Living/Nonliving Lesson Module

At Science4Us, the study of living things begins with the Living and Nonliving module. 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). Students learn to identify living and nonliving things through clues, comparing what they learn to the characteristics they know.

Core Concept

Living things have four specific characteristics: they are made up of parts, they use energy to grow, they respond to their environment, and they reproduce.

Essential Vocabulary

Animal, characteristic, energy, environment, extinct, living, needs, nonliving, offspring, plant, reproduce, resemble, respond, shelter, wants

Lesson Plan

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Interactive Demos

Memory Match

This Elaborate session allows students to practice and apply new terminology related to living and nonliving things. In this session, students participate in a selection of activities that focus on the content vocabulary addressed throughout the module. To complete the session, students work independently, or with peers, to complete an offline activity that reinforces literacy skills.

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Ready For Freddy?

This Elaborate session allows students to practice and apply new terminology related to the module content. In this session, students participate in a selection of activities that focus on vocabulary and content understanding. To complete the session, students work independently, or with peers, to complete an offline activity.

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Professional Development

Science4Us provides the essentials that teachers need to confidently and effectively lead a classroom in any science lesson. This demo shows:

One section of the "Teacher Explain"
One of the 40 teacher support documents

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Additional Information

Students also learn about the four basic needs of living things: food, water, air, and shelter or a place to live. The Living and Nonliving module even considers those things like wood and dinosaurs that were once living but are no longer living. A flexible array of online and offline activities allows teachers to focus the study in a way that best fits their class and their students’ learning needs.

Correlations to K-2 Standards Free K-2 Science Resources Sign up for free!