CP, SI
(a) |
Construct and use a classification system to organize living things into groups and subgroups according to student-developed criteria. |
(b) |
Consider personal observations and ideas as well as those of others (including differing worldviews) when constructing classification systems by asking questions, sharing stories, and responding to classmates' classification systems. |
(c) |
Demonstrate how different classification systems can be used to classify the same set of objects and explain how humans develop and refine classification systems to meet specific needs. |
(d) |
Explore local First Nations and Métis methods of organizing understanding of living things (e.g., two-leggeds, four-leggeds, winged-ones, swimmers, trees, and grasses) and the criteria underlying that understanding (e.g., where animals are found, how animals move, and the uses of plants). |
(e) |
Describe how aspects of First Nations and Métis worldviews (e.g., holistic, interconnectedness, valuing of place-based knowledge) shape their systems of organizing understanding of living things. |
(f) |
Illustrate the diversity of living things on Earth by constructing a visual representation (e.g., poster, mobile, slide show, and web page) showing examples from each kingdom of the five kingdom taxonomic model: monera, protists, fungi, plants, and animals. |
(g) |
Use appropriate scientific terminology to communicate ideas about the diversity of living things (e.g., biotic, abiotic, kingdom, phylum, monera, protist, fungi, plant, animal, vertebrate, and invertebrate). |
(h) |
Critique the use of biological classification systems to aid scientific understanding of living things rather than relying on common, local, or personally chosen names. |
Teachers should select portions of the program that relate directly to specific learning outcomes.
As readers progress through the book and explore the analogy to the Tree of Life, a proportionate section of the tree is shaded yellow to represent the place of each kingdom or branch within the world of living things. Once the author reaches the animal kingdom, further classification indicates the place of invertebrates and vertebrates. From there, branches on the tree represent fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals. Ultimately, one small yellow leaf indicates human's place on the tree. This analogy causes readers to reflect on the variety of life on Earth and on the impact humans have on all living species.