Okay, dichotomous keys are part of taxonomy. Hey, if you sort organisms, you need to name them, too. I put Taxonomy right in the middle of Ecology. (The Apologia textbook refers to them as Biological keys.) Since I’m busy printing for class, I might as well share examples with you. We do several dichotomous keys because, I find repetition helps drive home the idea.
1. Here are four keys to practice. My favorite Far Side cartoon is on the last page.
2. This one has insects, toes, and leaves.
3. Here is a left key I used last year. We did the activity online. The kids read over descriptions such as compound and simple leaves or smooth edged vs. serrated edged with little difficulty.
4. Here is a shark dichotomous key.
5. This one has leaf and creature keys.
6. Pamishan is a classic activity for keys. Here is the answer key.
7. I alway do the Jelly Belly Dichotomous key lab. There are many labs available. One pound is more than enough for 14-15 kids.
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