Look around your classroom. You can see a teacher, students, plants, a blackboard, desks, books, and maybe a bird outside the window.
Some of these things are alive -- they breathe, eat, grow, and move. We call them living things.
Some things are not alive -- they do not breathe, eat, or grow on their own. We call them non-living things.
Living things have special features called characteristics of life:
| Characteristic | What It Means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Breathe | Take in air to stay alive | A cow breathes air through its nose |
| Eat (Need food) | Need food and water for energy | A child eats roti and dal |
| Grow | Increase in size over time | A neem seed grows into a big tree |
| Move | Can move on their own | A dog runs; a plant turns towards sunlight |
| Reproduce | Produce young ones or new plants | A hen lays eggs; a mango tree gives seeds |
| Respond | React to things around them | You pull your hand away from a hot pan |
| Die | Living things do not live forever | Leaves dry up and fall from trees |
Non-living things do not breathe, eat, grow, move on their own, or reproduce. They do not die because they were never alive.
Examples: a stone, a pencil, water, a chair, a book, air.
| Natural Non-Living Things | Man-Made Non-Living Things |
|---|---|
| Found in nature, not made by humans | Made by humans from different materials |
| Water, air, rocks, sand, sunlight, soil | Chair, book, pen, bicycle, building, clothes |
Living: family members, pet dog or cat, tulsi plant in the balcony, ants in the kitchen.
Non-living: television, sofa, cooking pot, water in the tap, fan, clock.
Living: teacher, students, trees in the playground, sparrows on the roof.
Non-living: blackboard, chalk, desk, school bell, school bus, water bottle.
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Living Things | Things that are alive -- they breathe, eat, grow, move, reproduce, respond, and die |
| Non-Living Things | Things that are not alive -- they do not breathe, eat, or grow on their own |
| Natural | Found in nature, not made by people |
| Man-made | Created or built by people |
| Reproduce | To produce young ones or new plants |
| Respond | To react to changes around (like heat, light, sound) |
Nature Walk: Walk around your home or school garden. List 5 living things and 5 non-living things that you observe.
| S.No. | Living Things I Saw | Non-Living Things I Saw |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | ||
| 2. | ||
| 3. | ||
| 4. | ||
| 5. |
For each living thing, write one characteristic you noticed (e.g., "The ant was moving").
1. _______________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________
Want to use this as a worksheet? Switch to the A4 printable view.
Look around your classroom. You can see a teacher, students, plants, a blackboard, desks, books, and maybe a bird outside the window.
Some of these things are alive -- they breathe, eat, grow, and move. We call them living things.
Some things are not alive -- they do not breathe, eat, or grow on their own. We call them non-living things.
Living things have special features called characteristics of life:
| Characteristic | What It Means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Breathe | Take in air to stay alive | A cow breathes air through its nose |
| Eat (Need food) | Need food and water for energy | A child eats roti and dal |
| Grow | Increase in size over time | A neem seed grows into a big tree |
| Move | Can move on their own | A dog runs; a plant turns towards sunlight |
| Reproduce | Produce young ones or new plants | A hen lays eggs; a mango tree gives seeds |
| Respond | React to things around them | You pull your hand away from a hot pan |
| Die | Living things do not live forever | Leaves dry up and fall from trees |
Think: Plants do not walk or run, but they are still living things. They grow, breathe, need water, and make new plants from seeds.
Non-living things do not breathe, eat, grow, move on their own, or reproduce. They do not die because they were never alive.
Examples: a stone, a pencil, water, a chair, a book, air.
| Natural Non-Living Things | Man-Made Non-Living Things |
|---|---|
| Found in nature, not made by humans | Made by humans from different materials |
| Water, air, rocks, sand, sunlight, soil | Chair, book, pen, bicycle, building, clothes |
Living: family members, pet dog or cat, tulsi plant in the balcony, ants in the kitchen.
Non-living: television, sofa, cooking pot, water in the tap, fan, clock.
Living: teacher, students, trees in the playground, sparrows on the roof.
Non-living: blackboard, chalk, desk, school bell, school bus, water bottle.
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Living Things | Things that are alive -- they breathe, eat, grow, move, reproduce, respond, and die |
| Non-Living Things | Things that are not alive -- they do not breathe, eat, or grow on their own |
| Natural | Found in nature, not made by people |
| Man-made | Created or built by people |
| Reproduce | To produce young ones or new plants |
| Respond | To react to changes around (like heat, light, sound) |
A. Fill in the Blanks
B. Write L for Living and N for Non-Living.
C. Multiple Choice Questions
D. Sort the following into the correct group: parrot, table, rose plant, air, fish, school bag, rock, ant
| Living Things | Natural Non-Living | Man-Made Non-Living |
|---|---|---|
E. Answer in one sentence.
Nature Walk: Walk around your home or school garden. List 5 living things and 5 non-living things that you observe.
| S.No. | Living Things I Saw | Non-Living Things I Saw |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | ||
| 2. | ||
| 3. | ||
| 4. | ||
| 5. |
For each living thing, write one characteristic you noticed (e.g., "The ant was moving").
1. _______________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________