There are millions of different species living today, and these represent a tiny fraction of all the species that existed in the past. Using beautiful videography and easy-to-interpret graphics, this program illustrates how over thousands of years people have been trying to find meaning and order in the diversity of life. Students learn that how we classify living things has changed with the discovery of new kinds of organisms, and with our growing understanding of evolution and genetics. The video looks at the differences of each of the traditional five kingdoms: Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia. It then describes how this five-kingdom approach to classification has been modified as a result of recent discoveries about different types of bacteria. The video stresses that the ways in which we organize and categorize living things will continue to change in the future as new discoveries are made.

Includes: Video or DVD and Teacher's Resource Book