New
New
Year 4

Identifying living things (non-statutory)

I can ask and answer yes/no questions to identify and name different things.

New
New
Year 4

Identifying living things (non-statutory)

I can ask and answer yes/no questions to identify and name different things.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Humans ask questions to help them to understand the world, including how things work and why things happen.
  2. Some questions require an answer of only yes or no.
  3. Yes/no questions often begin with ‘Do’, ‘Are’, ‘Is’, ‘Have’ or 'Can'.
  4. We can use answers to yes/no questions to help us to identify and name unknown things.

Common misconception

Pupils may believe that all questions need a full explanation to answer.

By working through the examples on the slide deck and completing the tasks, pupils will see that some questions can be answered with a simple yes or no. This is an important skill when using and creating identification keys for classification.

Keywords

  • Question - A question is a type of sentence that asks something.

  • Name - A name is a word by which a person or thing is known.

  • Identify - To identify something is to be able to name it correctly.

Listen carefully to the answers the pupils give and, if they struggle with using just yes and no, model some appropriate answers for them. Be aware of more open questions such as 'Where does it live?' which cannot be answered directly with yes or no.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Sticky notes and sticky tape.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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6 Questions

Q1.
We ask a when we want to find out an answer.
An image in a quiz
statement
Correct answer: question
exclamation
Q2.
Match the answers to their question.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer:Where do sharks live? ,In the ocean.

In the ocean.

Correct Answer:Does the lizard have scales?,Yes it does.

Yes it does.

Correct Answer:What colour is a banana usually?,It is yellow.

It is yellow.

Correct Answer:How many legs do spiders have? ,Eight.

Eight.

Q3.
Which of these are living things?
An image in a quiz
car
rainbow
Correct answer: cactus
fire
Correct answer: rattle snake
Q4.
Which of these things have never been alive?
cow
Correct answer: frying pan
human
rose bush
Q5.
How do we know if something is a living thing?
Correct answer: It needs food.
Correct answer: It needs air.
It goes to school
Correct answer: It needs water.
It has a brain to think.
Q6.
Which of these things were once alive but are now dead?
a tree growing in a forest
aluminium
Correct answer: a fossil of a wooly mammoth frozen in ice
Correct answer: cut flowers in a vase

6 Questions

Q1.
Humans ask to help them to understand the world they live in.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: questions, question
Q2.
Why do humans ask questions about the world?
An image in a quiz
They already know everything.
Correct answer: They what to find out how things work.
Correct answer: They want to find out why things happen.
They are not interested in finding out things they don't know.
Q3.
Select the questions that can only be answered with a "yes" or a "no".
An image in a quiz
How old are you?
What month were you born?
Correct answer: Are reptiles plants?
Where do you go to school?
Correct answer: Does the sun shine at night?
Q4.
Match the question starters to the rest of the question.
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer:Do ...,you like going to school?

you like going to school?

Correct Answer:Is ...,your hair long?

your hair long?

Correct Answer:Are ...,you seven years old?

you seven years old?

Correct Answer:Can ...,we fly a kite on a windy day?

we fly a kite on a windy day?

Correct Answer:Have ..,you got brown eyes?

you got brown eyes?

Q5.
Which of these are yes/no questions that could help a scientist identify an unknown plant they have discovered?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: Does this plant have roots?
Correct answer: Is this plant green?
What colour is this plant?
Correct answer: Does this plant have flowers?
How many leaves does the plant have?
Q6.
What can answers to yes/no questions help us to do?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: identfy and name things
order things
measure things