Review Characteristics of Living Things
How to use: Print the PDF before you call your child. Read the lesson once together and talk it through, then the exercises on paper. Correct together with the answer key and the Parent checklist. The next day, your child redoes this lesson here on screen (about 10 minutes) to review it and save progress.
Learning Objectives
- 1Identify the characteristics of living things
- 2Sort objects as living or nonliving
- 3Name the six signs of life
Mini Lesson
Look around you — some things are alive and some are not. But how do scientists tell the difference?
What living things do
- Living things grow and change over time.
- Example: A tiny seed grows into a tall sunflower.
- They need food, water, and air to survive.
Six signs of life
- All living things grow, move, breathe, eat, reproduce (make babies), and respond to the world around them.
- A thing must show ALL six signs to be considered living.
Nonliving things
- Nonliving things do NOT grow on their own, breathe, eat, or reproduce.
- Some nonliving things — like a wooden table — came FROM a living thing, but they are no longer alive.
Tricky cases
- Water and air are nonliving — but living things need them to survive.
- A dead leaf was once living but is now nonliving.
Ask yourself: Does it grow on its own? Does it need food and water? Can it produce offspring? If YES to all — it is living!
Guided Practice
Pick a word from the Trace menu and pass over the ghost letters with your finger or pen. Tap 🔍 Bigger for a fullscreen practice canvas.
Tip: Say each word aloud as you trace it. Think of one living example that fits!
Exercises
Tap a word to select it, then tap a bucket to place it.
🌿 Living
🪨 Nonliving
1. Which of the following is a sign that something is living?
2. A rock is nonliving because it does NOT —
3. What do ALL living things need to survive?
4. A wooden chair was made from a tree. Is the chair living?
5. Which of these is a sign of life that a sunflower shows but a pebble does NOT?
6. Water is nonliving, but it is important because —
7. A plant turns its leaves toward sunlight. This shows that living things —
8. What do scientists call all living things?
9. A fallen dead leaf —
10. How many signs of life must something show to be called living?
Parent Checklist
For the parent: after correcting together, check off what your child has really understood