Learning Links:
Flow Charts / Catalogues / Animal Kingdom / Yellow Pages / Inventories / Caste System / Schedules / Taxonomies / Genetics / Computer Programming / Census
Demonstrators should be read from top to bottom, but need not be demonstrated sequentially.
Elementary Demonstrators
• Investigate relationships among real objects.
• Investigate classification systems using real objects.
• Identify and analyze relationships among objects, information, or ideas.
• Apply a classification system based on a minimum of two criteria to organize objects, information, or ideas.
• Develop and communicate a classification system based on a minimum of two criteria to show information and/or ideas.
Middle School Demonstrators
• Apply a classification system based upon multiple criteria to organize objects, information, and/or ideas.
• Develop a classification system based upon multiple criteria to show relationships among objects, information, and ideas.
High School Demonstrators
• Apply a complex classification system to organize objects, information, and/or ideas.
• Develop a complex classification system to show relationships among objects, information, and/or ideas.
Sample Teaching/Assessment Strategies:
Collaborative Process: Cooperative Learning / Community-Based Instruction: Field Studies, Networking / Continuous Progress Assessment: Anecdotal Records / Graphic Organizers: Compare/Contrast Structures, Venn Diagrams / Problem Solving: Brainstorming, Formulating Models, Interviews / Technology/Tools: Manipulatives, Computers, Telecommunications
These sample strategies offer ideas and are not meant to limit teacher resourcefulness. More strategies are found in the resource section.
Ideas for Incorporating Community Resources:
• Visit the public library to observe how materials are classified.
• Interview various organizations in the community and classify them according to services provided.
• Invite a museum curator to discuss classification procedures.
• Use Audubon Society and bird watching surveys to investigate classification schemes.
Core Concept: Classifying
Sample Elementary Activities
• Determine a classification scheme for art reproductions, using two or more sorting criteria. PE, OE
• Sort a collection of small objects and give a rationale. Use the collection to make collages. PE
• Collect and display information about crops grown on a farm. PE, P
• Compare similar foods for the specific nutritional content of fats, sugar, sodium, etc. Develop a weeklong nutritional menu based on your findings. P
• Compare species of trees in an urban environment with those in rural areas. Network through telecommunications to collect data and display using computer graphics. P
Sample Middle School Activities
• Develop different schemes for classifying baseball cards and use statistics to determine, by position, a "dream team" for a Nintendo game. P
• Sort plants by type and growing condition. Design and plant a garden based on information. PE, OE
• Invent and apply classification systems that show common characteristics found in some classmates (e.g., favorite color, food, story, poem). PE, OE, P
• Compare classification criteria in determining the ranking of cites in Kentucky to other metropolitan areas across the United States (e.g., lowest in violent crimes, highest in new jobs). PE, OE, P
Sample High School Activities
• Create a flowchart to classify polygons. PE
• Conduct a community survey (e.g., environmental problems, social needs, cultural needs, health concerns) and organize results. P
• Create a filing system for an office. Implement and make necessary adjustments. PE
• Analyze demographic information of the local population to determine marketing techniques. Analyze how marketing techniques vary based on the cultural make-up of the target audience. Present to advertising decision-makers. PE, OE, P