Free teacher web sites for Science topic ‘Life - Classification and Keys’

Great sorting task for KS2 pupils. Insects, molluscs and spider can be sorted. Also a living things sort out and a differences and similarities sort. We love the way these activities are presented in a way that allows for lots of customization by the learner.

External link: Advanced sorting

• suitable for class use

Ideal for younger KS1. Matching the animals to their parents and finding the odd one out are featured.

External link: Animal activities

• suitable for class use

• suitable for teachers’ personal use

This section of Oxford Museums website will support discussions on grouping and classifying animals. Great for keys work.

External link: Animal ID

• suitable for class use

• suitable for teachers’ personal use

Lots of animal information. The text is great for KS2 and confident infants.

External link: Animal information

• suitable for class use

Listen to birdsong and identify the bird who created it.

External link: Bird song identification

• suitable for class use

• suitable for teachers’ personal use

Super clipart to create a key, lots on gardening, conservation and plenty for lessons on habitat. Suitable for minibeasts too!

External link: Butterfly website

• suitable for class use

• suitable for teachers’ personal use

BBC science clips for older KS2 pupils. We like the sorter diagram / key to support classification.

External link: Classification

• suitable for class use

A good upper KS2 resource. Great for identifying groups within the animal kingdom.

External link: Classification of the animal kingdom

• suitable for class use

• suitable for teachers’ personal use

This site will help you to identify different insects.

External link: Classify and identify insects / minibeasts

• suitable for class use

• suitable for teachers’ personal use

A great way to test their ability to identify the name of the fish by identifying key features. Ideal for upper Ks2.

External link: Classifying fish using a table

• suitable for class use

Sort mammals, birds, plants and insects as they roll by on the belt. Ideal for upper infants and lower KS2. A great BBC activity.

External link: Conveyor belt sort

• suitable for class use

Find out about minibeasts and other insects and animals in the grassland. Great for keys, sorting, and fact files. Child friendly text.

External link: Explore grasslands

• suitable for class use

A great activity to spur on work involving classifying plants and perhaps generating keys.

External link: Find these flowers

• suitable for teachers’ personal use

A wonderful resource. Perfect game for the end of a lesson.

External link: Guess the animal from the sound

• suitable for class use

• suitable for teachers’ personal use

Find out how many different variations of design human beings have. Great for statistics and investigating data in maths too.

External link: How many people are like me?

• suitable for class use

• suitable for teachers’ personal use

We could happily have added this to the habitats section or the food chains and food webs section. Really lovely quality photographs of animals for KS1 and KS2. Ideal for use in class.

External link: Images of animals from Britain

• suitable for teachers’ personal use

Watch videos, use the magnifying glass to identify insects. A really fantastic site for infants from Foss.

External link: Minibeasts website - Insects website

• suitable for class use

How can you classify something if it has no recorded name. Something to make them think outside the box!

External link: Mystery bug video

• suitable for teachers’ personal use

Click on the odd card out. An example includes horse, dog, cat, cheese. The images support foundation stage learners.

External link: Odd one out

• suitable for class use

Plenty of planty fun here. All the text is suitable for most KS2 pupils. Will support discussions on similarities and differences. Print, cut and sort using a key.

External link: Plant information.

• suitable for class use

Very simple type and check. Questions such as "Does it have a shell?" A Diane Hawkins activity for infants.

External link: Questions to classify animals

• suitable for class use

Sort these animals. Questions such as "Which has poison?" , "Which eat fish?". Ideal for lower KS2.

External link: Sort these animals by features and characteristics

• suitable for class use

Great for Ks1 and Ks2.Sorting animals and plants, sorting animals from own criteria and similarities and differences.

External link: Sorting animals and plants

• suitable for class use

Animal groups, explains what makes mammals, birds etc.... have that is special and makes them fit int that group. Great for KS2.

External link: Subdivision of animals

• suitable for class use

• suitable for teachers’ personal use

A simple key and pictures of dinosaurs which encourage children to create their own. Great for KS2.

External link: Using a simple key

• suitable for class use

From the Arkive website - Test the observation powers of your budding young scientists with this entertaining module looking at variation in species and the basics of classification. A good KS1 resource easily adaptable for KS2.

External link: Variation for younger children

• suitable for class use

• suitable for teachers’ personal use

A great eChalk vertebrate checking machine. Whatever you do - don't make a mistake. The consequences are truly awful. Great for KS2 pupils.

External link: Vertebrate or not?

• suitable for class use

Classification of vertebrates from a site by Dianne Hawkins. Ideal for infants.

External link: What am I?

• suitable for class use

Includes a leaves identification. Simply download the pdf files.

External link: Winter tree identification

• suitable for class use

• suitable for teachers’ personal use