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Link: Living vs. Nonliving | PBS LearningMedia
Grade Level: Second Grade
Core Standards:
3-LS1.B.1

Reproduction is essential to the continued existence of every kind of organism. Plants and animals have unique and diverse life cycles.

K-ESS3.A.1

Living things need water, air, and resources from the land, and they live in places that have the things they need. Humans use natural resources for everything they do.

K-LS1.C.1

All animals need food in order to live and grow. They obtain their food from plants or from other animals. Plants need water and light to live and grow.

2-LS2.A.3

Plants depend on water and light to grow.

1-LS1.B.2

Adult plants and animals can have young. In many kinds of animals, parents and the offspring themselves engage in behaviors that help the offspring to survive.

Benchmark Standards:
5C/P2

By the end of second grade, students should know that: Most living things need water, food, and air.

5E/P1

By the end of second grade, students should know that: Plants and animals both need to take in water, and animals need to take in food. In addition, plants need light.

8A/P1bc

By the end of second grade, students should know that: To grow well, plants need enough warmth, light, and water. Crops must be protected from weeds and pests.

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Example:
"Have students view examples of living and nonliving things from the Is It Alive? video and the Living and Nonliving stills collage."
Analysis:
The use of technology in this way is at the basic level of technological use which is when "the educator uses technology to present content or has students use technological tools designed to engage their interest" (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018). Incorporating these videos helps children understand and internalize the content. This is good for visual learners and provides another perspective and explanation of information.

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Example:
"6. Have students reflect on their findings by discussing the following questions:

What characteristics did ALL of the living things have in common?

Did any nonliving things possess some of the same characteristics as living things? Which ones?

How were the living things different from the nonliving things?"

Analysis:
This task relates to metacognition due to its focus on the students reflecting on their own answers and way of thinking. They are thinking about how and why they classified each living or non-living thing and whether they meet the requirements for each category. In addition, applying these reflection questions to their previous thinking allows them to make connections between similarities and differences between the two categories. This process can be described as self- explanation because the student is explaining and reflecting on why they chose the process or answer. How People Learn 2 states that " Self-explanation is a strategy in which learners produce explanations of material or of their thought processes while they are reading, answering questions, or solving problems..." (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018). This helps students understand the content and help students analyze how they think and strategies they can use when using classification skills.

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Example:
"You might want to choose one example and model the process of scientific inquiry for students. Ask questions (Does this example reproduce? Does it grow?), make observations (The river is definitely moving.), and carefully record the results. Point out the importance of thinking like a scientist.

As students explore the examples, they may discover other characteristics of life they hadn't thought of earlier. Encourage them to add these characteristics to the chart."

Analysis:
Using scientific inquiry skills to apply to classifying living and nonliving things uses both lower and higher order thinking portrayed in Blooms Taxonomy. The students must use prior information in order to complete this activity, the article  Bloom's Taxonomy Blooms Digitally states that, "You can not understand a concept if you do not first remember it, similarly you can not apply knowledge and concepts if you do not understand them. It is a continuum from Lower Order Thinking Skills (LOTS) to Higher Order Thinking Skills" (Churches, 2008).
In order to establish the difference between living and nonliving, the student needs to use the skill "remembering" to be able to identify the characteristics of the two components talked about previously in class. Then they would use the level of "understanding" in order to process the information and be able to classify them into the two groups. Next would be "analyzing" because the students would be comparing similarities and carefully observing the object to make a decision. Last would be creating because students are encouraged to create and incorporate their own characteristic into the list that were not talked about in class.

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Example:
"Have them classify each example as living or nonliving and record the name of the object or organism under the appropriate heading on the handout. Then have students indicate which characteristics of life each example exhibits by putting a check in the appropriate column."

Analysis:
Incorporating collaborative work with other students allows them to participate in what's called "learning as a social activity". The benefit of social learning is " that cognitive growth happens because of social interactions in which children and their more advanced peers or adults work jointly to solve problems" (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018). Working together can provide students the opportunity to help each other and enhance their understandings of the materials.

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To enhance this lesson plan, the inclusion of hands-on activities and an alternative to writing could be used to solidify the concepts. This can be done by using art concepts. This can be done by drawing pictures or creating a model containing labeled living and non-living things. Also, this would be an opportunity to use the second level of integrated technology which is using technology to create. This can be done by creating a PowerPoint, voice thread, or a video presentation.

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In order to apply this to the natural world around them, the students could take a trip to a park or go outside to their playground. During this time students can identify and either write or draw living and nonliving things they see in their environment. This can adhere to the different types of learning styles. This will meet their needs and grasp their attention in order to help them understand the content.