AC9SFU01 • Foundation Science

Living Things and External Features

Observe plants and animals, compare visible features and group them using clear rules

Look closely at what can be seen on the outside of living things, name those features and use them as evidence for sorting and grouping.

Topic GuideClassroom ViewWorksheetPracticeTest
Teaching Lesson: Learn → Quick Check

Learn

Observe → Name features → Compare → Group → Explain

Goal: identify external features of plants and animals and explain a sensible grouping rule using what can be seen.

Teach It: Look closely at visible features

Plant showing green leaves and visible roots

Plant features

Look for visible parts such as roots, stems and leaves. Flowers, fruits and seeds may also be visible.

Photo: Eileen Kummer / Unsplash

Close view of colourful bird feathers

Bird features

Birds can be observed for features such as feathers, wings, beaks, eyes and legs.

Photo: David Clode / Unsplash

Close view of a fish showing scales and eye

Fish features

A fish may have visible scales, fins, eyes, a mouth and a tail. These are external features too.

Photo: Ivan Lopatin / Unsplash

Apply the Idea: Group by an observable rule

Body covering

Group animals as feathers / fur / scales.

Movement feature

Group animals by visible features such as wings / fins / legs.

Plant feature

Group plants by visible features such as flowers / no flowers or broad / narrow leaves.

Important: more than one sensible grouping rule can be correct. The student should state the rule and use visible evidence.

Try It

Observe

Look closely at a real leaf or plant. Name three external features you can see.

Compare

Compare a bird and a fish. State one visible similarity and two visible differences.

Sort

Sort four animal pictures using one visible feature. Explain your grouping rule.

Fix These

Guessing unseen features

Fix: describe what can actually be observed on the outside.

Grouping without a rule

Fix: finish the sentence, “I grouped them by …”

Using only one feature

Fix: also notice structural features such as leaves, wings, scales, legs or body covering.

Quick Check

1. Plant

Name two external features visible on a plant.

2. Animal

Which feature is a body covering: feathers, beak or wing?

3. Group

Give one rule for grouping a bird, fish and dog.

4. Explain

Why can the same animals sometimes be grouped in more than one sensible way?

Revision NotesRemember
  • An external feature is visible on the outside of a plant or animal.
  • Observe first: describe only what you can actually see.
  • Compare by naming one similarity and one difference.
  • Group living things using one clear visible rule, such as body covering, wings, fins, leaves or flowers.
  • More than one grouping can be correct when each uses a consistent observable rule.
Quick Mastery Check

If the student can do these independently, move to Practice or Test.

Observe carefullyName external featuresCompare similarities and differencesGroup by a visible featureExplain the grouping rule
Australian Curriculum description & elaborationsReference

Content description: observe external features of plants and animals and describe ways they can be grouped based on these features.

  • E1: observing fruits and vegetables and identifying them as parts of plants such as roots, flowers, fruits or leaves.
  • E2: recognising humans as animals, describing external features of humans and exploring similarities and differences compared with other animals.
  • E3: using magnifying glasses or digital cameras to observe and identify external features of plants and animals.
  • E4: sorting collections of model animals and explaining different grouping strategies.
  • E5–E6: First Nations Australian contexts for observing and grouping living things.
Teacher resourceResource

Classroom teacher slides

Open the fixed classroom presentation for direct display. It condenses the important lesson notes and uses the same teaching visuals shown above.

Open Classroom View
International curriculum mappingLinks

Australia: AC9SFU01. Victoria: closest Foundation Biological Sciences outcomes. NSW: Early Stage 1 living-world outcomes. US: closest Kindergarten NGSS life-science outcomes. UK: closest KS1 plants/animals content. NZ: Level 1 Living World.

Related Foundation Science topicsLinks
Official referencesSources
🎥 Optional Video Lesson

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Recommended: Sort the Same Group Two Different Ways | Preschool and Kindergarten | Kids Academy

Kids Academy — Grouping things by a visible feature. Apply this idea to plant and animal features in the topic lesson.

As you watch: Which visible feature could help you sort the objects?

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Try it: Look at photographs of four leaves. Sort them by shape or colour and explain your rule.

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Curriculum equivalents: Victoria, NSW and international

Curriculum equivalents for Observe external features of plants and animals and describe ways...

Mapped skill: observe external features of plants and animals and describe ways they can be grouped based on these features

These references identify matching or closely related learning. Curriculum sequence, terminology and depth vary, so teachers should use the mapped skill and lesson difficulty to confirm suitability.

RegionCurriculum frameworkClosest level or code
AustraliaAustralian Curriculum v9.0AC9SFU01 · Foundation
VictoriaVictorian Curriculum F–10 Version 2.0 — ScienceVC2S2U01 · Foundation–Level 2
New South WalesNSW Science and Technology K–6 Syllabus (2024)STE-SCI-01 · Early Stage 1
United States (USA)Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)Kindergarten
Canada (Ontario)Ontario Curriculum — ScienceKindergarten
United Kingdom (England)National Curriculum in England — ScienceYear 1, Key Stage 1
IndiaNCERT / CBSE — ScienceFoundational Stage / Balvatika 3

Australian Curriculum v9.0 is the canonical source for this SkillrHub lesson. Victoria and NSW entries name the closest published state codes or outcomes; international entries are planning references rather than claims of identical curricula.

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Topic reference: AC9SFU01 — Living Things and External Features

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Explain, check and applyReason

Observe the visible part

Point to the feature you name on a real plant or animal picture. Roots are external plant parts, but they may be hidden by soil. Say “not visible here” rather than assuming a hidden part is absent.

Plant parts in familiar foods

Look at a carrot root, a spinach leaf and a whole apple. Which plant part is each?

Answer and teaching guidance

Carrot: root; spinach: leaf; apple: fruit. These familiar foods come from different parts of plants. Use real samples or familiar pictures; tasting is not needed.

Compare humans and other animals

Humans are animals too. Compare a person and a dog using external features. Name one similarity and one difference.

Answer and teaching guidance

Both have eyes and ears. A dog has a tail and a fur-covered body; a person has hands and no external tail. Accept accurate visible comparisons without inferring hidden features.

Use one rule, then another

Picture cards show a duck with feathers and wings, a butterfly with wings, and a dog with fur. Group by wings, then by feathers.

Answer and teaching guidance

Wings: duck and butterfly together, dog separately. Feathers: duck separately from butterfly and dog. The same cards can form different groups when the stated rule changes.

Ready to move on

Look at two plants or two animal pictures. Name a visible feature they share, one difference and a rule for grouping them.

Answer and teaching guidance

Accept accurate evidence from the actual examples. Ask the child to point to the feature. Colour can be a valid observable rule; also practise structural features such as leaves, wings or body covering.