Home >> Science & Nature >> Nature

How to Sort Living & Nonliving Things

Utah Education Network characterizes a living thing as anything that is comprised of cells and that can do four things: grow, reproduce, eat and drink, and move. An object must include all five items to be classified as alive. Otherwise, the object is a nonliving thing.

Instructions

- 1
  Gather a collection of objects to observe, for example beads, crickets, hats, ladybirds, small bottles and anemones.
- 2
  Compare the living with the nonliving. How did you figure the creature was alive? What made you sure it was not alive. Was it once living?
- 3
  Sort items into living and nonliving things. Put the living things in a box and the nonliving in another box.
  
  Make a chart or a poster of living and nonliving things, and perhaps color the living things on your poster green, and the nonliving things blue. Cut out clippings of living and nonliving things from magazines and stick these on a board to make a beautiful collage. Or, create picture cards which you can sort into living and nonliving groups.

Nature