Kingdoms

Objectives:

• Understand how classification systems for living things work such, as kingdoms and species.

• Learn some basic characteristics of each kingdom and how they compare to each other.

Suggested Grades:

6th Grade - 7th Grade - 8th Grade - 9th Grade

Lesson Procedure:

Print the reading comprehension passage and questions (see below).

Students should read the passage silently, then answer the questions. Teachers may also use the text as part of a classroom lesson plan.

Lesson Excerpt:

What is a kingdom?

Kingdom refers to a specific group of organisms that are defined by a certain hierarchy of classifications. During the 18th century, initial classification of organisms was made by Linnaeus, who at that time divided living things into two groups; plants and animals. As biological sciences progressed and more organisms were discovered, the two-kingdom system was insufficient to classify the new findings.

Currently, six kingdoms consist of animals, plants, bacteria, fungi, protists and archea. These classifications are made based on an organisms' cell type, number and how their cells function. After the specific type of kingdom, the six kingdoms are further divided into phylum, class, order, family, genus and species, in that order.

One example is given in the diagram below.

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