Classification - Plant vs. Animal

Today in the STEAM Lab we talked about a big word called classification. We explained that classification is when scientists group things together that are similar. Two major classifications of living things are plants and animals.

We then let the kids explore our mystery bags. In one mystery bag we had a plant and in the other mystery bag we had a plastic toy animal. We asked the kids how animals are alike and how plants are alike. We also had a treasure hunt set up around the room. The kids found hidden envelopes that contained a picture of a plant or an animal and had to classify them on the plants and animals collage.

The rest of the class we spent talking about plants. We explored the seeds or four different types of plants and made a take home collage. We also talked about how seeds can travel on the wind and we blew milkweed seeds around the room. We put a seed in a bag, which can be taped to the window, and should sprout within the next few days so the kids can see the roots, stem, and leaves form.

We finished the day with our 1st STEAM Challenge. The kids were asked to build a tree (a plant) out of blocks that could hold at least five birds (an animal). The kids did an awesome job on this challenge. There were all different kinds of birdhouses built.

Next week we will be focusing on animals.

Pictures of the day are below.