Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v5 - Grade 4

Lesson Video

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Performance objectives

• Define living and non-living things with examples.
• Identify living and non-living things around you.
• Describe the characteristics of living things.
• Explain how living things depend on non-living things.
• Explain how living things reproduce.

Lesson summary

This week, we're exploring the fascinating world around us and learning to tell the difference between things that are alive (living things) and things that are not alive (non-living things). Understanding this difference is important because it helps us understand how the environment works, how we interact with it, and how to take care of the planet we call home, especially in our diverse South African ecosystems. Imagine walking through the Kruger National Park – you'll see living things like elephants, trees, and grasses, but also non-living things like rocks, water, and the soil. Recognizing the difference helps us understand the relationship between these things.

Lesson notes

What are Living Things? Living things are organisms that are alive and have certain characteristics that separate them from non-living things.

These characteristics include: Movement: Living things can move, either the whole organism or parts of it. A cheetah running across the savanna is an obvious example, but even a plant turning its leaves towards the sun shows movement.

Respiration (Breathing): Living things take in oxygen (or other gases) and release carbon dioxide (or other gases) to get energy. We breathe in the air around us to live. Plants also respire, although they also do photosynthesis (which we'll talk about later).

Sensitivity: Living things can sense and respond to changes in their surroundings (stimuli). For example, you feel pain if you touch a hot stove and quickly pull your hand away. A mimosa plant closes its leaves when touched.

Growth: Living things increase in size and complexity over time. A seed grows into a tree, and a baby grows into an adult.

Reproduction: Living things can produce offspring, which are new individuals of the same kind. Humans have babies, dogs have puppies, and plants produce seeds.

Excretion: Living things get rid of waste products from their bodies. Humans sweat and urinate, while plants get rid of waste through their leaves.

Nutrition (Feeding): Living things need food or nutrients to get energy. Humans eat food, animals eat other animals or plants, and plants make their own food through photosynthesis. What are Non-Living Things? Non-living things are things that do not have the characteristics of living things. They don't breathe, grow, move on their own, or reproduce. Examples include rocks, water, air, soil, and sunlight.

Photosynthesis: Photosynthesis is the process by which plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to create their own food (sugar) and oxygen. This is a very important process, as it is how plants get their nutrition, and it also produces the oxygen we breathe. How Living Things Depend on Non-Living Things: Living things rely on non-living things for their survival.

Here are some examples: Water: All living things need water to survive. We drink it, plants absorb it through their roots, and animals use it for various bodily functions.

Air: We need air to breathe. Plants need carbon dioxide from the air for photosynthesis.

Sunlight: Plants need sunlight for photosynthesis. Animals need sunlight for vitamin D production.

Soil: Plants grow in the soil and absorb nutrients from it. Animals depend on plants for food, so they indirectly depend on the soil as well.

Rocks: Provide minerals that enrich the soil.

Examples: A dog: Living thing. Moves, breathes, eats, grows, reproduces, is sensitive, and excretes.

A rock: Non-living thing. Does not move on its own, breathe, eat, grow, or reproduce.

A tree: Living thing. Moves (e.g., leaves turning to the sun, roots growing), breathes (takes in carbon dioxide, releases oxygen), feeds (photosynthesis), grows, reproduces (seeds), is sensitive (to sunlight), and excretes.

Water: Non-living thing. Does not move on its own, breathe, eat, grow, or reproduce.

A river: non-living. The water in the river does not grow, reproduce etc.

However, a river also contains living things, such as fish, plants, and insects. Guided Practice (With Solutions)

Question 1: Is a bicycle a living or non-living thing? Explain your answer.

Solution: A bicycle is a non-living thing. It cannot move on its own (needs a person to pedal), it does not breathe, it does not eat, it does not grow, and it does not reproduce. It is made by people and cannot perform any of the functions of a living organism.

Question 2: List three things in your classroom and classify them as living or non-living.

Solution: Living: (Assuming there is a plant) A plant in a pot. It grows, respires, and responds to light.

Non-Living: A desk. It does not breathe, eat, grow or reproduce.

Non-Living: A pencil. It does not breathe, eat, grow or reproduce.

Question 3: Give one example of how a living thing depends on a non-living thing for its survival.

Solution: A fish depends on water to swim and breathe. Water provides the environment it needs to survive.

Question 4: A seed is small. A seed grows into a big tree. Which characteristic of living things does this show?

Solution: This shows that living things grow. Independent Practice (Questions Only) What are the seven characteristics of living things? Is fire a living thing? Explain your answer. Name three living things you might find in a garden. Name three non-living things you might find on a beach. How does a plant get its food? Explain the process. Explain why a car is not a living thing, even though it can move. Give an example of how you depend on non-living things every day. Think about an animal found in South Africa, like a lion. List three things the lion needs from its environment (living or non-living) to survive.

True or False: All living things need to eat food. Explain your answer.