Lesson Planet
Search educational resources
  • Sign In Try It Free
  • AI Teacher Tools
    • Discover Resources Search reviewed educational resources by keyword, subject, grade, type, and more
    • Curriculum Manager (My Content) Manage saved and uploaded resources and folders To Access the Curriculum Manager Sign In or Join Now
    • Browse Resource Directory Browse educational resources by subject and topic
    • Curriculum Calendar Explore curriculum resources by date
    • Lesson Planning Articles Timely and inspiring teaching ideas that you can apply in your classroom
    • Our Story
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Testimonials
    • Contact Us
  • Pricing
  • School Access
    • Your school or district can sign up for Lesson Planet — with no cost to teachers
      Learn More
  • Sign In
  • Try It Free

Hi, what do you want to do?

Create a lesson plan
Create a lesson plan
Generate resources with 80+ AI teacher tools
Generate resources with 80+ AI teacher tools
Search 200,000 instructional videos
Search 200,000 instructional videos
Find a teaching resource
Find a teaching resource
Is It Alive? Lesson PlanIs It Alive? Lesson Plan
Publisher
NASA
Resource Details
Curator Rating
Educator Rating
Not yet Rated
Grade
5th - 12th
Subjects
Science
4 more...
Resource Types
Lesson Plans
3 more...
Audience
For Teacher Use
Duration
2 hrs
Instructional Strategies
Collaborative Learning
4 more...
Year
2012
Lesson Plan

Is It Alive?

Curated and Reviewed by Lesson Planet
This Is It Alive? lesson plan also includes:
  • HS Alignment
  • MS Alignment
  • Grade 5 Alignment
  • Assessment
  • Graphic & Image
  • Lab & Experiment
  • Worksheet
  • Join to access all included materials

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. 

976 Views 805 Downloads

Additional Tags

characteristics of life, defining life, what is life, abiotic vs biotic, science

Instructional Ideas

  • Great beginning of the year activity to get learners excited about science
  • Try a quick write before and after the lesson having the kids respond to the question, "what is life?"

Classroom Considerations

  • With larger class sizes, consider setting up stations for testing different materials

Pros

  • Great teacher tips, including classroom management ideas to make the lesson successful
  • Connects to current events (consider using pictures from the Curiosity Mars rover to make it even more current)
  • Focuses on the collaborative and experimental nature of science

Cons

  • The link to "ask Dr. C" in the extension activities is no longer active

See similar resources:

Lesson Plan

Debating Controversial Issues: Integrating Science and Current Events

Curated OER
In order to give young scientists experience with critical thinking skills, introduce them to a current controversy and prepare them to debate. Choose a topic, such as genetically modified organisms, and assign groups to represent...
9th - 12th Science
Lesson Plan

Is There Life on Earth?

University of Colorado
To find life on another planet, scientists look for gases (atmosphere), water, and temperatures that are not extreme. In this activity, groups of pupils become "Titan-ians," scientists who want to explore Earth for possible life forms....
6th - 8th Science
CCSS: Adaptable
Instructional Video

The Search for the Earliest Life

PBS
Life existed on Earth more than four billion years ago, much earlier than scientists predicted. Eons presents a lively video as part of a larger series. It explains the recent findings on multiple continents that alter the timeline of...
6 mins 6th - 12th Science
CCSS: Adaptable
Lesson Plan

Peer Review Meets D.I.Y.: Publishing a Student Science Journal

Curated OER
Peer review of science laboratory reports? You bet! First, learners work in pairs to review a scientific article. Then they trade lab reports for peer review. The end result is the publication of a classroom scientific journal!
7th - 12th Science
Instructional Video

How Does Work...Work?

TED-Ed
What makes a clock tick or a bulb light up? The concept of work is explained to a backdrop of clever animation. Physics fans learn that the amount of work equals the product of the force and distance, and that the rate equals the amount...
5 mins 7th - 12th Science
CCSS: Adaptable
Lesson Plan

Turning the Tide on Trash: Marine Debris Curriculum

Curated OER
Six different lessons comprise this unit on marine debris. Science, language arts, social studies, and art projects make this an ideal interdisciplinary unit. The result will be well-informed future citizens who can help make a...
5th - 8th Visual & Performing Arts
Lesson Plan

National Marine Sanctuaries Fish

Curated OER
Information is provided on Gray's Reef, Florida Keys, and Flower Garden Banks marine sanctuaries. Young marine biologists then visit the FishBase and REEF databases to collect fish species information for each location. They then...
9th - 12th Science
Lesson Plan

Marine Sanctuaries

Curated OER
Students delve into diverse marine ecosystems and the problems they face. They discover students the national marine sanctuaries found in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and off the coast of American Samoa.
6th - 8th Science
Interactive

Fields in the Life Sciences

CK-12 Foundation
Many fields of study require a specialty and a sub-specialty as you progress through your education. Scholars learn about six sub-specialties of life science. From botany to zoology, our knowledge of the world of living organisms expands...
6th - 8th Science
CCSS: Adaptable
Instructional Video

Half Life Problems

Educreations
Does a radioactive cat have 18 half-lives? An understanding of half-life is important in both chemistry and biology, so start your young scientists off the right way — with the good foundation provided by a video that begins with a graph...
14 mins 9th - 12th Science
Try It Free
© 1999-2026 Learning Explorer, Inc.
Teacher Lesson Plans, Worksheets and Resources

Sign up for the Lesson Planet Monthly Newsletter

Open Educational Resources (OER)

  • Health
  • Language Arts
  • Languages
  • Math
  • Physical Education
  • Science
  • Social Studies
  • Special Education
  • Visual and Performing Arts
View All Lesson Plans

Discover Resources

  • Our Review Process
  • How it Works
  • How to Search
  • Create a Collection

Manage Curriculum

  • Edit a Collection
  • Assign to Students
  • Manage My Content
Contact Us Site Map Privacy Policy Terms of Use