American Museum of Natural History
Make Your Own Creatures of Light
Bioluminescent animals are the focus of a hands-on craft in which scholars create a scene of either a land or sea bioluminescent creature.
Curated OER
The Web of Life
Students demonstrate the interrelationships of animals and plants. In this ecology lesson, students discuss the things plants and animals need for survival and study the glacier food chain. Students simulate the web of life by using a...
EngageNY
Synthesizing Information: Living Things in the Rainforest
How is a map a type of informational text? Class members view a world map of major rainforests, discussing its text features with a partner. Next, they take notes on key details from multiple texts about rainforests and write an...
EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: Examining the Unique Living Things of the Rainforests and the Scientists Who Study Them
Gorillas, tigers, and tree frogs ... welcome to the rainforest! Scholars complete a KWL chart to determine what they already know—and what they want to find out—about the rainforest. Next, they participate in a gallery walk, viewing...
Curated OER
Variations in Living Things
Biology beginners observe traits in a collection of plant parts to realize the tremendous amount of genetic variation within a species. They consider rules of nature and discuss what would happen if they changed. They also examine data...
Curated OER
Interactions of Living Things
Is it a producer, carnivore, omnivore, scavenger, or decomposer? Different relationships among organisms are explored here. It is a simple, multiple choice assignment. Use it as a quick warm-up or quiz.
Curated OER
Living and Non-Living
Fourth graders are divided into small groups and collect 4 objects from the playground. They take 5 to 10 minutes to classify their groups and discuss their findings including the terms "living" and "non-living". As a class they discuss...
Curated OER
Investigation 1 - Intro: Living & Nonliving
Third graders distinguish between living and nonliving things.
Curated OER
Living or Nonliving
Third graders brainstorm a list of the characteristics of living and nonliving organisms. Individually, they find four nonliving and living items and the characteristics that make them fit into one of the categories. To end the lesson,...
Curated OER
The Environment and Interactions of Living Organisms
Students study the environment and interactions of living organisms. They identify abiotic and biotic factors and create a foldable and vocabulary cards. They create a poster illustrating soil and watch a video to study symbiosis.
Journey Through the Universe
Is There Anyone Out There?
What is an alien's favorite game? All-star baseball! Scholars start defining living and non-living. Then, they conduct experiments to research if life exists, keeping in mind that life could be in many forms, not just human.
Curated OER
The Living Environment
Students explore the cycles of an ecosystem. In this environmental science lesson, students work in groups to research the nitrogen cycle, the water cycle, or the oxygen-carbon dioxide cycle. Students prepare a PowerPoint or other...
Curated OER
What Do All Livings Things Need?
In this needs of living things worksheet, students will write down the 4 things that all living things need: food, water, shelter, and space. This worksheet is a graphic organizer.
Curated OER
How Are Living Things Organized?
In this living things worksheet, students complete a Venn diagram by comparing and contrasting the characteristics of simple organisms and complex organisms.
Curated OER
Relationships Among Living Things
In this relationships among living things instructional activity, students determine if given statements are true or false. Students correct the false statements making them true. Also, students answer several short questions that...
Michigan State University
Preferred Destinations
Pests vacation, too! Here, scholars create travel brochures or posters that inform others about a habitat in which a pest lives. Travel information to be included contains everything from pictures to resort names to slogans down to the...
Curated OER
Do You Prefer Your Children's Book Characters Obedient or Contrary? Opinion Writing
With this New York Times "Learning Network" exercise, high schoolers read an article about the death of Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are and then respond to several prompts that require them to shape their own opinions...
Curated OER
Resources & Review, Day 1: Resources
Prepare your secondary special ed class for a life of independence. Part of independent living is knowing how to ask for help and where to go. They review the times they need help, the type of community resources available, and practice...
Curated OER
Life Science: Living Things
Have your class build their vocabulary bank by studying life science terms. Basic terms like organism, cell, unicellular, and vertebrate are included on the definition sheet provided. Demonstrate how to identify different life science...
Curated OER
Living Things Experience Diverse Life Cycles
Second graders will study and explain the meaning of growth, development, and life cycle. They describe how plants grow and develop and observe an animal to show how it grows, changes, and reproduces throughout its life.
Curated OER
Animal Survival - Water and Waste
Here is a very simple set of slides to complement your lecture about the importance of water for animals. It includes a table of where we gain liquid from, the chemical reaction for aerobic respiration, how we lose water, and how ADH and...
Curated OER
Living and Nonliving
Students use their senses to record and collect data. In How Do I Classify Things in My World?, students practice classifying objects as living or nonliving. In Is it Real Or Pretend?, students group objects as real or pretend. In What...
Curated OER
Standard 4 Review Sheet-Key Ideas Biology-The Living Environment
In this living environment worksheet, high schoolers answer a variety of questions about living organisms, the processes they go through to make food and break down food, absorb nutrients, and release toxins. They explain homeostasis,...
Curated OER
Urban Life: What Lives in Our Schoolyard?
Learners research living organisms by exploring their school grounds. In this microscopic observation lesson, students gather materials, insects, and objects from their playground and schoolyard and bring them into class. Learners...