LIVING THINGS AND NON-

LIVING THINGS
 Observing Animals

Comparing living things and non-living

things

Describe physical characteristics of

animals
Use a simple scheme to classify
animals
Your students may have trouble distinguishing between
living and nonliving. Children may consider everything that
moves to be alive, including cars and clouds. Often
children pretend that objects are alive so that they can
talk to them. Living and nonliving are scientific terms.
Children are more used to hearing living or dead. By
exploring various objects and organisms, your students can
begin to distinguish between things that are living, and
things that are nonliving.
• What is a living thing?
• What is a non-living thing?
• How do we know whether something
is living or non-living?
 Background For Teachers

An organism's habitat is the specific place that an organism

lives. All habitats contain living and nonliving elements.
Animals and plants are common living elements. Rocks and soil
are common nonliving elements. Soil is comprised of many
living bacteria and organisms. For the purpose of this lesson,
it will be considered nonliving.
Other nonliving parts of a habitat include temperature,
humidity, amount of sunlight and shade, shelter from or
exposure to wind, and air quality. All of these features
influence how an organism lives. Living elements change to
nonliving elements through natural and unnatural processes.
An example of this would be a tree. It is living if it continues
to grow, however, if it dies or is harvested and turned into
paper, it is nonliving. A sheep is living and wool yarn is
nonliving.
Science -
Take the class outside for a walk around the neighborhood.
Challenge students to find living and nonliving. Have students make
lists and drawings of things they find to add to their journals.

Art -
Have students make a collage of living and nonliving things by
folding a paper in half and writing "Living Things" at the top
of one half and "Nonliving Things" at the top of the other
half. Students will cut pictures from old magazines of living
and nonliving things to glue onto the paper. Remind students
that in a collage, pictures are overlapped and displayed in a
creative way.

Language Arts-
Have students create an imaginary animal including the
characteristics of movement, growth and reproduction. Then
have them write and illustrate a story about their imaginary
animal.
Play a guessing game with your students.
1. Make a variety of animal noises and invite your students to guess the
animal. Then switch places and your student can make the noises while
you guess.
2. Next, try making up some animal riddles. For instance: "I have four legs.
Sometimes I'm brown, sometimes I'm black and white. I usually live on a
farm. People milk me. What am I?“
A ……..! You might even challenge your students to come up with riddles
on his own.
3. Play 20 questions with animals. Ask your students to think of an animal.
You have up to 20 questions to ask to guess what animal he has in mind.

5. Finally, you could have your students infer what animal you are drawing as
you draw it. First draw the body. Can he guess? Then add legs. Next add
a tail. Finally add the head. Can he guess before you finish the animal?
And remember, you don't have to limit yourself to farm animals!
 Where do I live!
Activity: Animal Habitats Sorting
Use simple images of animals to discuss habitat and categorization.

Goal: Introduction or enhancement of awareness of the natural world and

living things.

Let's Get Started:

1. Allow the children to sort the animal cards according to the habitat (or
home) in which that animal generally lives. Keep in mind that some children
may choose the “zoo” habitat since that may be the only habitat they
associate with the animal.

2. According to the developmental level of the child, encourage her to sort

the animals according to farm, forest, jungle, ocean, etc.

3. After the cards/pictures are sorted, discuss the characteristics of each

habitat and why it is appropriate for the animals’ home.
 ANIMAL MOVEMENTS
Background For Teachers

Animal movements are usually based on where they live (land,

water, or both), how they obtain food, reproduce, and how they
protect themselves. Some animals travel very long distances to
find warmth and food, or to give birth to their young. Some of
the fastest moving mammals in the world live in the grasslands,
where there are large open spaces for running. The cheetah
chases its prey at speeds of up to 70 miles an hour. Zebras,
antelopes, and ostriches can run fast to escape from their
predators.

Students will enjoy opportunities to watch animals in motion

through videos, films, or laser disk technology. Kinesthetic
learners will remember animal characteristics by linking new
information with the opportunity to move like the animals.
Encourage free play and imagination as students imitate animal
movements.
 ACTIVITY
Step 1.
1 Show photographs of a variety of animals. Explain that
each animal moves in its own unique way.

Step 2.
2 Tell students to look at the pictures of animals and
think of other animals in their own minds. Ask:
Which animals move slowly?
Which animals swim?
Which animals crawl?
Which animals fly?
Which animals climb?
Which animals run fast?
Which animals hop?
Write a list for each category of student responses.

Step 3.
3 Ask "Which animals move in more than one way?"
 Categorize animal pictures by their coverings
Background For Teachers

Scales cover the bodies of most snakes, lizards, and bony fish and
generally vary in size, shape, and arrangement. The age of a fish can
be determined by counting the rings on the scales. The scales
typically overlap and protect the skin underneath. Other animals, like
the pangolin (a mammal of the anteater variety) are also covered with
scales. The scaly tails of beavers, muskrats, and many rats and mice
have hairs between the scales.
Feathers keep birds warm, help them to fly, and even act as a
raincoat. Birds have three kinds of feathers. Down feathers are the
smallest and the first to grow. They have a central shaft with
thinner, fluffy strands called barbs on either side. Many birds have
down over much of their bodies to keep them warm. Flight feathers
are made up of a long, hollow shaft. The barbs on either side are
held together by hundreds of tiny hooks. Semiplumes, or body
feathers, are smaller and fluffier than flight feathers. Semiplumes
are usually found under flight feathers.
Categorize animal pictures by their coverings

Fur, hair, or bristles cover most mammals. Some mammals, such

as elephants, have very little hair. Our ancestors had thick hair all
over their bodies. Today, human beings have thick hair on parts of
their bodies.

Shells are found on land and ocean animals. Mollusks are one type
of invertebrate we commonly associate with shells, such as snails,
clams, and oysters. Turtles and tortoises are the only reptiles
with shells.

Use live animals whenever possible so students can observe

behaviors as well as physical characteristics