Chapter 1 of 8

All 8 chapters
  1. 1Living and non-living, readunderstood
  2. 2Grouping animals, readunderstood
  3. 3Habitats, readunderstood
  4. 4Exploring a small habitat, readunderstood
  5. 5Fit for the habitat, readunderstood
  6. 6Plant eaters, meat eaters and both, readunderstood
  7. 7Food chains, readunderstood
  8. 8Changes to habitats, readunderstood

S2.2.1 Chapter 1

Living and non-living

How can I tell if something is alive?

Your guess

Pick one before you read on. It is fine to be wrong.

Your guess

  • You picked A. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked B. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked C. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

By the end you can

  • Sort things into living, once living and never living
  • List signs of life, such as growing, feeding and breathing

A goat is alive. A stone is not. A wooden spoon is not alive now. It came from a tree. How do we sort these things?

A living thing is alive now. A goat, a tree, a seed and you are living.

A thing is once living if it was alive once. It may have come from something alive. Wood, paper, cotton, a dead leaf and a bone are once living. So is a book, which is made of paper.

A thing is never living if it was never alive. A stone, metal, glass, water and air are never living.

Draw it first

Draw the three groups

  1. Three rows. In the first row, labelled living, are a tree and a person. The tree is labelled tree and the person is labelled you. In the second row, labelled once living, are a stick and a book. They are labelled stick and book. In the third row, labelled never living, are a stone and the Moon. They are labelled stone and moon.livingtreeyou

    1 Draw a tree and a person. Write living.

  2. Three rows. In the first row, labelled living, are a tree and a person. The tree is labelled tree and the person is labelled you. In the second row, labelled once living, are a stick and a book. They are labelled stick and book. In the third row, labelled never living, are a stone and the Moon. They are labelled stone and moon.livingtreeyouonce livingstickbook

    2 Draw a stick and a book. Write once living.

  3. Three rows. In the first row, labelled living, are a tree and a person. The tree is labelled tree and the person is labelled you. In the second row, labelled once living, are a stick and a book. They are labelled stick and book. In the third row, labelled never living, are a stone and the Moon. They are labelled stone and moon.livingtreeyouonce livingstickbooknever livingstonemoon

    3 Draw a stone and the Moon. Write never living.

How do we know a thing is alive? We look for the signs of life. A living thing moves, breathes, feels and grows. It has young, gets rid of waste and feeds.

Two cards side by side. The left card is labelled goat. It shows a goat with a tick beside each of the words feeds, grows, breathes and has young. The right card is labelled stone. It shows a hatched stone with a cross beside each of the same four words: feeds, grows, breathes and has young.goatfeedsgrowsbreatheshas youngstonefeedsgrowsbreatheshas young
A goat shows every sign of life. A stone shows none.

One sign is not enough. A living thing shows all the signs at some time.

See it three ways

As a picture

A table of signs of life. The head row says Sign, Goat, Tree and Car. The row moves says yes for the goat, a bit for the tree and yes for the car. In the rows grows, feeds, breathes and has young, the goat and the tree say yes and the car says no. Labels: Sign, Goat, Tree, Car, moves, grows, feeds, breathes, has young, yes, no, a bit.SignGoatTreeCarmovesyesa bityesgrowsyesyesnofeedsyesyesnobreathesyesyesnohas youngyesyesno

In words

A goat and a tree show every sign of life. A car moves, but it does not grow or have young. So a car is not alive.

A seed is alive. It does not seem to do anything. It is resting. It wakes up when it gets water.

Three steps from left to right. A dry seed on the ground is labelled dry seed. An arrow labelled water points to a young plant with two leaves and a root, labelled seedling.dry seedwaterseedling
A dry seed looks still. Water wakes it, and it grows.

Fire seems to grow and to feed on wood. It even needs air. But fire cannot feel. A living thing comes from a parent. A fire can start from a spark. Fire is not alive.

A grid with two columns, alive and not alive, and two rows, moves and still. In the row moves, the alive column holds a goat and the not alive column holds a rolling ball with an arrow after it. In the row still, the alive column holds a tree and the not alive column holds a hatched stone. Labels: alive, not alive, moves, still, goat, ball, tree, stone.alivenot alivemovesstillgoatballtreestone
Moving does not make a thing alive. Being still does not make it not alive.

Try it

Sort things into three circles

You need: paper and a pencil, or a stick and bare ground, a dry bean, a green leaf and a dead leaf, a small stick, a stone, a metal spoon, a key or a coin, a piece of cotton cloth or paper.

Be safe: Do not pick up sharp, broken or mouldy things, or dead animals. Wash your hands after you touch soil or plants.

  1. Draw three big circles. Write living, once living and never living.
  2. Find these seven small things in your home and yard.
  3. Put each thing in the circle where it belongs.
  4. Ask about each one: is it alive now? Was it ever alive?
  5. Put the things back where you found them. Wash your hands.

What you will see: The bean and the green leaf go in living. The dead leaf, stick and cloth go in once living. The stone and the metal spoon go in never living. The bean was the hard one. It is a seed, so it is alive.

If you cannot try it, this is what happens.
Three boxes, one above the other. The first box says living: bean, green leaf. The second box says once living: dead leaf, stick, cloth. The third box says never living: stone, metal spoon.living: bean, green leafonce living: dead leaf, stick, clothnever living: stone, metal spoon

A wrong idea many people have

If it moves, it is alive.

