Language Arts - Miscellaneous
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Language Arts - Miscellaneous - Classification

Categories and Classification

Classifying means sorting things into groups (or categories). The category is like a label or name for a group of items which are alike in some way. Here's an example: 


	CATEGORY: Animals
	ITEMS BELONGING TO CATEGORY: rats, snakes, turtles, deer, dogs.
Often you are given a group of words and asked to sort them into categories: 

  ITEMS TO SORT: apple, chair, rat, table, couch, orange,
     dog, cheese, cat, desk, stool, bread, lizard.

  CATEGORIES TO SORT ITEMS INTO: furniture, food, animals.
In order to classify items, you must have groups to sort them into. Here we are to sort the items into three different groups: furniture, food, and animals. 

	FURNITURE		FOOD			ANIMALS
	 chair			 apple			 rat
	 table			 orange			 dog
	 table			 cheese			 cat
	 desk			 bread			 lizard
	 stool
Given a list of times we should be able to decide on the best name for the category which the items on the list belong to. 

	ITEMS: pen, paper, pencil, notebook, ruler.

	Which is the best name for this category?
	  A. animals
	  B. work supplies
	  C. food
	  D. furniture
Obviously, the items in this list are not animals, food, or furniture. Answer B (work supplies) is the best answer.

Sometimes members of one category will also fit into other categories as well. Here is an example: 


	CATEGORY: Animals
	ITEMS BELONGING TO CATEGORY: rats, snakes, turtles, deer, dogs.

	CATEGORY: Mammals
	ITEMS BELONGING TO CATEGORY: rats, deer, dogs.
As you can see rats, deer, and dogs belong to both the category called animals and the category called mammals.

It is also possible to pick a category for an item. 


  CATEGORIES: tools, furniture, mammals, food.

  Pick the best category for the following item:

	hammer
Of the categories you have to select from, "tools" is the best category for hammer.

Here's another example: 


  CATEGORIES: insects, clothing, sports, desserts.

  Pick the best category for the following item:

	basketball
Clearly a basketball is not an example of an insect, clothing, or a dessert. The best category for basketball is "sports".

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