“If you do not know the names of things, the knowledge of them is lost too.”
-Carolus Linnaeus
This fall we introduced our brand new 8-week unit, Taxonomy of Living Things: The Five Kingdoms, our brand new Research Discovery Guide. Learning about the way scientists organize living things teaches us about, not only nomenclature, but also about anatomy. Making models alongside research is a super way to commit this information deeper into understanding.
This project began with a challenge to create imaginary insects. The goal was to solidify understanding of the first three hierarchies of taxonomy: Kingdom, Phylum, Class.
To begin, you might explore the following questions:
Q. What is an animal?
A. Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms that can can move spontaneously and independently.
Q. What is an invertebrate?
A. Invertebrates are animals without a vertebral column.
Q. What is an arthropod?
A. An arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and jointed appendages.
Q. What is an insect?
A. Insects are a class of invertebrates within the arthropod phylum that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body, three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes and one pair of antennae.
Now, using Fimo clay, wire, pipe cleaners, tiny pompoms, T-pins, and whatever other materials you can imagine, create an imaginary insect following the guidelines of biological taxonomy. Be sure to show the stages of metamorphosis. When your model is complete, pin it and create a label identifying the insect through all the taxons (kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species). The first three are given, use your imagination create names for order, family genus and species.
Research is an extraordinarily important skill across all subject areas. Coupling research with hands-on projects will build knowledge through creativity, and this is the kind of knowledge that lasts.
-Kim