Physical trait identification projects involve students taking a collection of various things and organizing them into appropriately labeled box by classifiying their physical traits. Physical traits can be measured or distinguished by sight, touch or smell. Examples of this type of project involves separating a group of leaves by their shapes (smooth edged, razor edged, palmate, etc.) and separating them by their color and size and placing them each group into separate boxes.
Scientific classification identification projects focus on organizing a group of objects into prelabeled identifying boxes. Scientific classification is different than physical classification in that the organizational schema is based upon a trait that the student cannot immediately discern without researching or analyzing the subject matter. One example of this type of project requires each student to research a group of rocks and minerals and separate them into sedimentary, igneous or metamorphic groups and place them into appropriate boxes. Another project involves students separating animals that are diurnal (active during the day) from those which are nocturnal (active at night) or separating them by other scientific classifications, such as kingdom, phylum, or genus, and placing them into appropriate boxes.
This type of project requires students to organize a group of items into separate identifying boxes by geographic trait. Geographic traits require students to research something about the origin or habitat of the subject matter. For a project involving minerals, students classify them by where they were collected, or in which strata of earth they are commonly found. For a project involving animals or plants, students separate model animals or plants by their country or region of origin or by the ecological niche that they inhabit, such as grassland, arbor or wetlands.
Not all identifying box projects need to use physical, scientific or regional classifications, though these tend to be the easiest to direct. While they is more of a challenge for the educator, projects where students create their own organizational methods show considerable value as well. Such projects encourage development of both right-brain creative talents and left-brain logic skills. Ultimately, the most important part of any identifying box project is to challenge the student to become familiar with systems of organization and show them the value of utilizing these skills in future endeavors.