17 Engaging Taxonomy Activities 

There are millions of new species and organisms living on Earth that have yet to be identified; in addition to the millions of species that already have been! Today, scientists have found ways to classify these organisms, such as the Binomial Nomenclature, according to their similarities and differences. However, putting the suitable organism in the right group can at times, be difficult. We have listed 17 taxonomy activities to help you improve your student’s skills and abilities to classify life!

1. Drag and Drop 

This activity is an easy one that can help you increase your student’s knowledge of the diversity of life. It involves a graphic organizer that allows them to compare and contrast kingdoms. At the end of the activity, they can engage with the open-ended section that allows them to answer more in-depth questions.

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2. Building a Cladogram

Building a cladogram is perfect if you’re looking for the perfect classification activity for younger biology students! Making your own cladogram is simple with paper and a pen. A line is drawn and animals with related features are put together on the line. A cladogram clearly shows the distinct and similar characteristics of different species.

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3. Animal Sorting and Classification 

This enjoyable activity teaches students how to place the correct animal in the correct group easily. Animal sorting and classification also greatly increase little learners’ observation skills and vocabulary!

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4. Mix and Match Taxonomy Activity

In this activity, students must group different organisms under the correct kingdom. This is an excellent way to increase their speed and accuracy in identifying organisms that belong together. 

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5. Taxonomy Task Cards

Taxonomy task cards contain directions on how to carry out the different tasks based on a taxonomy that makes learning the classification of life interesting. For example, a child will pick a card that says they should list out what makes a tiger similar to a cat and different from a dog. 

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6. Classification Maze

A classification maze is a great way to increase your understanding of classifying organisms. Building a classification maze shows how organisms of the same species are related to one another and how they differ from organisms of other species.

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7. Montessori Animal Classification

This Montessori animal classification activity tasks learners with using cards to differentiate between vertebrates and non-vertebrates. It’s an excellent activity for learning the key concepts surrounding vertebrates and invertebrates.

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8. Match the Animal Tracks

In this activity, different footprints are displayed, and the task is to trace the track to the right animal. It is an interesting activity that may seem difficult, but it helps students increase their knowledge of specific animals.  

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9. Taxonomy Board Game

Learn about taxonomy and animal kingdoms most engagingly- by utilizing a fun game board. Learners will progress through the board by correctly answering several question cards. 

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10. Taxonomy Chart

Building a taxonomy chart entails placing the correct organism in its correct taxonomic rank at the level of the group it belongs to.

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11. Animal Bingo

The main goal of animal bingo is to have the same clips of animals in the same vertical or horizontal line. It is an interesting classification activity that anyone can engage in. Animals of the same species or with the same characteristics are depicted and arranged in the same line

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12. Crossword Puzzle

Classification crossword puzzles are a fantastic resource for students to learn more about the various organisms present in a group. It also increases their vocabulary about such organisms. 

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13. The Jeopardy-Style Taxonomy Game

Introducing a Jeopardy-style review game in the classroom greatly increases student participation and engagement in taxonomy learning. The game contains two sections: one is the question section, and the other is the answer section. Students take a question from the question section and place it in the answer section. 

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14. Identifying the Alien

These are excellent, cooperative activities that students can use to learn about taxonomy at a higher level. Sheets of different organisms are displayed, and they must identify the odd ones out. 

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15. Mnemonic 

Mnemonics are a great learning technique where students will take the first letter of all the words they want to remember and create a sentence for easy recall. 

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16. Taxonomy Word Search

This is a great activity for early finishers and those looking for something fun to enjoy at home. The words that must be found are scattered in all directions and may overlap with other words. 

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17. Bloom’s Taxonomy

Bloom’s taxonomy graphically illustrates taxonomy to help students remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and then apply what is learned in taxonomy. Have students design their own charts to bind learning to memory! 

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