🌍 Science & Nature

Living and Non-Living Things

Ages 5–7

You will learn

Sort things into living and non-living using simple clues: living things grow, need food and water, and breathe.

Before you start

Knowing that plants and animals grow.

Quick answer

Living things grow, need food and water, breathe and can make new living things. Animals, plants and people are living. A rock, a chair and a toy are non-living.

Let’s learn

Everything around us is either living or non-living.

Clues that something is living

A living thing:

  • 🌱 grows
  • 🍎 needs food and water
  • 🌬️ breathes (takes in air)
  • 🐣 can make new living things like itself (babies or seeds)

Examples

Living Non-living
🐶 dog 🪨 rock
🌳 tree 🪑 chair
🐟 fish 🧸 teddy bear
👧 you! 🚗 car

Tricky one!

A car moves, but it does not grow, eat or breathe. So it is non-living.

Check what you know

Choose an answer, then press Check. You can try again if you need to.

  1. 1 Which one is a living thing?
  2. 2 Which one is a non-living thing?
  3. 3 What do ALL living things need?
  4. 4 A toy car can move. Is it living?

Try this next

Go on a living-things hunt in a garden or park with a grown-up. Draw 3 living things and 3 non-living things you find.