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Science at key stage 3    (Year 8)

Unit 8D: Ecological relationships
Section 3: How can green plants be classified?

QCA

Objectives
Children should learn:
  • that green plants can be subdivided into those with vascular tissues (xylem and phloem) and complex leaves with a waterproof cuticle, and those without

Activities

Outcomes
Children:
  • Show a selection of common living plants, eg mosses, liverworts, ferns, conifer branches, pelargonium and grass in flower. Ask pupils to suggest where, and in what environmental conditions, each might be found. Show how plants are subdivided into two groups: plants without waterproofing layers, eg mosses, which are confined to damp environments, and plants with waterproof cuticles, which inhabit a wider range of habitats.
  • Ask the pupils about other features shown by the plants. Use their suggestions to form the basis of classification, eg ferns, cone-producing plants and flowering plants.
  • recognise that plants are subdivided into groups based on characteristics such as vascular tissue and seed- or spore-bearing reproduction
  • explain why mosses are found in places that are damp

Points to note
  • The purpose of the classification work is to help pupils to make sense of what they find during the major fieldwork activity in this unit.
  • For many pupils, teachers will wish to simplify the terms used to describe plant characteristics.
  • Some pupils may wish to explore the subdivision of flowering plants into monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants. Conifers are contained within gymnosperms, but not all gymnosperms bear cones.
  • Extension: pupils could classify a range of living, preserved and photographic plant material using the main taxonomic features.

Sections in this unit

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This unit is divided into sections. Each section contains a sequence of activities with related objectives and outcomes. You can view this unit by moving through the sections or print/download the whole unit.
1. How can animals be classified? (1)
2. How can animals be classified? (2)
3. How can green plants be classified?
4. How do plants, animals and environmental conditions interact in a habitat? a) How can we collect data to answer questions about a habitat? (1)
5. How do plants, animals and environmental conditions interact in a habitat? a) How can we collect data to answer questions about a habitat? (2)
6. How do plants, animals and environmental conditions interact in a habitat? b) What lives there? (1)
7. How do plants, animals and environmental conditions interact in a habitat? b) What lives there? (2)
8. How do plants, animals and environmental conditions interact in a habitat? c) Why do the communities differ in different habitats? (1)
9. How do plants, animals and environmental conditions interact in a habitat? c) Why do the communities differ in different habitats (2)
10. How do plants, animals and environmental conditions interact in a habitat? c) Why do the communities differ in different habitats? (3)
11. How do plants, animals and environmental conditions interact in a habitat? d) How big are the populations in the habitat? (1)
12. How do plants, animals and environmental conditions interact in a habitat? d) How big are the populations in the habitat? (2)
13. How do living things in a community depend on each other? (1)
14. How do living things in a community depend on each other? (2)
15. Reviewing work