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Learn How Identification Keys Work

In this worksheet, students are helped to to practise their work on keys, using features to identify an object or living thing. Both spider keys and clue keys are practised.

'Learn How Identification Keys Work' worksheet

Key stage:  KS 2

Year:  Year 4 Science worksheets

Curriculum topic:   Living Things and Their Habitats

Curriculum subtopic:   Classification Keys

Difficulty level:  

Worksheet Overview

You'll have been practising using identification keys in your science work and so you're here because you want a little more help using them.

They're really useful things, keys, helping you to put a name to something that you don't know the name of. The skill you need to acquire is just how to make them work.

 

Well, as you probably know, there are two main sorts of keys:

 

a daffodil              a pink rose

 

SPIDER KEYS use a branching system like this:

 

CLUE KEYS use clues to help find the name, like this:

 

Clue 1: If the flower is yellow go to Clue 2
  If the flower is not yellow go to Clue 4

 

and so on. You've probably used both sorts before.

 

In the following questions, use the keys to try to identify the object.  You will also be asked to use the key to find the name of the object using clues about it, given in the key.

 

Ready? Let's get identifying!

 

girl with magnifying glass

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