Alive or Not

Determining whether or not something is living can be more difficult than it seems. Put your young scientists to work defining their own criteria to identify life, then work with three samples to see if they are alive or not. 

Interestingly enough, movement is not a characteristic of living things. The first activity in a series of 20 introduces learners to the concepts of living versus non-living things and then focuses on biologists and what they study....

Wanted! Pests are on the loose! Here, class members create a wanted poster highlighting one pest. Posters includes a picture, description, and signs of pest activity. 

Alive or not? After viewing this presentation, life science learners will know how to answer this question. They are introduced to the seven processes of living systems and the classification hierarchy. Because it only covers...

Have you ever wanted to lay inside a cave and look up at thousands of stars twinkling? Caves in New Zealand have glow worms that mimic the night sky in order to confuse their prey. This allows the worms to trap their prey and eat them...

Learners engage in an activity that demonstrates whether something is alive or not.  In this physiology instructional activity students divide into groups and sort cards into categories. 

Young ecologists explore the Aswan Dam in Egypt via the internet. Each collaborative group is assigned a specific article about the ecological impact of the dam. Then they prepare a presentation to share with the rest of the class. Some...

We all know that the brain is responsible for our thoughts, actions, memories, and emotions, but it's far busier than we can possibly imagine. Watch this short video as it explores how life as we know it is made possible...

Creating an ecosystem is as simple as baking a cake. Well, maybe not, but using a recipe analogy helps learners realize that ecosystems consist of different components that come together in unique ways. Offer this worksheet as an...

In this dead or alive worksheet, learners state items that are living and not living, write examples of organisms that do not show signs of life, write signs of life, and more.