Alive, never alive, once alive, made

Classify each object after testing seven key criteria (and observe its shared traits in upper primary).

You'll classify 8 objects into 2 categories. For each one, check the investigation criteria before deciding.

Learning objectives

Grade 1
- Tell apart what is alive from what is not.
- Use observable criteria (breathes, grows, feeds itself).
Grade 2
- Add the "once alive" category (log, seashell, feather…).
- Understand that an object can come from a living thing without being alive.
Grade 3
- Tell apart a 4th category: objects made by humans.
- Anchor the seven key criteria of life to justify the classification.
Grade 4
- Read shared traits (backbone, fur, feathers, scales, bare skin) on each living thing.
- Group living things by shared traits: the modern classification of life.
Grade 5
- Go deeper: mammals are defined by fur and nursing, amphibians by bare skin.
- Tell apart superficial resemblance and shared inherited trait.

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