Check it! - Grouping Living Things - Year 6

Understanding how living things are grouped and classified is an essential part of the Year 6 curriculum. To ensure that students have a firm grasp of this concept, it's important to incorporate regular review sessions into the learning process. A variety of engaging methods can be used to reinforce this knowledge, such as conducting a 'brain dump' where students write down everything they recall, or the 'Give me FIVE!' activity which prompts them to list five examples or facts related to the topic. Other strategies include adding information to a mind map, expanding and elaborating on given statements, and using retrieval pyramids to structure the recall of information.

Specific activities designed to check students' understanding involve interactive challenges. For instance, they might be asked to list five amphibians or five facts about mould, name three reptiles, mammals, molluscs, or crustacea, and discuss whether humans are vertebrates or invertebrates. Additionally, they could be tasked with explaining how species from different kingdoms have adapted to their environments. The 'Pyramid Check' activity is structured to cater to different levels of learning, with the bottom two rows being accessible to all pupils and the third row offering a more advanced challenge. These activities not only test students' knowledge but also help to deepen their understanding of the classification of living things.