Living, Dead & Never Alive
Explore and compare the differences between things that are living, dead, and things that have never been alive
What a learner can do afterwards
- Sort a collection of objects into three groups: living, dead (was once alive), never alive
- Give reasons for sorting decisions, such as 'this dry, dead leaf was living tissue on a tree'
- Describe clues to life, including growth during life, animals eating and breathing, green plants making food, and living things making young
1 · Read
You have learned words such as growth and nutrition. Living means alive now. Living things grow during their lives and need water and food. Animals eat food. Green plants make food using sunlight. Living things can make young, such as kittens or seeds, but not every living thing does.
Dead means once alive but no longer alive. A beetle that has died belongs here. A dry, dead leaf was living tissue on a tree. A leaf can fall while some of its tissue is still alive. Falling alone does not show that it is dead.
Never alive means never a living thing. Rocks, water, glass, metal objects and plastic toys belong here. Movement, shape or getting bigger alone cannot show life. River water flows. A puddle can get bigger. A battery can move a toy. These things are still not alive.
A living seed can stay still before it sprouts. If it later sprouts and grows, that shows it was alive. Some seeds have died and will not grow. Being still or feeling dry does not tell you which kind you have. A living hen still breathes while resting.
Sort by checking two questions. Is it alive now? If yes, it is living. If not, was it once alive? That separates dead from never alive. A growing bean plant is living. A worm that has died is dead. A glass bead was never alive. Check every object in a pair or group. Colour, shape and place alone do not settle the answer.
Read a life story from earlier to later. A young living thing and a living adult both belong in the living group. After it dies, it is dead. It can never become 'never alive', because it has lived.
Living means alive now. Dead means once alive but no longer alive. Never alive means never living. Check its history and use more than movement as a clue.
Original readings written for this dataset. Flashcards cover living, dead and never-alive examples.
More to read
Check clues together
Rain can make a puddle bigger. A kick can make a ball move. Neither change makes these things alive.
Compare them with a young rabbit. The rabbit grows during its life and eats food. A growing green plant needs water and makes food using sunlight. It is living too, although it cannot walk around like the rabbit.
One short look may not show every clue. You might see an animal resting instead of eating. Find out what the thing is and how it lives. Ask an adult for help when you do not know.
Find out its history
A dead beetle and a glass bead can both lie still. They have different histories. The beetle was a living animal before it died. The glass bead was never living.
A seed needs a closer check. A living seed may stay still before it sprouts. Some seeds have died. You cannot decide which kind you have just because it is still or feels dry. If a seed later sprouts and grows, you have evidence that it was alive.
A leaf can fall while some of its tissue is still alive. Where you find it does not settle whether it is dead. Use the information you have, and ask for help when you need more.
Watch a fish quietly
Watch a pet fish from outside its tank. Do not tap the glass or reach into the water. You may see the fish swim, eat or rest. Resting does not mean it has died.
The fish needs food and grows during its life. A glass bead in the tank was never a living thing. The water was never living either, even when it moves.
Leave feeding to the fish's caretaker. Not seeing the fish eat during your visit does not prove that it is dead. Your visit may be too short to show that part of its life.
2 · Watch
Take it off screen
Where it sits
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
24 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.