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Living and Nonliving Things Worksheets

5 free PDFsUS Letter or A4Answer key includedNo login

A picture sort, a cut and paste sort, an is it living checklist, a read-aloud page on what makes something living and a drawing page.

Download the living and nonliving worksheets

Living or nonliving sorts

Sort with numbers or cut and paste.

What makes something living?

A checklist and a read-aloud page with picture questions.

Draw living and nonliving things

One box for each.

Print at 100% (actual size) for the cleanest tracing lines.

About these living and nonliving worksheets

Living things grow, need food and water, breathe, and change. They also make more living things like themselves. Nonliving things, like rocks, cars and chairs, do none of these.

These living and nonliving things worksheets give children several ways to practice: sort pictures by writing numbers, cut and paste pictures under living or nonliving, and use a simple checklist (does it grow? does it eat or drink? does it breathe?) to decide.

A read-aloud page explains what makes something living in plain words, and a drawing page lets children show one living and one nonliving thing. Plants and people count as living things, too.

Standards

  • NGSS K-LS1-1Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive.
  • CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.MD.B.3Classify objects into given categories; count the numbers of objects in each category and sort the categories by count.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.5.ASort common objects into categories (e.g., shapes, foods) to gain a sense of the concepts the categories represent.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.1With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.2Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not understood.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.2Use 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.

How to use them

  1. Read the what makes something living page first and talk about the clues: grows, eats and drinks, breathes.
  2. Use the checklist page to test a few pictures one question at a time.
  3. Practice with the sort and the cut and paste page. Answer keys are on page 2.
  4. Go on a living and nonliving hunt around the house, classroom or yard.
  5. Finish with the drawing page.

Teaching tips

  • Plants are living even though they do not walk: they grow, take in water and air, and make seeds.
  • Things that move are not always living. A car moves, but it does not grow or eat.
  • Things that were once alive, like a fallen leaf or wood, can be tricky. These pages stick to clear examples.
  • Ask, "Does it grow? Does it need food? Does it breathe?" Three yeses mean it is living.

Questions teachers and parents ask

What is the difference between living and nonliving things?

Living things grow, need food and water, breathe and make more of their own kind. Nonliving things do not.

Are plants living things?

Yes. Plants grow, take in water and air, use sunlight to make food, and make seeds.

Is water living or nonliving?

Water is nonliving. All living things need it, but water itself does not grow, eat or breathe.

Do these worksheets have answer keys?

Yes. The sort, cut and paste, checklist and read-aloud pages have an answer key on page 2.