Why Teaching Living and Nonliving Things Can Feel Tricky
When I’m teaching living and nonliving things I’ve found that some students actually have a hard time with the conept! When we start this unit, students have an easy time catorizing items like “a dog” or “a rock”, but when it comes to things like “clouds” or “fire” or even “a leaf that fell of the tree”, the kids have a harder time categorizing.
As a homeschool mom, it’s important to be prepared for this potential confusion and be prepared to meet the students where they are and help them understand the concepts of living and nonliving things, even when the choices seem less clear.
When something moves, changes, or looks alive, even if it technically isn’t, it can get confusing. However, with simple language, real-life examples, and hands-on experiences, kids can build a strong understanding that actually sticks.
What Living and Nonliving Things Really Mean
Keeping it simple, here are some characteristics of living things.
A living thing is something that needs food and water to live! Living things can grow and change.
Criteria for living things:
- Need food, water
- Need air
- Need shelter
- Grow and change
- Can reproduce
- Move or respond to their environment
- Need care to stay healthy
A nonliving thing does not need food or water. Nonliving things do not grow or change on their own.
Criteria for nonliving things:
- Do NOT need food, water, or air
- Do NOT grow or reproduce
- Can move or change, but only because something else causes it
Remember, movement alone does not mean something is living. Once kids understand that living things meet their own needs, I’ve found that everything becomes clearer.
Real-Life Ways to Teach Living and Nonliving Things
You don’t need the perfect lesson plan to make this work! Honestly, this is such a great lesson to teach outdoors, especially during the springtime. Here are a few ways to teach living and nonliving things with a real world connection.
1. Nature Walks
On a nature walk you’ll find plenty of living and nonliving things.
One way we extend this living vs. nonliving exploration is with nature walks using this nature journal. Being able to actually see different living and nonliving things helps bring this lesson to life.
2. Everyday household items
As we know as homeschool moms, everyday household items are an excellent opportunity for learning. Even when I’m teaching in the classoom, I can guide students to pull from things found in their home rather than having them identify items that may not have as much meaning to thing.
The home is already full of so many examples!
Living: pets, houseplants, people
Nonliving: furniture, toys, dishes, books
Talking about these familiar objects helps kids connect science to real life instead of seeing it as just a school-only topic.
Hands-On Living and Nonliving Activities Kids Actually Enjoy
3. Planting
You can build on these living vs. nonliving observations with simple planting activities.
Planting is one of the easiest ways to reinforce living and nonliving concepts. Kids have an opportunity to observe seeds change over time, notice how plants need water, sunlight, and care, and even compare a growing plan to nonliving soil or pots.
4. Living and Nonliving Sorting Activity
This sorting activity is such a great way to help kids practice decision-making related to the topic of living and nonliving things.
Here are some questions to make sure to ask your students:
- “Why did you place this here?”
- “What made you so sure or unsure?”
Having conversations about their choices helps to utilize critical thinking skills and check for deeper understanding.
5. Simple Science Investigations
If you have a microscope, this is a perfect opportunity to compare living and nonliving things under the microscope!
Creative & Visual Ways to Reinforce Living and Nonliving Concepts
6. Drawing and Labeling
Drawing and labeling the characteristics helps slow down your kids’ thinking and deepen their understanding.
7. Journals, Mini Books, and Anchor Charts
My kids LOVE anchor charts. These anchor charts with characteristics of living things can be incredibly powerful when confusion comes up later. You can refer back to this visual tool to remind the kids the difference between living and nonliving things again and again.
Teaching Living and Nonliving Things Through Play and Movement
8. Scavenger hunts
My default is a scavenger hunt as often as possible! They require little to no prepa and help get the kids up and moving. It also allows them to make connections to the real world!
Have you kids search for living and nonliving things around the yard or at a part and you can either sort them as they go or have them do it all at the end.
9. Act it out (grow, move, stay still)
This one is so fun because it allows kids to use their imagination! Personally, my son LOVES the opporutnity to act it out.
Here are some ideas:
- Pretend to grow like a plant
- Breath like a living thing
- Freeze like a non living object
Movement really helps cement abstract ideas in a memorable way!
How We Approach Living and Nonliving Things in Our Homeschool
TIPS: Adapting Living and Nonliving Lessons for Different Ages
For Younger Learners
- Focus on observation
- Fewer words
- Repetition
For our little learners, here are some great age-appropriate science ideas to incoporate at home.
For Older Learners
- Life cycles
- Needs vs wants
- Environmental connections
For older students, you can connect living and nonliving concepts to the life cycle of a compost pile.
Simple Nature Tools We Actually Use for Homeschool Science
We don’t bring much with us, but having a magnifying glass or small observation tool really helps kids slow down and notice details.
Outdoor Essentials for Year-Round Homeschool Learning
Getting outside is always easiest for us when eveyone is comfortable and prepared.
Get a full Living and Nonliving Things Mini Packet Here
