What is a Living Thing?

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. 

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.

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.

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...

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 and...

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.

This is a pre-assessment to be done at the beginning of a unit on the needs of living things. Students draw themselves and what they need to survive. The lesson can be downloaded in PDF format.

A post-assessment at the end of a unit on the needs of living things. The lesson materials can be downloaded in PDF format.

Great site to test your knowledge on living and nonliving things. Play a game that tests your knowledge, and view pictures to pick out each living organism.