Diversity of Life: Unit Overview

Introduction

Students are able to recognize that living things can be subdivided into smaller groups. As an introduction to the formal biological classification system, students should focus on plants, animals, and microorganisms. Students should have the opportunity to learn about an increasing variety of living organisms, both familiar and exotic, and should become more precise in identifying similarities and differences among them.

Focus and context

Inquiry is the focus in this unit, with an emphasis on observation and classification. Students should be involved in closely observing living things (plants, animals and microorganisms), noting their features, and constructing classification schemes that group organisms with like features together. They should also be introduced to formal classification schemes by focusing mainly on some animal classifications. Students will gain an appreciation for the diversity of life in their local habitat, in their province, in the world, and through fossil studies, over time.

Classifications introduced in this unit

This diagram illustrates the organisms and classifications that will be addressed in this unit. Note that this is NOT a complete, formal biological classification scheme.

Curriculum Links

Students have investigated the needs and characteristics of living things, and explored the growth and changes in animals and plants in primary science.

In this unit, students, continue to sort living things by being introduced to formal classification systems. This unit, and the concepts developed in the "Habitats" unit in Grade 4, will give students the foundation for a Grade 7 unit, "Interactions within Ecosystems".