45-minute lesson
Year 4 Science: Living or non-living?
Lesson objective
- Identify the features shared by all living things.
- Use these features to classify things as living, once living or never lived.
- Explain tricky cases, such as seeds, fire and wooden furniture.
Success criteria:
- I can list at least four features of living things.
- I can sort objects into living, once living and never lived, and give a reason for each.
- I can explain why something that moves, like a car, is not living.
Materials
- A collection of items: a pot plant, a dry bean seed, a fallen leaf, a wooden spoon, a feather (craft or one found and kept in a sealed bag), a rock, a metal key, a glass of water, an apple, a paper bag
- Three sheets of paper labelled living, once living and never lived
- A magnifying glass if available
Introduction
5 minIntroduce today's words:
- organism: Any living thing, such as a plant, animal, fungus or bacterium.
- characteristic: A feature that helps us describe or identify something.
- reproduce: To make new living things of the same kind, such as seeds, eggs or babies.
- respond: To react to something in the surroundings, such as light, touch or heat.
- once living: Something that was alive or was part of a living thing, but is not alive now, such as a fallen leaf or a wooden table.
- never lived: Something that has never been alive, such as a rock, water or a metal spoon.
Ask your child what they already know about living or non-living?.
Explanation
9 minScientists use characteristics to decide whether something is alive. All living things, called organisms, do these things:
- Grow and develop.
- Reproduce, making new living things of the same kind.
- Need food (or make it), water and air.
- Respond to their surroundings.
- Get rid of waste.
Plants are living even though they do not walk around. They grow, make seeds, need water and air, and respond to light by bending towards it.
Some things look alive but are not. A car moves and uses fuel, but it does not grow or reproduce. Fire grows and spreads, but it is not made of living parts, does not grow from food and water, and cannot make young of its own. Both have never lived.
Some things were part of a living thing but are not alive now. A fallen leaf, a wooden table, a feather, a bone, a cotton T-shirt and a paper bag (made from trees) are once living.
Rocks, metals, glass and water have never lived. Water is needed by living things, but water itself is not alive.
Tricky case: a dry seed looks lifeless, but it is alive and resting. Given water and warmth, it grows into a new plant.
Worked examples
7 minIs a dry bean seed living?
A bean seed sits in a packet and does nothing. Is it living, once living or never lived?
Step 1: Check the features: right now it is not growing.
Step 2: Test it: place it on damp paper towel in a warm spot for a few days.
Step 3: It sprouts a root and shoot, so it grows and develops.
Answer: Living. The seed was resting and grows when it gets water and warmth.
Is a wooden spoon living?
Classify a wooden spoon.
Step 1: Does it grow, reproduce, need food or respond? No.
Step 2: What is it made of? Wood, which came from a tree.
Step 3: A tree is living, so the wood was once part of a living thing.
Answer: Once living.
Sorting a collection
Sort: cat, fallen leaf, rock, mushroom growing on a log, woollen jumper, metal key.
Step 1: Living (grows, reproduces, needs food and water, responds): cat, mushroom.
Step 2: Once living (came from a living thing): fallen leaf, woollen jumper (wool comes from sheep).
Step 3: Never lived: rock, metal key.
Answer: Living: cat, mushroom. Once living: leaf, woollen jumper. Never lived: rock, key.
Guided practice (do together)
9 min1. Which is a feature of ALL living things?
(a) They can walk (b) They reproduce (c) They are green (d) They have fur
2. How would you classify a wooden table?
(a) Living (b) Never lived (c) Once living (d) It depends on the colour
3. Which has never lived?
(a) A fallen leaf (b) A bone (c) A feather (d) A glass marble
4. A pot plant on a windowsill bends towards the light. Which feature of living things does this show?
(a) Responding to surroundings (b) Reproducing (c) Getting rid of waste (d) Moving from place to place
Independent practice
11 min5. A car moves and uses fuel. Why is it NOT living?
(a) It is too fast (b) It does not grow or reproduce (c) It is made of many colours (d) It has wheels
6. Making new living things of the same kind is called r________.
7. Is a rock living, once living or never lived?
8. A paper bag is made from trees. Is it living, once living or never lived?
Questions to check understanding
- Can you list at least four features of living things?
- Can you sort objects into living, once living and never lived, and give a reason for each?
- Can you explain why something that moves, like a car, is not living?
- What was the trickiest part today?
Answer guide
1. They reproduce — All living things reproduce. Not all walk, are green or have fur.
2. Once living — Wood came from a tree, so it is once living.
3. A glass marble — Glass is made from sand and has never been alive.
4. Responding to surroundings — The plant responds to light by growing towards it.
5. It does not grow or reproduce — Living things grow and reproduce; cars do not.
6. reproducing — Living things reproduce.
7. never lived — A rock has never been alive.
8. once living — Paper is made from wood, which came from living trees.
Review
4 minRecap the success criteria together. Watch for these common misconceptions:
- Students often think anything that moves is alive (cars, clouds, fire, the wind). Check all the features, not just movement.
- Some students think plants are not alive because they do not move around. Plants grow, reproduce and respond to light and water.
- Students may think seeds are dead because they do nothing in the packet. Seeds are alive but resting until conditions are right.
Extension activities
- Go on a garden or park walk and list five living, five once living and five never lived things.
- Make a three-column poster with pictures of each group.
- Investigate whether bread mould is alive by watching a slice in a sealed bag for a week (do not open the bag; throw it out sealed).
Suggested follow-up
- Revisit living or non-living? tomorrow with two or three quick questions from memory.
- Try the online practice check for this topic and look at any questions that need another go.
Tips for parents
- Ask 'How do you know?' every time your child classifies something, so they give a reason using the features.
- Plant a few bean seeds on damp paper towel to prove that seeds are alive.
- Safety: wash hands after handling soil, leaves or found objects, and do not touch mushrooms you find outside; some are poisonous.