Classification at the cellular level

I can identify cell features that can be used to classify organisms into the kingdoms of animals, plants, fungi and bacteria.

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Year 8

Classification at the cellular level

I can identify cell features that can be used to classify organisms into the kingdoms of animals, plants, fungi and bacteria.

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Share activities with pupils

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Lesson details

Key learning points

Organisms can be classified into groups based on their characteristics at the microscopic, cellular level.
The common features of the cells of animals, plants, fungi and bacteria.
Use of cell features to classify organisms into the kingdoms of animals, plants, fungi and bacteria.

Common misconception

Organisms are classified only according to their visible (macroscopic) features.

This lesson explores the classification of organisms into kingdoms based on the features of their cells.

Keywords

Kingdom - A very large group of organisms with only a few features in common, such as all animals or all plants.
Animal - Organism made of cells that have a nucleus, but do not have a cell wall and cannot make their own food.
Plant - Organism made of cells that have a nucleus, a cell wall and can make their own food.
Fungus - Organism made of cells that have a nucleus and a cell wall, but cannot make their own food.
Bacterium - Organism made of a single cell that does not have a nucleus.

For Task B, students should design their own cell, and optionally could make a model of it. The key task of the activity is to explain which kingdom their cell would be classified into according to the features it has.

Teacher tip

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).