Living vs. Non-Living: A Two-Day Adventure

A fun, hands-on science lesson plan for Mirabelle (Age 6, 1st Grade).

Day 1: The Great Living Things Detective Hunt

Materials Needed:

• A small potted plant (or even a leaf from outside)
• A rock or a toy
• Computer or tablet for video/PowerPoint
• Book Suggestion (Optional): What's Alive? by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
• Video Suggestion (Optional): "Living and Non-living things for kids" by Easy Science (search on YouTube, choose one around 2-3 minutes long)
• Worksheet: A blank piece of paper and crayons/markers
• Your Resource: "Alive or not alive" PowerPoint (Have this ready to go)

Lesson Plan (Approx. 20 minutes)

Part 1: The Mystery Objects (5 minutes)

What to do: Sit with Mirabelle at a table. Place the potted plant and the rock in front of her.

What to say: "Good morning, my wonderful scientist, Mirabelle! Today, we have a mystery to solve. Look at these two objects in front of you. They are very different, aren't they? I want you to be a detective and tell me all the ways the plant is different from the rock."

(Let her touch them and share her ideas. She might say one is green, one is hard, etc. Encourage all answers.)

What to say next: "Those are amazing observations! One of the biggest differences is that this plant is living, and this rock is non-living. Today, our mission is to figure out what it means to be alive!"

Part 2: Learning the Scientist's Secret Rules (7 minutes)

What to do: Show her either the suggested YouTube video or your "Alive or not alive" PowerPoint presentation.

What to say: "Scientists have a secret checklist to decide if something is living. Let's learn the rules! Living things do a few special things that non-living things can't do. They need to:

• Eat and Drink: They need food (or sunlight for plants!) and water to get energy. Do we need food and water? Does the rock?
• Grow and Change: A living thing gets bigger and changes over its life, just like you are growing bigger every day! A tiny seed grows into a big tree.
• Breathe: They need air to live. We breathe air, and even fish breathe air in the water.
• Move: Living things can move in some way. We can run and jump! A plant moves very slowly to turn its leaves to the sun. Can the rock run?

What to say to check for understanding: "So, let's test our plant. Does it need water? (Yes!) Will it grow and change? (Yes!) Does it need air and sunlight? (Yes!) It's living! Now let's test the rock. Does it need water to live? (No.) Does it grow? (No.) It's non-living!"

Part 3: The Detective Hunt (8 minutes)

What to do: Go for a walk around your house or in the backyard.

What to say: "Okay, Detective Mirabelle, it's time for a real mission! Your job is to find THREE different living things and THREE different non-living things. For everything you find, you have to tell me why you think it's living or non-living using our scientist's secret rules."

(Examples she might find: Living - a bug, a flower, the dog, herself. Non-living - a toy car, a fence, a book, a shovel.)

Independent Work (10-15 minutes)

What to do: Give Mirabelle the blank piece of paper and crayons.

What to say: "You were an amazing detective! Now, you're going to make a scientific record of your findings. Please fold your paper in half. On one side, write the word 'Living' and on the other, write 'Non-Living.' Now, draw the things you found during our hunt in the correct column."

(This drawing makes a perfect, simple portfolio piece for your end-of-year review!)

Day 2: The Tricky Case of the "Once Alive"

Materials Needed:

• Yesterday's drawing for a quick review
• An object that was "once alive" (e.g., a fallen autumn leaf, a wooden block, a paper towel, an apple slice)
• Your Resource: "Alive, Once Alive, or Never Alive Sorting Cards Activity" (printed out)
• Your Resource (Optional): "Living and Nonliving Things Board Game"
• A large piece of construction paper
• Child-safe scissors and a glue stick

Lesson Plan (Approx. 20 minutes)

Part 1: Reviewing the Case (5 minutes)

What to do: Look at Mirabelle's drawing from yesterday.

What to say: "Good morning, Scientist Mirabelle! Let's look at your amazing scientific record from yesterday. Can you remind me, what are our secret rules for knowing if something is living?" (Help her remember: needs food/water, grows, breathes, moves). "You did such a great job sorting these!"

Part 2: A New Clue! (5 minutes)

What to do: Hold up your "once alive" object, like a fallen leaf or wooden block.

What to say: "Today, we have a tricky new clue. Look at this leaf. Is it living right now? Is it growing or drinking water? (No.) So it's non-living, right? But... where did it come from? (A tree.) And is a tree living? (Yes!) Hmm. This is a special category that scientists call 'Once Alive.' It's for things that are not living anymore, but they CAME from something that was living."

Give another example: "What about this paper? Is it alive? (No.) But paper comes from trees, and trees are living, so paper is... (Once Alive!). What about your chair? It's made of wood. Is it... (Once Alive!). What about your t-shirt? It's made of cotton, which comes from a cotton plant. So it's... (Once Alive!) You've got it!"

Part 3: The Great Sorting Mission (10 minutes)

What to do: Lay out the printed sorting cards, scissors, glue, and construction paper. On the construction paper, make three columns and label them at the top: Living, Once Alive, and Never Alive.

What to say: "Your final mission, should you choose to accept it, is to sort these pictures. For each picture, we have to decide if it is living right now, if it was once alive, or if it was never alive at all, like a rock or a plastic toy. Let's do the first three together."

(Work with her to sort one card into each category, talking through the reasoning. For example: "A butterfly! Does it grow, move, and eat? Yes! It goes in the 'Living' column. A log! Is it living now? No. Did it come from something living? Yes, a tree! It goes in 'Once Alive.' A car! Was it ever a plant or animal? No! It goes in 'Never Alive.'")

Independent Work (15-20 minutes)

What to do: Let Mirabelle take the lead.

What to say: "You are an expert at this! Now you can finish the mission on your own. Carefully cut out the rest of the pictures and glue them into the correct column on our poster. This will be an official scientific chart for your portfolio!"

Fun Extension (If time permits or for another day):

Play the "Living and Nonliving Things Board Game" together! It’s a wonderful way to reinforce these ideas in a fun, no-pressure way.