, because we've covered a lot of different things in today's lesson and I've been so impressed with how focused you have been, but also you've given some really fantastic suggestions, so well done.

Have a great rest of the day and I'm sure I'll see you in the next science lesson really soon, bye-bye.