Lesson
What Makes Something Living
Students learn the first signs that tell living things apart from nonliving things.
What Makes Something Living
What students learn
Students learn that living things grow, breathe, and need food, water, air, and sunlight. Begin with Living Things: Start with the Big Idea so the idea lands in a simple way.
Why it matters
When children know what makes something living, they can sort the things they see around them with more confidence. Use Living Things: Find the Examples to practice with easy pictures and objects.
Learn the idea
Living things change and grow. They need the right things to stay alive. Living Things: Remember What They Need helps students hear that living things need water, air, and sunlight.
Try it
Ask the child to point to one living thing and one nonliving thing in the room. Then have them say why each one belongs in that group.
Parent guide
Use very familiar examples like a child, a plant, a rock, and a toy. If the child gets stuck, ask whether the thing grows or needs help to stay alive.