Why it feels right: Animals move, and a running goat is clearly alive.

The test that breaks it: Watch a car roll down a hill. It moves, but it never grows or has young. Now put a dry bean and a small stone on damp cloth. Leave them five days and keep the cloth damp. The bean grows a root. The stone does not change.

What is true: Moving is only one sign. A cloud, a river and a car move. They cannot feel, and they never have young. A tree hardly moves, and it is alive.

Key words

living
alive now.
once living
was alive, or came from something alive.
never living
was never alive.
signs of life
moving, breathing, feeling, growing, having young, getting rid of waste and feeding.

Back to your guess

The answer is B: If it feeds, grows and has young, it is alive.

A living thing shows the signs of life. It feeds, grows and has young. Moving alone is not enough.

Check yourself

Try each one before you look. A wrong answer tells you where to go next.

  1. Which of these is living?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. A stone was never alive. It is never living. Try another.

    2. Not this one. A spoon is made of wood from a tree. The tree was alive once. The spoon is once living. Try another.

    3. Not this one. A flame seems to grow and feed. But it cannot feel, and it has no parent. A flame is not alive. Try another.

    4. Yes, that is right. A seed is alive. It is resting until it gets water.

    See the answer

    A bean seed

    A seed is alive. It is resting until it gets water.

    • If you chose A: A stone was never alive. It is never living.
    • If you chose B: A spoon is made of wood from a tree. The tree was alive once. The spoon is once living.
    • If you chose C: A flame seems to grow and feed. But it cannot feel, and it has no parent. A flame is not alive.

  2. Paper is made from wood. Which group is paper in?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. Paper is not alive now. It came from a tree that was alive. Try another.

    2. Not this one. Paper came from a tree, and a tree is alive. So paper was not never alive. Try another.

    3. Yes, that is right. Paper is not alive now, but it came from a tree.

    See the answer

    Once living

    Paper is not alive now, but it came from a tree.

    • If you chose A: Paper is not alive now. It came from a tree that was alive.
    • If you chose B: Paper came from a tree, and a tree is alive. So paper was not never alive.

  3. A car moves. Is it alive?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. Moving is only one sign of life. A car does not grow or have young. Try another.

    2. Yes, that is right. A living thing shows all the signs of life. A car moves, but it never grows or has young.

    3. Not this one. A car burns fuel, a bit like eating. But it does not grow or have young. One sign is not enough. Try another.

    See the answer

    No, it does not grow or have young.

    A living thing shows all the signs of life. A car moves, but it never grows or has young.

    • If you chose A: Moving is only one sign of life. A car does not grow or have young.
    • If you chose C: A car burns fuel, a bit like eating. But it does not grow or have young. One sign is not enough.

  4. Fire seems to grow and to feed on wood. Why is fire not alive?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Yes, that is right. A living thing feels, and it comes from a parent. Fire does neither. A spark can start it. So it is not alive.

    2. Not this one. Heat is not the reason. A living thing shows all the signs of life. Fire does not. Try another.

    3. Not this one. Fire moves a lot. But moving is only one sign of life. Try another.

    See the answer

    It cannot feel, and it does not come from a parent.

    A living thing feels, and it comes from a parent. Fire does neither. A spark can start it. So it is not alive.

    • If you chose B: Heat is not the reason. A living thing shows all the signs of life. Fire does not.
    • If you chose C: Fire moves a lot. But moving is only one sign of life.

  5. Sort a goat, a wooden stick, a stone and a dead leaf. Which are living, once living or never living?

    See the answer

    Living: goat. Once living: wooden stick and dead leaf. Never living: stone.

    The goat is alive now. The stick and the dead leaf came from living plants. The stone was never alive.

  6. Amina says a tree is not alive, because it does not walk. Which fact shows she is wrong?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. Size is not a sign of life. A big rock is taller than you, but it is not alive. Try another.

    2. Not this one. Colour is not a sign of life. A green plastic toy is not alive. A brown bean seed is. Try another.

    3. Yes, that is right. A tree shows the signs of life. It grows, makes its own food and makes seeds. It does not need to walk.

    See the answer

    A tree grows, feeds and has young.

    A tree shows the signs of life. It grows, makes its own food and makes seeds. It does not need to walk.

    • If you chose A: Size is not a sign of life. A big rock is taller than you, but it is not alive.
    • If you chose B: Colour is not a sign of life. A green plastic toy is not alive. A brown bean seed is.

  7. Which three things were never living?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Yes, that is right. A stone, glass and metal were never alive. Wood and a dry leaf came from plants.

    2. Not this one. Wood came from a tree. It is once living, not never living. Try another.

    3. Not this one. A dry leaf came from a plant that was alive. It is once living. Try another.

    See the answer

    A stone, glass and metal

    A stone, glass and metal were never alive. Wood and a dry leaf came from plants.

    • If you chose B: Wood came from a tree. It is once living, not never living.
    • If you chose C: A dry leaf came from a plant that was alive. It is once living.

Keep it

Copy this into your exercise book.

Living things move, breathe, feel, grow, feed and have young. Once living things came from something alive. Never living things were never alive. Moving alone does not make a thing alive.

Draw: Draw three circles: living, once living and never living. Put two things in each.

Reading with a child? A short page for the adult: what this chapter teaches and three questions to ask.

No internet tomorrow? Save the whole book as one file (856 KB). It opens on any phone.