A WebQuest for Grade 6

Designed by:

Mrs. S. Chauvin

Introduction| Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Evaluation | Conclusion 

Introduction:

We are going to take a walk through the ANIMAL KINGDOM.  Along the way, you will see some unusual creatures.  Be sure to keep watch for them.  By the end of this web quest:

• you should know of different ways to classify living things
• you should be able to compare the characteristics of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish
• you will be able to identify an arthropod, invertebrate and vertebrate
• you will be able to identify a microorganism and describe how it meets its basic needs

Classification is the process of organizing things into groups.  When you put your notes in your duo-tangs, you should be organizing them according to the subject and the date.  When you do this, you are using a classification system.  It is the same when you are finding a word in a dictionary or an encyclopedia. In these cases, you are also using classification systems, but these ones are based on alphabetical order.  Classification systems are all around us and are used to help us make sense of the world and to bring order.

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Part 1: 

Step 1:  First, scientists classify objects as to whether they are living or non-living.  For this webquest we are only going to deal with living things, so look at the pictures below and sort these living things in a way that makes sense to you.  Record your groupings in part (a) of Activity Sheet #1.

What characteristic did you use to group these pictures?  Record your answer on the space provided in section (a).

Scientists use properties or characteristics of living things when they are classifying, too.  They might use such factors as appearance, structure, motility (how it moves around), habitat and its use.  Look at these pictures again and group them a second time using one of these properties.  Record your work on the (b) section of Activity Sheet #1 and remember to state which characteristic or property you used for classifying.

Step 2:  Around the year 1736, a man named Carl Linnaeus created the system by which we classify living things.  This classification system is called the ' Kingdoms of Living Things' or the 'Linnaean Classification System' and it is the basis of what scientists use today.  Of course, the classifying of living things is constantly revised as scientists gather new knowledge.  To date, over a million different kinds of animals have been classified and scientists think that there may be another million species of animals that haven't been discovered yet.  Below you will find the six kingdoms used in this classification system. 

ARCHAEA       BACTERIA        PROTISTA        FUNGI        PLANTAE        ANIMALIA

Now, read these directions before you go to the links and follow them once you are there.  Initially, after going to the first link, you will need to click on the "Six Kingdoms of Life" link to look at each type of kingdom. Once you are there, you can begin to fill in the chart using the information given.  When it asks for the type of cell on the chart, you will click on the link beside "cell type" and find out what the scientific term that is given means. Then write down that simplified version in the chart. The second website below will provide you with the rest of the information that you need to complete the chart. All you have to do is find the Kingdom name in the paragraph and click on it to find out more about it. Now you are ready to follow the links below and complete the chart on Activity Sheet #2

http://www.biology.about.com/od/evolution/a/aa091004@htm

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/kingdom_(biology)

Step 3:  Using the information you have recorded on Activity Sheet #2 as a reference, go back to the items you sorted originally on Activity Page #1 and sort them again according to which kingdom they belong.  Record your classification scheme on Activity Sheet #3. 

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Part 2:

Step 1:  The Animal Kingdom can be divided into groups or phyla.  We are going to look at the Vertebrates, or Chordata Phylum, and the Invertebrates which can be grouped into many phyla.  The lists of animals below are sorted into the Vertebrate and Invertebrate groups for you.  Look at the two lists and see if you can figure out why each set of animals is grouped together.

 Were you able to guess what each group has in common?  Record your answer on the top of Activity Sheet #4.

Vertebrates can be subdivided into classes like mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians.  There is a chart in the middle of Activity Sheet #4 and I want you to go back to the list of vertebrates above and put each animal in the correct class in that table.

Now, we are going to look at the invertebrate group.  Ninety-five percent of the animals living today are invertebrates.  They can be found in most environments all over the world.  Scientists divide invertebrates into many different phyla or groups depending on characteristics or properties of the animals' bodies.  The phyla listed below are three of the more common groupings used by scientists to categorize invertebrates. 

Take another look at the list of invertebrates in the table with the vertebrate and invertebrate groupings.  Can you put those animals into the three phyla mentioned above?  Record your groupings in the table on the bottom of Activity Sheet #4.

Since arthropods make up the majority of the invertebrates, we are going to focus on them. Scientists categorize arthropods into four distinct classes that include insects, spiders (which are not insects), crustaceans (creatures with jointed legs and a hard outer shell) and centipedes/millipedes. 

Step 2: Now, look at the arthropods in the pictures below and sort them according to whether they are insects, spiders, crustaceans or part of the 'pede' class, remembering the characteristics or properties listed for each group.  Record your groupings on the top of Activity Sheet #5 in the table provided.

So far in this Webquest, you have learned a considerable amount about how scientists classify living things.  You now know that the Animal Kingdom is divided into many phyla and that these groupings are broken down again and again into smaller and smaller groups.  In the end, scientists divide things up until they are dealing with species, the smallest group.  A species is a population of animals that can breed with one another and the young grow up to look like the parents.

Now, on Activity Sheet #5 you will see a classification key.  Your job is to fill in the blanks with the words from the word bank.  You won't use all of the words, so be careful and remember, you start with big groupings and work toward smaller groupings.

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Part 3:

Step 1:  Microbes are everywhere.  They are in the air we breathe, in the food we eat, inside our bodies, on our hands, on the park bench you sit on, and everywhere else on Earth that you can imagine.  Microbes are invisible to the human eye and can only be seen with a microscope.  In this next section, we are going to learn about bacteria, fungi and protists which are all different types of microbes.  You will learn about helpful and harmful microbes and about where microbes live.

 First, think back (or even better, look back) at the information you recorded on Activity Sheet #2.  You should have learned that the living things in the Archaea, Bacteria and Protist groups or kingdoms are single-celled organisms that may live in colonies.   Now, you are to go to the following website and find out the answers to the questions about microbes on Activity Sheet #6. 

http://www.microbe.org

Scientists are identifying more new protists than members of any other kingdom. As you now know, protists can live in water or in soil or in the bodies of other animals.  At the next site, you will see pictures of different types of protists.  Take a look at these pictures and draw your own pictures of the following protists, bacteria, a spyrogyra, a diatom, and an amoeba in the boxes on the bottom of Activity Sheet #6.  Make sure you draw them in the correct boxes.  Now, click on the site.

http://www.funsci.com/fun3_en/protists/exhibition.htm

The Fungi group members are multi-cellular organisms that are somewhat plant-like, but they produce no chlorophyll. Actually, scientists used to include fungi in the plant kingdom before they realized that fungi did not produce their own food through photosynthesis.  At the next site, you are going to find fun facts about fungi.  This site includes pictures of various types of fungi, as well as, puzzles and games, including a mushroom hunt.  Your job is to draw pictures of the following types of fungi:  a fairy ring, a giant puffball, an earth star and a slime mold.  Draw these pictures in the boxes provided on Activity Sheet #7.  Be sure to draw them in the correct boxes.  Then, I want you to draw a spore (which can be seen by going through the slime mold information and clicking on 'spores') and given an explanation of what a spore is and does on the lines provided.

http://www.herbarium.usu.edu/fungi/funfacts/factindx.htm

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Evaluation:

You will be marked on the responses you have recorded on Activity Sheets 1 through 7.  Look these sheets over and make sure that you have answered all sections on each sheet.  Then, review your work using this rubric to guide you, so that you get top marks.  Your final mark on this webquest will be out of 15.

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Conclusion:

Congratulations!  You have completed the 'Classification of Life' Webquest.  Now, take a look and see what other classification systems are in place around you.  I bet you’ll find them everywhere; you just didn’t notice them before now.

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