Classifying and organising living things using images/activity

Subject	Science
Activity Name	Classifying and organising living things using images
Learning Objectives	* To have experience of and develop confidence with the different ways in which living things can be classified into groups To develop knowledge of and use some of the characteristics of living things and ways to classify and organise them.
Outline of activity	Using photo organization/slideshow software (Picasa) students organise images that have been provided into various groups or categories. They may also add labels and/or descriptions where appropriate.
Technology requirements and skills	* Computer with slideshow/photo organisation software installed (suggested to be Picassa) Set of photographs (all contained in File:Images+of+Living+Things.zip but could use other images if available
Equipment requirements	This activity is designed to be purely computer based. If working with a class with only one computer or set of images in order to provide the rest of the class with a comparable task they will need to be provided with either a photograph/image of an assortment of animals or draw a picture (see second supplementary activity below) so that they can engage with a similar activity.
Possible extension or supplementary activities	* Using digital cameras or those included in some netbooks, students take their own photographs Students could be encouraged to drawn an animal or plant of their choice on a mini whiteboard and then arrange themselves and/or their images into various Using a wiki reader or similar digital encyclopaedia, students can search for supplementary information about the animals/plants or search for other appropriate examples Students may well use other features of the software to arrange and organise the images in alternative ways.
Suggestions of what ‘successful’ student understanding or work might look like	* Students will have created slideshows or photo albums that organise/classify living things into various groups. This may vary from a simple animal/plant to more complex ones including specific vocabulary Students will have demonstrated how some groups of images/living things can be organised in different ways, depending upon what characteristics you choose.