Your teacher is holding up a sorting tray. On it there is a plant, a snail photo card, a leaf, a feather, a stone and a plastic toy.
Which ones are alive right now? Which ones used to be alive? Which ones were never alive?
Turn to the person beside you and whisper your guess. We will sort them with careful noticing.
We will sort into three groups. Meet them one at a time as your teacher holds each object.
Living: alive right now, like our plant.
Once-living: used to be part of something alive, like a dry fallen leaf.
Never-living: was never alive and never came from a living thing, like a stone.
What can we notice to help us decide? Call out one idea to the class.
At your table group, sort every item into one of the three hoops: living, once-living or never-living.
For each item, say what you notice that makes you sure. If you disagree, look again together before you place it.
We will look carefully with a magnifier at the front of the class.
Watch the snail photo card and the plastic toy side by side. What new clue can you spot about surface, colour or shape?
Call out what you notice. We will draw and write on the journal page later.
Now we check our thinking on the board. Cards show the same kinds of things: plant, snail, fallen leaf, feather, stone and plastic toy.
Two questions help us decide: Is it alive right now? and Did it come from a plant or animal?
We will focus on any cards that felt tricky or where groups disagreed. Call out which group each one belongs in and the clue that makes you sure.
Living, once-living or never-living?
Unlock the full learning experience
You're previewing this lesson. Get full access to this lesson and hundreds more — each one ready to teach, with interactive activities, printable resources and pupil progress tracking built in.
This lesson is copyright of DigitalSkills.org 2017 - 2025. Unauthorised use, copying or distribution is not allowed.