How Can We
Group Plants?
Plants are living things, but they do not all look the same. Scientists can group plants by looking carefully at their features.
What Does "Classify" Mean?
Look for similarities
What features do two plants have in common?
Look for differences
What features make one plant different from another?
💬 Think-Pair-Share
How could you group a rose and a fern?
Flowering Plants
What is a flowering plant?
A flowering plant is a plant that can produce:
- 🌸 Flowers
- 🍎 Fruit
Examples
Non-Flowering Plants
What is a non-flowering plant?
A non-flowering plant does not produce flowers or fruit.
Examples
⚡ Quick Check
Which plant is non-flowering?
Flowering or Non-Flowering?
🌸 FLOWERING
Click here
🌿 NON-FLOWERING
Click here
Deciduous & Evergreen
Deciduous
Deciduous trees lose their leaves in autumn.
Example: 🌳 Oak
Evergreen
Evergreen trees keep their leaves throughout the year.
Example: 🌲 Pine
🌿 Evergreen = leaves stay
Deciduous or Evergreen?
Tree A
Loses its leaves in autumn.
Tree B
Keeps its leaves throughout the year.
Let's Look at Leaves!
Leaves can have many different features.
Shape
Long? Round? Pointed?
Size
Large? Small? Wide?
Edges
Smooth? Jagged?
🔎 Compare
Leaf A: long, narrow, smooth edge
Leaf B: wide, rounded, jagged edge
How are they similar? How are they different?
Observe Like a Scientist
Not useful
"This leaf is nice."
"This leaf is weird."
Useful observation
"This leaf is long and narrow."
"This leaf has jagged edges."
How Many Ways Can We Group Plants?
Flowers
Flowers / No flowers
Leaves
Shape / size
Size
Large / small
Colour
Different colours
Leaves
Deciduous / evergreen
Structure
Different leaf forms
⭐ Challenge
Can you think of another way to group plants?
Classify These Plants
Question 1
Does the plant produce flowers and fruit?
What Is a Classification Key?
It uses a series of questions. The questions usually have two possible answers.
Good Classification Questions
❌ Not useful
"Is it a nice plant?"
"Is it interesting?"
These are based on opinions.
✅ Useful
"Does it have flowers?"
"Does it have feather-like leaves?"
These are observable features.
Classification Keys Use Closed Questions
Open question
What does the leaf look like?
There could be many answers.
Closed question
Does the leaf have a jagged edge?
YES or NO
Build a Classification Key
Complete the Classification Key
⭐ Challenge
Create another Yes/No question that could help classify the flowering plants.
💡 Think about petals, leaves, colour or size.
Watch Out!
❌ Avoid
- Is it pretty?
- Is it interesting?
- Tell me everything about it.
✅ Better
- Does it have flowers?
- Does it have large leaves?
- Does it have feather-like leaves?
Can You Identify the Mystery Plant?
🌻 Mystery Plant #1
Question 1: Does it produce flowers?
➡️ YES
Question 2: Does it have large yellow petals?
➡️ YES
🌿 Mystery Plant #2
Question 1: Does it produce flowers?
➡️ NO
Question 2: Does it have feather-like leaves?
➡️ YES
Which Question Is More Useful?
Is this plant big?
Size may be less clear and can change as a plant grows.
Does this plant have flowers?
This is a clear feature we can observe.
💬 Explain
Complete the Sentences
Flowering plants can produce and .
Deciduous trees lose their in autumn.
Evergreen trees keep their throughout the year.
A classification key uses questions.