Life Sciences/Living or Nonliving- lesson plan: 3 out of 5

2014 2015

Title
It is Nonliving!
Teacher
E-mail
School
Lesson Title
Grade Level
Concept Targeted

Life Sciences Unit

Leslie Geiger
Leslie.Geiger@cobbk12.org
Teasley Elementary
It is Nonliving!
Kindergarten
Attributes of Living things

Lesson Objective: Students will explore nonliving things and draw conclusions.
Students will explain why the artifacts that they are observing are nonliving.
Lesson Essential Questions: How do I know if something is nonliving?
Vocabulary: living, non-living, air, grow, move
Assessment: formative observation during pair and share and summarize
discussion
Georgia Performance Standards:
SKL1a. Recognize the difference between living organisms and non-living materials
SKCS5d: Students will communicate scientific ideas and activities clearly. d. Begin
to draw pictures that portray features of things being described
Misconception: That seeds are not alive
Proper Conception: Some things like rocks are never living
Safety Considerations:
Students will be reminded not to put artifacts in their mouths
ESOL: artifacts block, rock, spoon, can, crayon, book; pre teach vocabulary nonliving
Differentiation: Show learning/understanding by verbalizing OR by placing
objects on T-Chart
Method:
Engage: Ask: Is everything living? Reread pages from book Is it Living or
Nonliving? Show pencilask: is this pencil alive? How do we know? Refer to
anchor chart for living things.
Explain: Explain that today we are going to be observing some things and deciding
if the things that we observe are living or nonliving. Review what senses scientists
use to observe things. (safety considerations)
Explore: students will observe artifacts (block, rock, spoon, can, crayon, book) in
table groups.
Explain: Call students back up front ask them to share their conclusions about

their observations. Ask: Are the things that we observed today living or nonliving?
How do we know? Model finding place in journal to record observations. Whole
group sound out NonLiving and share write. Explain that students are to write
title, draw a nonliving thing and label the nonliving thing by sounding out name for
living thing.
Extend: Go to school garden and identify nonliving things
Summarize: Student volunteers share journal entries; teacher asks student to
explain how they know that the artifact they drew is not alive

Materials: Hand graphic organizer, clip art for vocabulary, earthworms, pumpkin
seeds, pumpkin seedlings, meal worms and a bunny, journals, document camera,
hand lenses