Living Things and Care

Overview

Lesson 6 of 19 in Creation, Community, and Calling. Students investigate what plants, animals, and people need, classify living and nonliving examples using evidence, and begin a responsible plant-care investigation connected to Christian stewardship.

Learning intentions

• Students will be able to name basic needs of plants, animals, and people.
• Students will be able to classify examples as living or nonliving and explain their thinking.
• Students will be able to use a claim and evidence in a complete sentence.
• Students will be able to choose one responsible way to care for a living thing.

Success criteria

• I can name three things living things need.
• I can classify an example and give evidence for my answer.
• I can make a prediction about a seed or plant.
• I can choose and describe one responsible care action.

Curriculum links

• Ask and answer questions about key details in an informational text.
• Describe connections between ideas and information in an informational text.
• Write informative or explanatory text using facts and clear descriptions.
• Participate in collaborative conversations, taking turns and building on others’ ideas.
• Use observations and simple evidence to classify and describe living things.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–5 minutes – Warm-up and connection Display the opening creation-care slides and lead students in a short creation-care verse, such as “God made it; we care for it.” Briefly review last week’s observations: What did we notice? What questions remain? Invite each student to share one observation or pass.

2. 5–15 minutes – Read, notice, and teach Read a short nonfiction text about the needs of plants, animals, and people. Students may listen to the audio version, follow a decodable version, or partner-read selected pages. Use the informational text and needs slides to teach that living things need resources such as water, air, food or nutrients, shelter, and suitable space. Model: “My claim is that a plant is living. My evidence is that it needs water and grows.”

3. 15–30 minutes – Guided sorting and plant examination Give pairs a set of teacher-prepared picture cards. Students sort them into “living” and “nonliving,” then explain one choice using the frame, “I claim ____. My evidence is ____.” Use the sorting instructions and evidence sentence-stem slides to support turn-taking and discussion. Examine a plant or seed together. Ask: What do you notice? What does it need? How can we care for it? Provide safe sensory access to soil and seeds; students may observe without touching.

4. 30–50 minutes – Plant investigation and care plan Demonstrate how to place soil in a cup, add a seed, cover it lightly, and add a small amount of water. Students work individually or with a partner to plant a seed or begin a care investigation. Distribute the living-things care plan. Students draw or write a prediction, identify three needs, and record a care action such as watering carefully, providing light, or checking the plant without disturbing it. Revisit the planting steps and care-plan example. Encourage careful work and remind students that stewardship means responsible care, not excess watering.

5. 50–55 minutes – Individual assessment Show one familiar example, such as a rock, seed, toy animal, or plant. Each student explains orally or in writing: “It is living/nonliving because ____.” Ask each student to name three needs of living things. Record responses on a simple class checklist.

6. 55–60 minutes – Share and close Students share one prediction and one care action with a partner, then invite two or three students to share with the group. Use the closing reflection slide to revisit the learning intention: What does a living thing need, and how can we care for it? Collect the reflection prompts exit-ticket slips if students are ready to complete a brief drawing or sentence.

Resources

• the creation-care and living-things slide deck
• the living-things care plan
• Bible and a short creation-care verse
• Age-appropriate nonfiction read-aloud about plants and animals
• Audio nonfiction and decodable text option
• Teacher-prepared living/nonliving picture cards
• Healthy plant or seeds
• Clear cups, soil, water, and a tray
• Pencils, crayons, and journals
• Optional headphones, gloves, or a no-touch observation tool

Assessment

• Listen for accurate classification and claim-plus-evidence explanations during sorting.
• Review the worksheet for three needs, a reasonable prediction, and a responsible care action.
• Use the closing response to identify students who need additional support distinguishing living from nonliving.

Differentiation

• Provide picture labels, word banks, sentence frames, partner reading, oral rehearsal, and adult or peer scribing. Accept drawing, pointing, or oral dictation instead of extended writing.
• Offer audio nonfiction, a decodable text, enlarged print, high-contrast materials, and extra processing time for dyslexic students and students with reading or attention needs.
• Assign clear roles for the six students, such as reader, sorter, observer, recorder, materials helper, and reporter; rotate roles if time allows.
• For Grade 3 or students ready for extension, predict how one variable—light, water amount, or soil—might affect growth and record observations in a simple table. Keep Grade 2 students focused on one consistent care routine.