Year 6 Classification of Living Things Worksheet - Intermediate

Year 6 Classification of Living Things worksheet for Year 6 (Key Stage 2 / Year 3-6 (Ages 7-11)). Intermediate level science practice, aligned to the UK National Curriculum. Print-ready with answer key included.

Science•Key Stage 2 / Year 3-6 (Ages 7-11)•Animalsintermediate

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Living Things: Classification Detectives

Year 6 Science • Ages 10–11 • Intermediate

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Instructions: Use the characteristics and evidence in each activity to classify living things. Give a reason for your decisions where asked, using scientific vocabulary such as vertebrate, invertebrate, micro-organism, flowering plant and non-flowering plant.

Classifying Plants

Read each description carefully and classify the plant using the word bank. Choose the most specific group supported by the evidence. Give one characteristic that helped you decide.

Word bank: flowering plant, conifer, fern, moss

1. This plant produces flowers and seeds enclosed inside fruits. Classification: ___ . Evidence: ___ .

2. This plant produces cones and seeds that are not enclosed in fruit; it usually has needle-like leaves. Classification: ___ . Evidence: ___ .

3. This plant has fronds and reproduces using spores rather than flowers or seeds. Classification: ___ . Evidence: ___ .

4. This small plant has no true roots and reproduces using spores; it often grows in damp places. Classification: ___ . Evidence: ___ .

Vertebrate or Invertebrate?

Classify each animal by checking for a backbone. Write vertebrate or invertebrate in the first blank, then name the useful characteristic in the second. Remember that an animal’s size or habitat does not determine whether it is a vertebrate.

1. A robin has a backbone and feathers. Classification: ___ . Characteristic: ___ .

2. An earthworm has a long, soft body and no backbone. Classification: ___ . Characteristic: ___ .

3. A frog has a backbone and, as an adult, usually has four limbs. Classification: ___ . Characteristic: ___ .

4. A spider has eight legs and no backbone. Classification: ___ . Characteristic: ___ .

5. A salmon has a backbone, fins and gills. Classification: ___ . Characteristic: ___ .

Use a Classification Key

Follow the key one step at a time, using the evidence given for each organism. Write the final group and one clue from the key that supports your choice. Do not decide from the organism’s name alone.

Classification key:

1a. Has a backbone → go to 2

1b. Has no backbone → invertebrate

2a. Has feathers → bird

2b. Has no feathers → go to 3

3a. Has scales and gills throughout life → fish

3b. Does not have scales and gills throughout life → go to 4

4a. Has moist skin and begins life in water → amphibian

4b. Has hair or fur and feeds its young with milk → mammal

1. Organism A has a backbone and feathers. Group: ___ . Key clue: ___ .

2. Organism B has no backbone. Group: ___ . Key clue: ___ .

3. Organism C has a backbone, scales and gills throughout life. Group: ___ . Key clue: ___ .

4. Organism D has a backbone, moist skin and begins life in water. Group: ___ . Key clue: ___ .

5. Organism E has a backbone, fur and feeds its young with milk. Group: ___ . Key clue: ___ .

Classifying Micro-organisms

Use the information in the table to identify each micro-organism. Then answer the questions below the table. A micro-organism is too small to be seen clearly without a microscope; different groups have different characteristics.

Organism	Cell type	Typical feature	Group
Bacterium	Single cell	No nucleus	Bacterium
Yeast	Single cell	Reproduces by budding	Fungus
Mould	Many cells	Produces spores	Fungus
Amoeba	Single cell	Changes shape to move	Protist

1. Which organism in the table is a bacterium?

2. Which two organisms are fungi?

3. Which organism can change shape to move?

4. Why might a microscope be needed to observe these organisms clearly?

Explain Your Classification

Choose the best answer for each question. Read every option before deciding. The questions ask you to apply classification characteristics, rather than simply recall an organism’s name.

1. Which feature places an animal in the vertebrate group?

2. Which statement best describes a conifer?

3. Which is evidence that an organism is a micro-organism?

4. A plant produces spores and has fronds. Which group is the best match?

5. Why are classification keys useful?

Answer Key

Activity 1: 1. flowering plant; flowers and seeds enclosed in fruit ; 2. conifer; cones and seeds not enclosed in fruit (needle-like leaves also acceptable) ; 3. fern; fronds and spores ; 4. moss; no true roots and spores

Activity 2: 1. vertebrate; backbone ; 2. invertebrate; no backbone ; 3. vertebrate; backbone ; 4. invertebrate; no backbone ; 5. vertebrate; backbone

Activity 3: 1. bird; feathers (step 2a) ; 2. invertebrate; no backbone (step 1b) ; 3. fish; scales and gills throughout life (step 3a) ; 4. amphibian; moist skin and begins life in water (step 4a) ; 5. mammal; fur and feeds young with milk (step 4b)

Activity 4: 1. Bacterium ; 2. Yeast and mould ; 3. Amoeba ; 4. They are too small to see clearly with the unaided eye.

Activity 5: 1. It has a backbone ; 2. It produces cones and seeds ; 3. It is too small to see clearly without a microscope ; 4. Fern ; 5. They help identify organisms by their characteristics