Students will develop a grouping system for classifying common objects as well as use a key to classify noodles and an imaginary organism. I selected these goals because they deal with how biology is used in the present day world. This unit introduces students to taxonomy and explains how and why organisms are classified. I teach in a small rural, southern community. The students in my classroom come from a variety of different backgrounds.
Cultural diversity is portrayed as well as varying socioeconomic status.
I am teaching the classification unit to my Applied Biology and Chemistry I classes. I have 27 students enrolled in my third block class. There are 17 males and 10 females. Within these two classes several students have special needs ranging from learning disabilities, hearing impaired, English as a second language, and behavior disorders. Some students are repeating the course and are juniors and seniors.