LIFE SCIENCE FOR

KINDERGARTEN

Is it Alive?


1.
2.
3.

Unit Overview
Standards,
Misconceptions
Goals

. Lesson

Plans

Standards addressed by this unit

SCIENCE STANDARDS:

INTEGRATED STANDARDS:

SKL1a. Recognize the difference between living

organisms and non-living materials
SKCS5d: Students will communicate scientific ideas and
activities clearly. Begin to draw pictures that portray
features of things being described.

SKCS6. Students will understand the important features

of the process of scientific inquiry. Students will apply
the following to inquiry learning practices:
a. In doing science, it is often helpful to work with a
team and to share findings with others.

W.K.2 Use a combination of drawing, dictating and

writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in
which they name what they are writing about and
supply some information about the topic.
RF.K.3a Know and apply grade-level phonics and word
analysis skills in decoding words.

Literary connectionand engage

Misconception:

That seeds are not alive

Proper conceptions:

A living thing such as a seed or a pupa can

appear dormant but still be considered living.
Things that live can become non-living without
certain things.
Some things like rocks are never living.

Unit
1. Students will identify if something is living and
explain why
2. Students will identify if something is nonliving
and explain why
3. Students will communicate their findings
verbally and through drawing and writing.
4. Students will understand that trees provide clean
air for living things
5. Students understanding will be evaluated and
students will evaluate themselves.

The
1.Everything can be classified
as living or non-living.
2. Items both living and nonliving can be classified by
observable physical
attributes.

Lessons to address
misconception:

Students will understand meaning of living and

nonliving (lesson 1, 2 and 3 as needed)
Students will observe and learn about seeds and
a chrysalis (lesson 2)
Students will plant seeds in garden and observe
over the course of the next few months; students
will observe chrysalis over next few days and
observe that a butterfly emerges. (lesson 2 and
beyond)

Lesson Plan Summary

Day One:
Title: Living or Nonliving?
Lesson Objective: Students will take preassessment for living and nonliving, students will
learn attributes of living things and create an
anchor chart; students will decode words from text
by using point and slide strategy. (please see full
lesson plan posted under Life Sciences Unit on
Schoology)

Lesson Plan Summary

Day Two:
Title: Is it Living?
Lesson Objective: Students will explore living
things and explain if and why they are living things.
Students will understand that a seed and a
chrysalis are living. (please see full lesson plan
posted under Life Sciences Unit on Schoology)

Lesson Plan Summary

Day Three:
Title: It is Nonliving
Lesson Objective: Students will explore nonliving things
and draw conclusions. Students will explain why the artifacts
that they are observing are nonliving.
(please see full lesson plan posted under Life Sciences Unit on
Schoology)

Lesson Plan Summary

Day Four:
Find Something Alive!
Lesson Objective: Students will research to find one living
organism. Students will explain why the organism they found
is living.
(please see full lesson plan posted under Life Sciences Unit
on Schoology)

Lesson Plan Summary

Day Five:
Explore and Explain
Lesson Objectives:
1. Students will explore garden and draw a living thing and a
nonliving thing. Students will label their drawings by
sounding out words and writing phonetically Students will
verbalize how they know that something is living or nonliving;
OR students will sort pictures of living and nonliving things on
a T-chart; students will understand that trees provide clean air
for living things and that it is important to plant and protect
trees.
2.Summative assessment: Teacher will evaluate students
using rubric

Assessment:
1.

Formative observation during discussions (day 2,3,4)

2.

Formative observation during journal writing activity and

probes during whole group lessons (days 2, 3 and 4)

3.

Summative Using T-Chart or journal, students will identify, draw

and label a living and a nonliving thing. Students will explain
how they know if something is living or nonliving. Teacher will
evaluate students individually by journal entries or by T-chart.

Living/Nonliving Rubric - reach for the stars!!

Not yet
I can point
something
living
I can point
something
nonliving

to
that is

to
that is

Meets

I can draw and label

something living
AND nonliving and/or
identify and explain
why something is
living or nonliving
I can explain the
attributes of living
things using the clip
art as a guide
OR I can sort
pictures on a T-chart
into living and
nonliving with
100% accuracy

Exceeds
I can draw and label
something living
AND nonliving AND
identify and explain
why something is
living or nonliving
I can explain the
attributes of living
things without clip
art

Integrated with other subjects areas:

1. Standard: W.K.2 Drawing, dictating and writing to compose
informative/explanatory texts. - journal writing activity
2. Standard: RF.K.3a Know and apply grade level phonics to decode
words read selected words from text by using point and slide
strategy to sound out

Global issue addressed:

Deforestation. Students will
understand that trees provide
clean air for living things and
that trees need to be planted
and protected

One Touch of Nature Makes

the Whole World Kin
William Shakespeare

Resources/Credits: The UGA Extension; Georgia Science

(Harcourt); Big Book of Science Songs and Rhymes (Harcourt)