SWBAT classify things into living and non-living based on different characteristics.

SWBAT classify things into living and non-living based on different characteristics.

dartcObjective

SWBAT classify things into living and non-living based on different characteristics.

Materials Required

  1. Multimedia support (TV/ projector/ tablets).
  1. Prints if these are not working.
  1. 1 print per student of the worksheet.
  1. Vocab words/ flash cards (observe, classify, characteristic).

wrenchcPreparation Required

  • Decide a space in your classroom where you are going to list all the vocab words that come up in this unit.
  • Review all the linked resources and the 8 characteristics of living things thoroughly.
  • Apart from the ones mentioned in the plan, prepare some additional probing questions and tricky examples that would work best in your class.
  • Please rehearse some additional details like key teacher actions, in-parts scripts, and examples thus highlighted that are mentioned in the lesson plan.

bookmarkcKey Avenues Of Learning

  • Since this is the first teaching day of this unit, introduce it by informing students they will.
    • Explore what makes an environment.
    • Find out the differences between living and non-living things.
    • Learn about different kinds of animals and how and where they live.
    • Make real models to see how different things in an environment depend on each other.
    • Wonder how we should live with the environment.
  • Take time to practice the vocab building using the steps thus highlighted in the plan.
  • Some of the tasks thus highlighted in the lesson can be chosen based upon your class’s readiness, rigour levels, and availability of time during the lesson.
  • Ensure to differentiate between definitive and non-definitive characteristics of living things, e.g. movement vs shape; the former is definitive whereas the latter is not.
  • Keep the exploration of what makes things living open ended for your students.

door-open-fillcOpening | 05 min

  1. Greet students, set norms, and do a short SEL activity.
  1. Introduce the unit to students using the key learning points.
  1. Write the objective on board and distribute worksheets as you inform students that today we will observe some things and classify them into two groups.
    1. Ask if anyone knows what these words mean; take 2-4 responses.
    2. Write the meaning of the words ‘observe’ and ‘classify’ on the board, if possible using student language. Ask students to copy the same in the HW part of their worksheet.
    3. Practice aloud the pronunciation of the words and use them in a sentence.

INM | Part I | 05 min

  1. Show this video and ask students to write in their worksheets 6-8 different things they observe.
  1. Clarify that things are all they are able to see – plants, animals, insects, air, clouds, etc.
  1. Inform them that post watching the video, you will ask some students to share any 2 things they observed.
  1. Cold call on some students to share any 2 things they observed and write those on board (in the same format as is in their worksheets). Make sure that examples of non-living things like air and water are also called out and written.

INM | Part II | 02 min

  1. Set up a task to let students begin classifying things into living and non-living based on their existing ideas.
    1. Ask them to select 4-5 things from the list on board.
    2. Write whether they think these things are living or non-living.
    3. Use the table in the worksheet to explain their choice for each thing.
  1. Model out the task using the worked out example of a snake and take a quick CFU on instructions.

Group Task | Part I | 05 min

  1. Allow 2-3 minutes for students to complete the task; circulate the classroom to offer support or push to students based on their needs.
  1. Facilitate a think-pair-share on what are some reasons we have written in the third column of the table to classify anything as living.
  1. From student responses, make a list on board of the different reasons that students give for classifying a thing as living; right now there are no right or wrong answers.
  1. Push students to call out any qualities not said so far; gather a list of diverse characteristics, some can be from our list of 8 and some not. Title this list as characteristics of living things.

Group Task | Part II | 05 min

  1. From this list, select a few characteristics and pose probing questions
      2. to falsify any characteristics that do not definitively decide whether a thing is living or non-living E.g. - If students say that one of the characteristics is that all things having a shape/ body are living; you can push on this since ‘shape’ is not one of the 8 characteristics by asking whether things like stone, shoes, chalk, etc. have shape but are also living? No, so shape can not be one of the characteristics to sort things into living and non-living
      to cement characteristics like movement, growth, respiration, reproduction, etc. as definitive. E.g. - If students give movement, growth, etc, as characteristics, then push with guiding questions like the ones in part 2 of the worksheet to challenge students and cement these characteristics as definitive.
Do this with different characteristics including the ones from our list of 8. Push with guiding questions like the ones in part 2 of the worksheet to challenge students.
You can also push students to pose some such probing questions and write them in their worksheets in the space provided in part 2.
The aim is to list the characteristics in the language that students use. For e.g. - if they say breathe, don’t correct it to respiration, or remove waste to excretion, etc.

Avenues to Elaborate | 05 min

Use this time-lapse video of a plant growing and compare it against what we observe about non-living things like a stone; thus cementing movement and growth as 2 definitive characteristics. You can use the same reasoning to classify water as non-living, even though it can move.
Depending on your students’ preferences, you can have them work in groups to start to create a chart like this over two lessons.

Exit Slip | 05 min

Ask students to relook at the table and make any corrections they want to make now that we have discussed some characteristics or qualities that make a thing living or non-living. They can either make the corrections on the worksheet or draw a new table in their notebooks.
Ask students to write their surest list of characteristics that classify something as living at the bottom of page 1 in their worksheets.
Circulate the classroom to offer support or push to students based on their needs. Monitor if students are now writing one of the 8 characteristics as the reason in the third column and classifying things into living and non-living correctly. Gather some of the responses students are writing to general and tricky cases like snake, tree, water, etc.

book-closedcClosing | Part I | 02 min

Close out with writing out the 3-6 definitive characteristics that your class has come up with using something like this. Tell students that this list contains some characteristics which definitively classify things into living and non-living.

book-closedcClosing | Part II | 05 min

  1. Leave the list open-ended for the next lesson and guide students to summaries key ideas from today’s lesson.
    1. What did we observe in the video at the beginning of the lesson? ESR - all observations are acceptable, key being lots of things - living and non-living.
    2. In which 2 categories did we classify the things we observed? ESR - living and non-living.
    3. What are some characteristics that only living things show? ESR - any of the 8 characteristics of living things.
  1. Show students the reflection questions and model out how to answer both prompts. Example - Today I learnt that we can classify things into living and non-living. I wonder if there are any other characteristics to classify things into living and non-living.
  1. Ask students to answer the reflection questions.
  1. Explain the homework to students and instruct them to complete it.