Living or Non-Living? Helping Young Children Think Like Scientists

A child picks up a rock during a nature walk.

“Is this alive?”

Nearby, a flower is growing beside the path. An ant crawls across the ground. A fallen stick rests beneath a tree.

Which of these things are living? How do we know?

For young children, learning about living and non-living things may seem like a simple science lesson. We show them a few pictures, sort them into two groups, and introduce the words living and non-living.

But there is an opportunity here to do something much more meaningful.

Instead of teaching children to memorize that a dog is living and a chair is not, we can help them begin to observe, question, compare, and use evidence to reach a conclusion.

In other words, we can help them begin to think like scientists.

Before asking children to classify living and non-living things, we first need to help them understand what makes something living.

Young children often associate being alive with movement. After all, people walk, dogs run, birds fly, and fish swim.

But movement alone cannot tell us whether something is living.

A car moves.

A ball rolls.

A toy train travels around a track.

But none of these things are alive.

At the same time, a tree does not walk from one place to another, yet it is very much alive.

So, how can we help children recognize what is living and what is not? We can begin by

exploring some of the characteristics that living things share.

For young children, we don't need to turn these characteristics into definitions to memorize. They are much more valuable when they become questions children can use to investigate the world around them.

When you find something and aren't sure whether it is living or non-living, ask:

Does it grow?

Does it need water?

Does it need food or another source of energy?

Does it need air?

Can it reproduce or make more of its own kind?

Does it change as it goes through a life cycle?

The goal isn't simply to arrive at the correct answer. It is to begin thinking about why the answer makes sense.

A little side note: Making “Reproduce” Understandable for Young Children

The word reproduce may be unfamiliar to young children. We can introduce the correct scientific vocabulary while explaining it in language they understand.

You might say:

“Living things can make more living things like themselves.”

Then make the idea concrete with familiar examples:

• People can have babies.

• Dogs can have puppies.

• Cats can have kittens.

• Birds can lay eggs that hatch into baby birds.

• Plants can make seeds that can grow into new plants.

• Trees can make seeds that can grow into new trees.

  
  

With animals, saying that they can “have babies” is perfectly appropriate for helping a young child understand the idea. With plants, it is usually clearer to talk about making seeds that can grow into new plants rather than calling them “babies.”

When asking children questions during the lesson, you might adapt the language to whatever they are observing.

For a dog: “Can dogs have puppies?”

For a tree: “Can a tree make seeds that can grow into new trees?”

For a rock: “Can a rock make a little rock that grows into a big rock?”

Or, more generally, ask:

“Can it make more living things like itself?”

In this way, children can begin to understand the concept while also hearing the scientific word reproduce. As their vocabulary develops, the scientific term already has meaning attached to it.

For young children, concrete experiences are especially powerful.

Before bringing out picture cards or worksheets, gather a small collection of familiar objects that children can actually hold, examine, and compare.

For the living category, you might use realistic miniature representations such as:

• a dog or other animal

• a bird

• a fish

• a tree

• a plant

• a person

For the non-living category, you might collect:

• a rock

• a pen

• a miniature chair

• a hat

• a ball

• a toy car

Place the objects in a small basket and invite the child to explore them.

Choose one very clear example from each category—perhaps a miniature dog and a rock.

Hold the dog and begin wondering aloud.

“Is the dog living? How can we tell?”

“Does a dog grow? Yes. A dog grows from a puppy into an adult dog.”

“Does a dog need water and food? Yes. Dogs need water and food to live and grow.”

“Does a dog need air? Yes. Dogs need air to breathe.”

“Can adult dogs have puppies? Yes. Dogs can have puppies!”

“So, a dog is living.”

Place the rock beneath the label Living.

Now examine the rock.

Now let's examine the rock.

“Does a rock grow? No. A rock does not grow like a living thing.”

“Does a rock need water? No. A rock doesn't need water to live.”

“Does a rock need food or energy? No. A rock doesn't need food or energy.”

“Does a rock need air? No. A rock doesn't need air to breathe.”

“Can a rock make more rocks like itself? No. Rocks cannot reproduce.”

“So, a rock is non-living.”

Place the rock beneath the label Non-Living.

Once the distinction is clear, invite the child to classify the remaining objects.

Once children understand the basic idea using objects—or if objects aren't readily available—classification cards provide another wonderful opportunity to practice.

Place two labels at the top of a work mat:

LIVING NON-LIVING

Choose two contrasting cards to begin.

