Living or Nonliving?

Overview

In this fifth lesson of Living Things Explorers, students classify familiar objects as living or nonliving. They build on earlier learning about things found in their environment and practice using characteristics—rather than movement alone—to explain their thinking.

Learning intentions

Students will be able to:

• Sort pictures and objects into living and nonliving groups.
• Identify characteristics of living things, such as growing, needing water or food, and having babies.
• Explain one classification using a complete oral sentence.
• Listen to classmates and share ideas respectfully.

Success criteria

• I can sort an example into the living or nonliving group.
• I can tell one reason why something is living or nonliving.
• I can remember that movement alone does not prove something is living.
• I can take turns, listen, and use classroom materials safely.

Curriculum links

• Speaking and Listening — participate in collaborative conversations with peers and adults.
• Speaking and Listening — describe familiar objects and experiences with relevant details.
• Mathematics — reason about and classify objects according to observable attributes.
• Reading Science and Technical Subjects — follow a multistep sorting procedure precisely and attend to special cases or exceptions.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–4 min · Carpet hook. Teacher opens the movement hook slide showing a car, a wind-up toy, and a dog, then asks, “Which of these are living? Which can move?” Students quietly think, show a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, and share one idea with a partner. Reinforce carpet expectations: eyes watching, hands in laps, and one voice at a time.

2. 4–9 min · Teach the characteristics. Teacher uses the living and nonliving teaching slides to introduce simple characteristics of living things: they grow and change, need water or food, and can make more of their kind. Model thinking aloud: “A plant does not walk, but it grows and needs water, so it is living. A car moves, but it does not grow or need food, so it is nonliving.” Students echo key words and practice the oral frames: “I think ___ is living because ___” and “I think ___ is nonliving because ___.”

3. 9–12 min · Model the procedure. Teacher shows the two color-coded sorting hoops or floor circles and models sorting a plant card, rock card, and toy car card. Explain the steps shown on the sorting directions slide: look carefully, choose a hoop, place the card, and tell a reason. Deliberately place the toy car in the living hoop, then correct the mistake by explaining that movement alone is not enough. Students repeat the four steps with hand motions.

4. 12–21 min · Partner sorting. Teacher places students in five groups of three and gives each group picture/object cards showing toys, rocks, vehicles, plants, and animals, plus two clearly labeled hoops. Circulate and prompt, “What characteristic helped you decide?” and “Does it move, or is it living?” Students take turns as sorter, reason-giver, and checker; they sort each card and use an oral response frame to explain at least two choices. Pause halfway for a quick whole-class check of one challenging card.

5. 21–26 min · Discuss unusual examples. Teacher displays selected cards on the discussion slides and invites groups to defend or revise their choices. Include a moving toy, a parked vehicle, a plant, and an animal. Students signal agreement or disagreement, then explain one classification to the class or a partner. Emphasize that a living thing may move, but movement is only one observation and is not a reliable test by itself.

6. 26–30 min · Independent check and closing. Teacher distributes the living and nonliving sorting worksheet and reads each direction aloud. Students circle or draw a line to sort four familiar examples, then complete one sentence or dictate it to an adult: “A ___ is ___ because ___.” Teacher closes with the final review slide and students share one characteristic of living things before returning materials and sitting ready.

Resources

• the Living or Nonliving? slide deck
• the living and nonliving sorting worksheet
• Two large sorting hoops or colored floor circles
• Five sets of picture/object cards: toys, rocks, vehicles, plants, and animals
• Two color-coded labels: “Living” and “Nonliving”
• Carpet or table space for five groups
• Pencils, crayons, and optional clipboards

Assessment

• During the hook and teaching, listen for students who use movement as their only reason; reteach with the car and toy examples.
• During partner sorting, use a checklist to record whether each student sorts accurately, names a characteristic, and follows the turn-taking procedure.
• Review the worksheet sentence and classification. Ask students who need support to explain their answer orally while pointing to the relevant picture.

Differentiation

• Support students by beginning with two contrasting choices, such as a dog and a rock, before adding vehicles and toys. Use color-coded hoops, picture labels, gestures, repeated directions, and peer modeling.
• Provide oral response frames: “It is living because it ___” and “It is nonliving because it does not ___.” Accept pointing, drawing, or dictated answers when writing is still developing.
• For English learners, preview and act out words such as living, nonliving, grow, need, and move. Pair students with supportive peers and allow home-language discussion before sharing.
• For students with attention, sensory, or motor needs, offer a clearly marked working space, reduce the number of cards, assign a predictable group role, and allow standing or placing cards from a seated position.
• Challenge ready students with ambiguous examples, such as a seed, a stuffed animal, or a robot toy, and ask them to explain which characteristic supports their decision.