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Life Science

Living and Nonliving Things

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Rachel Sills Rachel Sills 675 Points

Hello everyone! My name is Rachel and I am currently a student teacher from the University of Houston. I am creating a lesson plan for kindergarten on the topic of living and non-living things. What are some actvities and/or examples that I can incorperate into my lesson to help deepen the level of understanding on this topic and make it a more valuable learning experience? 

Torrey Wenger Torrey Wenger 907 Points

This is something I've done with my high schoolers but I think it works for all levels. Give each group of kids a tray of items - a leaf, a wind-up toy, a picture of a puppy, a rock, etc - & have them sort the objects into living & non-living piles. Then have a discussion where they explain *why* they sorted them out that way. (The discussion is the important part.) If you do this, let me know how it works!

Pamela Dupre Pamela Dupre 92369 Points

Rachel, check out https://ngss.nsta.org/classroom-resources-results.aspx?CoreIdea=6

You can refine your search. I selected K and Life Science. They include lessons, resources, materials, and handouts, and are aligned to NGSS.

Wendy Miranda Wendy Miranda 450 Points

Hello Rachel,

Teaching children about living and non-living things can be really interesting! I would suggest you begin by introducing what non-living and living things can be. Then provide them with card examples that sort the two categories. I found a good website that shows an example of a lesson that can be included for students in all elementary grades, beginning from grade K. It provides the objectives, resources used, materials, background information and the actual lesson. if you get the opportunity check it out. Here's the link:

https://mpt.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.colt.lp_living/living-vs-nonliving/

Lyana Flores Lyana Flores 170 Points

Hi Rachel, I would suggest a hands on activity that will keep the students engaged while having fun. You can begin by explaining the differences between living and non-living things. You can also show the students a short video explaining why each is categorized differently and have a small discussion to comprehend their understanding. Lastly, the students can work in partners and seperate several objects into different boxes that represent living and non-living things. 

Mariela Ramirez Mariela Ramirez 235 Points

Hey Rachel, I think that one of the most fun activities for the living and non-living lesson is to have students interact with the objects or in this case animals. It is a real-life experience and that they will remember and they will be able to see and physically touch the living and nonliving things. Getting at least 5 or 6 objects of each should be good enough get the students to describe why they believe the things are living and non-living then go through them one by one and either confirm what they wrote or correct their misconceptions by explaining what makes a living thing living and why a non living object is non living. This nin only teaches them the lesson of non-living and living things but it also teaches them the responsibility and ways of treating animals ( if they are still small and curious). 

Hannah Snyder Hannah Snyder 45 Points

Hello! My name is Hannah Snyder and I am a student in a k-6 program and was wondering how to pretique misconteptions about life. How do we explain the differenece between the life of a tree and the life of a person? I am in  a second grade classroom and could see it being difficult for them to understand this concept without a clear explaination. 

Cynthia Ruiz Cynthia Ruiz 495 Points

Hello Rachel, 

I would introduce what is living and non-living first.  You can look for things in your class that are living and non-living.  you can bring a plant to show the students that a plant is living or if you have a pet in the classroom.  You can use the table, chairs, and doors that are not living.  You can take the class outside to show the living things outside and non-living things.  You can use a video to show things that are living and non-living.

Good Luck

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