Living Things

Topic: Living things

Objectives & Outcomes

• Students will be able to define living things and identify examples of living things in their environment.

Materials

• Pictures of various types of living things (plants, animals, insects, etc.)
• Handouts with definitions of living things and examples

Warm-up

• Ask students if they know what a living thing is.
• Ask for examples of living things that they have seen in their environment.

Presentation

• Begin by defining living things as anything that can grow, move, and make noise on its own.
• Show the students the different pictures of living things and ask them to identify what type of living thing each is.
• Ask students if they can think of any other examples of living things that they know.

Guided Practice

• Have students work in pairs or small groups to draw and label pictures of examples of living things they can think of.

Independent Practice

• Have students use a journal or paper to write about the examples of living things they have drawn and labeled. Ask them to include information about how each thing is alive, such as how it grows or moves.

Closing

• Go over the class list of examples of living things and discuss any that students may have missed.

*Note: Depending on the age and experience of your students, you may want to simplify or expand on this activity as needed. For example, if you are working with younger students, you may want to focus on just plants and animals, since these are the most obvious examples of living things. With older students, you can expand the discussion to include more complex topics, such as reproduction and metabolism.

Objectives:

• to learn about living things and their characteristics
• to know about different animals and their habitats
• to recognize and name different animals
• to learn about the importance of animals to the environment

Materials:

• pictures and posters of different animals
• animal cards
• construction paper and markers
• nature magazines
• extra copies of the worksheets

Procedure:

• begin by reviewing some of the different characteristics of living things (animals have bodies and they move, they can eat and they can reproduce)
• ask the children to share some of their favorite animals and ask them to tell you where these animals live (in the forest, in the ocean, in the desert, in the jungle, etc.)
• have the children work in small groups to look at their animal cards and to figure out what characteristic each animal has and where it lives
• have the children draw a picture of their favorite animal on the construction paper and write the name of the animal and the characteristic they chose on the paper
• have the children share their drawings with the class
• wrap up the lesson by asking the children to think about how important animals are to the environment and how we can take care of animals and protect them
• encourage the children to explore nature and to observe animals in their natural habitatsClosure:
• recap the objectives of the lesson and ask the children to share their new -understandings about living things and their characteristics
• ask the children to share their favorite animals and why they like them
• ask the children to share one way that they can take care of animals and protect them

Notes:

• use the extra copies of the worksheets and the nature magazines to guide the lesson and to provide additional support and practice
• take photos or videos of the children during independent practice to use for feedback and to show their progress
• encourage the children to draw and label their drawings as they work on them and to think about what characteristic each animal has and where it lives