It's Alive

What do an ice cream cone, bicycle, and alarm clock all have in common? That's exactly what young scientists will find out as sort these pictures and learn about the differences between living and non-living things.

It's alive! Or is it? Through a series of shared readings, whole class activities, and independent exercises children explore the difference between living and non-living things, creating a pair of printable books...

Young geologists discover the important role that rocks and minerals play in our everyday lives through this series of hands-on activities. Starting off with a lesson that defines the difference between plants, animals, and...

Students determine that environments have living and nonliving parts. They discuss what makes something a living thing and something a nonliving thing. They make a chart and list characteristics of living things and nonliving things.

Determine your class's prior knowledge about the necessities of life with this pre-assessment for a unit on living things. Learners draw pictures of themselves with all the things they need to live, grow, and survive. These drawings will...

Assess your class's knowledge of the needs of living things with the final lesson in a series. Given a large piece of paper and coloring utensils, young scientists draw a picture of themselves and a plant or animal of their choosing,...

What do fungus and algae create? Lichen! Discover where lichen lives, how it survives, and how to find the three main types of lichen in a video all about lichen!

Students explore the similarities and differences between living and nonliving things and learn four characteristics that all living things share (they have needs, they are made up of parts, they respond to change, they reproduce)....

This is a free downloadable teacher's guide (PDF) to teach young children (grades K-2) about living things and their needs.

Take a walk and observe living and non-living things on the way. Young scientists practice making valuable observations and draw the details.  You could require that your students complete a T chart of living and non-living things...