Classifying living things is one of the oldest puzzles in biology, and it's still one of the trickiest for students to reason through, because appearances lie. A mushroom looks nothing like a person, but it's a decomposer just like the bacteria in your compost bin. A sea anemone looks like a flower, but it's an animal that catches fish with stinging tentacles. Sort the Kingdoms puts students right in the middle of that puzzle.
Across 11 rounds, students drag and drop 22 real organisms, from honeybees and bald eagles to slime mold and mycorrhizal fungi, into the correct kingdom bin. The game meets each learner where they are: kindergarteners and first graders sort by simple traits they can observe, while second and third graders start reasoning about how each organism gets its energy. Fourth and fifth graders move into cellular level evidence, and middle schoolers tackle molecular and evolutionary reasoning, answering a short follow-up question after every correct sort to cement the reasoning behind the classification.
Every round ends with a downloadable results receipt showing accuracy and standards alignment, making it easy to use as a quick formative check or an independent station activity. No student accounts, no setup, just open and sort.
