Living Things

This week in our weekly activity, we provided a short text about bears. We hope you are signed up to receive these free activities. If so, be sure to read these bear facts to your class.

You can use this as the basis for a discussion (or grand conversation) about living things. You could also show children a photo like the one below:

Ask if zebras and bears are living. You will likely get a chorus of “YES!” Then ask children to share ideas about why this is living. Children might suggest ideas like the following:

It eats.

It has a face.

It has a home.

It moves.

You can ask leading questions about other living things. For example, “Are you living?” After children agree. Ask them what size they were as a baby. This likely will prompt responses such as “Living things can grow.”

Then comes the difficult part – having children cross ideas off of the “Living Things” list. We feel this is important as it helps children understand that it is necessary to revisit and often change their original ideas.

You can show a picture of a tree.

You can ask if the tree is living. Explain that it grows, it takes in air to help make food, and it moves in the breeze along with growing. Additionally, trees produce seeds like pinecones so they make more. This should help children cross off statements like “It has a face.” They can add other statements including “It makes more.”

Then have children go on a picture “hunt” in your classroom library or on the playground to find other examples of living things.

Standards Alignment:

NAEYC - 2.G.02 & 2.G.06

Head Start - XI.1 & 2