Look at these two things on the table: a little plant and a toy car. Which one is alive? How do you know?
Living means it is alive: it can grow and needs food and water.
Non-living means it is not alive: it does not grow and never needs a drink.
What clues could help us tell which is which?
At your table, look at and gently handle each thing on the tray. What do you notice? Does it look like it can grow? Does it need food or water?
Now sort your tray. Put living things in one hoop and non-living things in the other. For each one, say a reason: how can you tell?
Your trays are sorted. Now the ones that catch people out.
Look at each card and decide: living, or non-living? Say what made you sure. If your group changes its mind, say what changed it.
Living or non-living? The tricky ones
On your Investigation Journal page, show your living group and your non-living group. Use the board sort and what you remember from your tray. Draw or write at least two things in each group.
Talk with the class. What clues helped us tell living from non-living? Can you name one living thing and one non-living thing still in our classroom?
Today we:
- Handled real things and photo cards carefully
- Sorted them into living and non-living groups
- Used clues such as growing and needing food and water
- Recorded our sort on the Investigation Journal page
- Spotted living and non-living things in our own classroom
Next time you notice something at school or home, ask: is it living or non-living, and how can I tell?
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