Johanna Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 I am teaching a class (9 yo-11 yo girls) about horses. A unit study of sorts. The first topic that we are going to go over is the classification of horses. But, I want to first introduce the whole idea of animal classification before telling them what classification the horse is, KWIM?? So, does anyone here have any tips/games/books/activities to help dc understand the classification process that would be engaging in the classroom???? thanks!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aletheia Academy Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Our co-op did this last spring. The facilitator first reviewed the various characteristics of mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and fish. She had made a large poster/chart with the classifications down the left side and the characteristics across the top. Then she had index card-sized pics of various animals and distributed them to the kids and had them try to place them in the right categories. Our group was geared for k-3 kids, and they found it very engaging. Obviously, you would have to make it a bit more challenging for your group, but the basic idea could still work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlotteb Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 We studied animal classifications last year. I planned a fun end of the year activity that may work for your group. I wrote the names of different animals on small slips of paper. Then I got several laundry basket and taped on them the name of a class of animals (mammals, worms, etc). I would hand the kids the animals and see how quickly they could put them into the right baskets. We laughed alot over this game and it was an excellent way to help the kids understand the topics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendi Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 The activity in the book was to gather together a bunch of misc. shoes from the household. How hard is it to find a particular shoe when they're all in a jumble? Then talk about how the shoes could be sorted. Sort them into separate piles. By type (dress shoes, casual shoes, athletic shoes)? Okay, then within each type, how could they be sorted? By color, by laces/no laces, by flat or high heels? So the groups get narrowed down more and more. That's just the way scientific classification works. Now how easy is it to find the shoe you need? Hope I explained it well. Wendi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johanna Posted July 21, 2008 Author Share Posted July 21, 2008 These are all such great ideas that are helping to get my wheels turning! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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