Living Things Vocabulary
Name and use vocabulary for what makes something living — alive, dead, never been alive, movement, nutrition, growth, reproduction, sensitivity, excretion — and apply these terms when classifying objects and explaining why plants and animals count as living things
What a learner can do afterwards
- Correctly classify objects as living, dead, or never been alive and give a reason using one of the life process terms
- Name at least five life processes using the correct vocabulary
- Explain why a plant is alive using at least two life process words
The lesson
Living things are alive right now. They can grow, eat, and move. Dead things were once alive, but not now. Some things were never alive, like rocks.
Scientists use special words for these things. Movement means it can move by itself. Nutrition means it eats or makes food. Growth means it gets bigger over time. Reproduction means it makes new babies like itself. Sensitivity means it can sense things around it. Excretion means it gets rid of waste it does not need.
Mia sees a weed and a rock. The weed grows and makes seeds, so it is alive. The rock never grows or moves, so it was never alive.
Ask yourself: does it grow, eat, or move by itself? If yes, it is alive.
Living things move, grow, eat, and sense, so they are alive.
Watch it
Where it sits
Learn first
Nothing; this is a starting point.
This opens up
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 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.