Living things and their habitats
Year 6 · Science
Look closely, sort your discoveries and ask why things happen.
Choose a game
Take your time, try a game and collect stars.
Classifying animals: vertebrates and invertebrates
Is a spider an insect? Is a woodlouse? A free Year 6 science game about classifying animals into vertebrates, invertebrates and smaller groups.
Play Classifying animals: vertebrates and invertebrates
Learning about living things and their habitats
In this Year 6 science collection, you can practise Classifying animals: vertebrates and invertebrates. Choose a game above for a short activity, or explore the examples below before you play. The full guide for each game explains its controls, gives more examples and includes a free printable for practice away from the screen.
Talk it through
Start with something you can observe. Ask your child to describe the evidence for a choice, then compare a second example. A game practises vocabulary and reasoning; practical observation and investigation matter too.
Ask: “What clue helped you decide?” Give your child time to explain. Return to an example after playing and ask whether they would approach it differently.
Classifying animals: vertebrates and invertebrates
Scientists classify living things into groups by looking at their characteristics: what they look like and how they live. Animals are first split into vertebrates (with a backbone) and invertebrates (without one). Vertebrates are divided into fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Invertebrates include insects, arachnids, molluscs, crustaceans and worms. In Year 6, children learn how and why living things are classified into broad groups, including micro-organisms, plants and animals.
Try an example: Which group does a spider belong to: insect, arachnid, mammal or fish?
Count the legs: a spider has eight. Insects have six.
Show the answer
Arachnid.
What to look out for
Calling every small creature an insect. Count legs. Spiders (eight legs), woodlice (fourteen) and worms (none) are not insects.
Read the full Classifying animals: vertebrates and invertebrates guide
Practise away from the screen
- Go on a minibeast hunt and sort what you find: insects, arachnids, molluscs, crustaceans and worms.
Curriculum connections
These games support selected practice connected to Living things and their habitats in the National Curriculum in England. Use your school’s sequence to decide when to introduce and revisit each skill. A game covers selected examples, rather than assessing every requirement.
Questions families ask
Where should we start with living things and their habitats?
Start with Classifying animals: vertebrates and invertebrates. Look at the worked example together, then try a round. If the task feels unfamiliar, use the full game guide or its free printable before trying again.
Does this cover everything taught at this level?
No. This collection brings together the games currently available for this learning area. It supports selected skills and does not replace the full programme of study or practical teaching.