Living and Nonliving Things

Dear Parents,

We are learning about living and nonliving things in science. The characteristics of living things are that they:

1. grow.
2. breathe.
3. reproduce.
4. respond to stimuli.
5. have basic needs such as nourishment.

Being able to identify characteristics of living and nonliving things as well as distinguish between living and nonliving are part of the second grade Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

I have put together some websites that you and your child can visit to learn more about living and nonliving things. They are filled with activities that you and your child can do together.


http://www.scaquarium.org/curriculum/activities/k_two/liv_nonliv/forest1.htm

At this website, your child can choose different habitats and click on the items and it will tell them if an item is living or nonliving. It also gives them characteristics of why it is or isn't living. This is something fun you can sit with your child and talk about the different items. You can extend beyond what the website offers by asking your child questions about other items around the house.



http://www.funology.com/games/detail.cfm?go=80&type=games

This website has instructions for fun games. This particular one is called Alphabet Animals. It is a game to be played with two or more people. It can be modified to practice naming living or non living things. It is a fun way to learn with your children. If they get one wrong, you can have a discussion with your child why they think that and explain to them why that is not correct.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/kids/bookmarkfactory/

This website is through National Geographic for kids. This is a bookmark activity. Bookmarks can be used in reading and they can type in words for the bookmarks so this activity integrates other subjects also. The objects that can be put on the bookmark are a mixture of living and nonliving things. I don't think this activity was originally geared towards living and nonliving, but I can easily see how this can be a fun activity to reinforce this concept by making bookmarks about living and nonliving items.

I hope you enjoy these activities with your child. Let me hear from you. I would love to hear about what you and your child did together.