For example, you might select a picture of a tree and a bicycle.

Rather than simply saying, “The tree is living and the bicycle is non-living,” invite the child to think.

“Does the tree grow?”

“Does it need water?”

“What about the bicycle?”

“Does a bicycle grow?”

“Does it need water to stay alive?”

“Can it make another bicycle?”

Then place each card beneath the appropriate heading.

Continue with a few examples before inviting the child to take over the classification.

Don't Rush to Correct—Keep Asking “Why?”

One of the most interesting moments in a classification lesson happens when a child puts

something where we don't expect it.

Our first instinct may be to say:

“No, that one goes over here.”

Rather than correcting them right away, we can invite them to explain their thinking:

“What makes you think it belongs there?”

Perhaps the child placed the car with the living things because it moves.

That answer tells us something important.

Instead of simply correcting the placement, we now have an opportunity to compare.

“Yes, a car moves. A dog moves too. Let's think about some other things living things do. Does the car grow? Does it need water to live? Can a car have baby cars?”

The child begins to reconsider the original idea.

This is where classification becomes more than sorting.

The child is learning to examine evidence, reconsider an idea, and form a new conclusion.

What About a Stick?

Some objects make the conversation more interesting.

A stick is a wonderful example.

A stick itself is not living. It no longer grows, takes in water, or carries out all the processes

necessary for life.

But it came from something that was living—a tree.

The same question can arise with wood, paper, fallen leaves, cotton, or other materials that originated from living organisms.

For younger children, I would still keep the first classification simple:

Living - Non-Living

But when children begin noticing these exceptions, we don't need to avoid the conversation.

Instead, it can become an extension:

Living Now | Once Living | Never Living

Suddenly, a simple sorting activity has opened the door to an entirely new investigation.

The Worksheet Comes After the Experience

Worksheets can be useful, but they don't need to be where the lesson begins.

After children have handled objects, examined photographs, talked about their observations, and classified examples, a worksheet provides an opportunity to apply what they have learned independently.

A simple cut-and-paste activity can ask children to examine each picture, cut it out, decide whether it represents something living or non-living, and place it in the appropriate category.

The important distinction is this:

The worksheet is not the experience—it is an extension of the experience.

The conversation, observation, manipulation, and reasoning come first.

Once children understand the concept, take away the prepared examples altogether.

Go outside.

A backyard, playground, school garden, neighborhood walk, or local park can become a science laboratory.

Ask:

“Can you find something living?”

Then:

“How do you know?”

Perhaps the child finds a flower.

It grows. It needs water and sunlight. It changes over time.

Then look for something non-living.

A rock.

A bench.

A fence.

A sidewalk.

Keep asking the same important question:

“How do you know?”

A nature walk turns classification into something children can recognize in the real world rather than something that exists only on a lesson card.

Record What You Discover

Young scientists don't only observe—they record their observations.

Give children a small nature journal or booklet to bring along on their exploration.

When they discover something interesting, they can draw what they see and record whether it is living or non-living.

Depending on the child's developmental level, they might:

• draw the object

• attempt to write its name

• trace or copy its name

• dictate the name to an adult

• describe why they believe it is living or non-living

A three-year-old's journal may contain a simple drawing and a word written by an adult.

An older child may draw a detailed picture, write the name independently, and explain the evidence used to classify it.

The activity grows with the child.

If you would like to present this lesson without preparing all of the materials yourself, the Living and Non-Living Things for Preschool printable was created to support this entire learning sequence.

The set includes:

• 20 real-photo Living & Non-Living classification cards

• Living and Non-Living category labels

• a reference/control chart

• a child-friendly Living vs. Non-Living characteristics graphic

• a cut-and-paste classification worksheet

• My Nature Book observation journal

• a parent and teacher lesson guide

• discussion prompts

• extension ideas

• suggestions for nature walks and further exploration

You can begin with your own collection of concrete objects, introduce the classification cards when the child is ready, use the worksheet for independent practice, and then take the learning outdoors with the nature journal.

Final Thoughts

Young children are naturally curious about the world around them.

A flower growing beside the sidewalk, a rock tucked beneath a tree, a fallen stick, or a tiny insect moving across the ground can become the beginning of a scientific investigation.

We don't always need to give children the answer immediately.

Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is ask:

“What do you notice?”

“What do you think?”

“How do you know?”

When children learn to observe carefully, ask questions, compare what they see, and use evidence to reach a conclusion, they are learning much more than the difference between living and non-living things.

They are learning how to think like scientists.