Living things and non-living things
Aprende
A living thing is born, grows, can have babies and one day dies. People are living things. Animals are too, from a cat to an ant. A mushroom is also a living thing.
Living things Plants are alive too. They do not move from place to place, but they start as seeds, grow and die. Instead of babies, they make seeds. A new plant grows from a seed.
A thing that has never been alive is non-living. A stone, a key and a van are non-living things. They are not born, they do not grow and they have no babies.
Non-living things Moving is not enough to be alive. The wind, a cloud, a bike and a robot move, but they are not alive. A sleeping cat does not move, but it is alive.
They move, but they are not alive A dry leaf was alive once, but it is not alive now. It is not a living thing. And it is not like a stone, which has never been alive.
What is alive now, what was alive once and what has never been alive To decide, ask yourself: is it born, does it grow, does it have babies and does it die? If the answer is yes to all of them, it is a living thing.
Worked examples
Ejemplo 1
Tony’s bike is going down the hill by the canal. It is going very fast. Is it alive?
- Question: is it born, does it grow, does it have babies and does it die?
- The bike is not born: people make it. It does not grow and it has no babies.
- Moving is not enough to be alive.
The bike is not alive: it is a non-living thing.
¡Ojo! Many children think it is alive because it moves.
Ejemplo 2
Ellie has a rose on her balcony. The rose does not move from place to place. Is it alive?
- The rose starts as a seed.
- It grows, makes new seeds and one day dies.
- It does not move from place to place, but that does not decide anything.
The rose is a living thing.
¡Ojo! Many children say it is not alive because it does not move.
Ejemplo 3
Julie picks up a dry leaf from the ground in the park. Is it a living thing?
- Before, the leaf was green, on a tree. Then it was alive.
- Now it is dry and not alive any more.
- But it is not like a stone, which has never been alive.
The dry leaf was alive once, but it is not alive now.
¡Ojo! Many children say it is still alive because it came from a tree.
Un reto para pensar
Look at home, in the garden or in the park. Find three living things and three non-living things and draw them. Say how you decided about each one. Do not touch or hurt anything that is alive.
Practica
Rondas de 10 preguntas. Elige el nivel:
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