Aim

To encourage pupils to appreciate the diversity of organisms and begin to think about how they are grouped.

National Curriculum themes

• KS3 Sc2 5b - "that habitats support a diversity of plants and animals" 
• KS3 Sc2 4b - "to classify living things into major taxonomic groups" 

Strategy

• Use the interactive landscape image in Exploring UK biodiversity to explore the idea that biodiversity comes in many shapes and sizes, from habitats down to micro-organisms, and also includes the genes that give rise to variation within a species. 
• Ask pupils to interpret the Species-scape diagram, and consider the number of species within different groups. 
• Use the Sort it out! activity to introduce pupils to the idea that organisms have characteristics that we can use as the basis for classification and identification.