Science Curriculum Preview Committee Clarification of Learning Results

Curriculum Organizing Questions	What observable features of organisms could be useful for grouping? What are some categories you could use for grouping? What are some examples of ways one organism can be grouped in different categories? Why is it helpful to group organisms?
Elaboration	Children should understand that scientists group living things by characteristics, and that the groupings can change depending on the purpose of the grouping. At this age the teacher can increase the variety and include exotic or unfamiliar organisms along with the familiar. Fine details can be included by using hand lenses and microscopes (only to see fine detail, not to study cell structure!). The aim is to move students toward the realization that there are many ways to classify living things.Benchmarks p.103.
Specific Ideas	A great variety of kinds of living things can be sorted into groups in many ways.Benchmarks 5A1. Various characteristics are used to decide which things belong to which group.Benchmarks 5A1. Characteristics for grouping include external structures, behaviors, habitats, etc.Benchmarks p.103. Characteristics used for grouping depend on the purpose of the grouping.Benchmarks 5A2.
Developmental & Instructional Implications	Upper elementary students tend to use a multiple of mutually exclusive groups, rather than hierarchical. (Students will not be able to use the Linnaean system until they are older.) Some groups will be based on observable features, some on concepts. Benchmarks p. 340 Everyday names seem to play a large significance in how young children group objects (jellyfish and starfish with tuna fish). Many students group animals that are unfamiliar as "insects." Driver p.25.
Examples	Students could sort different types of pets into at least three different groupings.