The Zimbabwe Secondary School Science Project (ZIM-SCI) developed student study guides, corresponding teaching guides, and science kits for a low-cost science course which could be taught during the first 2 years of secondary school without the aid of qualified teachers and conventional laboratories. This ZIM-SCI study guide presents activities and experiments which focus on the characteristics and classification of living things. The major point considered is the number of differences which exist among plants and animals. The study of these differences is used to introduce students to the need for classification. Simple classification exercises based on observed characteristics and activities which involve examining larger animal and plant groupings are included. Other activities include measuring living things, examining normal and random distributions of characteristics, making a collecting net, seeing if plants move, and planting trees. Information to help students understand the scientific principles behind the activities and experiments is also provided. (JN)