Bugs, Beavers, Birch Trees, and Bluebirds

Is a rock living? How about lima beans? You'll find everything you need for an interactive sorting activity exploring living and non-living things. 

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.

Fourth graders study and identify the basic needs of a variety of organisms. Terrariums and aquariums are used to demonstrate what plants, animals, and fish need to stay alive. These two classic models are used to effectively convey what...

What happens when a living thing dies? After reading a paragraph of background knowledge on the life cycle of bugs, third and fourth graders work through four clues to figure out which bug is which. When they finish, they can study the...

What better way to learn about ecosystems than by getting outside and observing them first hand? Accompanying a field trip to a local park or outdoor space, this series of collaborative activities engages children in learning about the...

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 to demonstrate their...

Here is an excellent reference list of over 60 recommended book titles for early readers, each of which includes the author, title, number of pages, and brief summary.

After generating a list of the creatures that live in a garden, primary graders select a creature, either a garden friend or foe, to observe and write about in their bug report.

Students examine living and non-living things. In this life science lesson, students are given a group of objects and discuss if they are living or non-living. Students identify and list characteristics of living things.

Students photograph five objects from a bag and five objects from the outdoors. Students categorize things by living and non-living and by properties such as color, size, structure and needs. Students draw conclusions about the basic...