ALEX Resources

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (3) 5 :

5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

In this simplistic, introductory lesson in Life Science, students will converse with peers to prepare a list of seven common characteristics in organisms after determining if pictured items are living or nonliving. Students will use background knowledge and pictures to identify patterns that represent all living organisms. After watching a short video, students will separate living and nonliving things by coloring or drawing an outdoor environment.  Students will answer this question: Is George Washington Living, Nonliving, or Dead? as an Exit Ticket.

This lesson results from collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (3) 5 :

5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

[ELA2021] (3) -1 :

R5. Utilize a writing process to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish writings in various genres.

[DLIT] (3) 6 :

R6) Produce, review, and revise authentic artifacts that include multimedia using appropriate digital tools.

[DLIT] (3) 19 :

13) Communicate key ideas and details collaboratively in a way that informs, persuades, and/or entertains, using digital tools.

Example: Create a digital presentation to persuade school administrators to allow additional time for lunch.

Students will use Google Drawings to create an infographic describing why an organism is classified as a living thing. 

This learning activity was created as a result of the Girls Engaged in Math and Science University, GEMS-U Project.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (3) 5 :

5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

[SC2015] (3) 11 :

11 ) Construct an argument from evidence to explain the likelihood of an organism's ability to survive when compared to the resources in a certain habitat (e.g., freshwater organisms survive well, less well, or not at all in saltwater; desert organisms survive well, less well, or not at all in woodlands).

a. Construct explanations that forming groups helps some organisms survive.

b. Create models that illustrate how organisms and their habitats make up a system in which the parts depend on each other.

c. Categorize resources in various habitats as basic materials (e.g., sunlight, air, freshwater, soil), produced materials (e.g., food, fuel, shelter), or as nonmaterial (e.g., safety, instinct, nature-learned behaviors).

In this lesson, students think about what might happen to plants and animals if their environment changed and they were faced with conditions to which they were not well adapted. First, students read The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne Cherry. Then they watch a video about camouflage and learn that praying mantises are well suited for life in the rain forest. Next, students play a predator/prey game to simulate what might happen to the praying mantis if the rain forest were cut down. Finally, they use a Web activity to explore what would happen to living things if the concentration of oxygen in the air changed.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (3) 5 :

5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

In this lesson, students explore how plants are well adapted to their surroundings. First, a class discussion brings out that plants need a source of chemical energy, substances to build plant material, and water to survive. Students watch a series of short time-lapse videos in which they see how plants respond to their environment. Next, they view a video about plants living in the desert and identify ways in which plants are adapted to their surroundings. Finally, students extend their understanding by considering why some plants have evolved to get nutrients and energy from insects.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (3) 5 :

5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

[SC2015] (3) 6 :

6 ) Create representations to explain the unique and diverse life cycles of organisms other than humans (e.g., flowering plants, frogs, butterflies), including commonalities such as birth, growth, reproduction, and death.

Players take on the role of bilbies, rabbit-sized Australian marsupials, as they race through the landscape looking for food and avoiding predators—and trying not to run into rocks—in this interactive game from PLUM LANDING™. They also learn about the bilby’s life cycle and the plants and animals that share its ecosystem.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (3) 5 :

5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

[ELA2021] (3) 26 :

26. Use text comparisons (text to text, text to self, and text to world) to make meaning.

a. Use prior knowledge to determine similarities between texts they are reading and texts they have previously read.

b. Compare different versions of the same story.

Dive in and explore the wet and wonderful world of our friends, the manatees. Practice reading and learning like a scientist reads and learns. Have fun comparing and contrasting text and visual media, and read some very happy news about manatees.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (3) 5 :

5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

[SC2015] (3) 11 :

11 ) Construct an argument from evidence to explain the likelihood of an organism's ability to survive when compared to the resources in a certain habitat (e.g., freshwater organisms survive well, less well, or not at all in saltwater; desert organisms survive well, less well, or not at all in woodlands).

a. Construct explanations that forming groups helps some organisms survive.

b. Create models that illustrate how organisms and their habitats make up a system in which the parts depend on each other.

c. Categorize resources in various habitats as basic materials (e.g., sunlight, air, freshwater, soil), produced materials (e.g., food, fuel, shelter), or as nonmaterial (e.g., safety, instinct, nature-learned behaviors).

Players identify and remove invasive species from ecosystems around the world, in this interactive game from PLUM LANDING™. They must act quickly before the invasive species use up all the resources.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (3) 5 :

5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

Players are challenged to investigate a city neighborhood and explore relationships among living and non-living things in this interactive game from PLUM LANDING. Plum provides short prompts that encourage students to find animals and plants, consider how they meet their needs in a city environment, and discover connections among living and non-living things.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (3) 5 :

5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

Creature Power! Collaborate with Aviva to design power suits by deciding what types of animal features are best for certain environments.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (2) 7 :

7 ) Obtain information from literature and other media to illustrate that there are many different kinds of living things and that they exist in different places on land and in water (e.g., woodland, tundra, desert, rainforest, ocean, river).

[SC2015] (3) 5 :

5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

Learn how beavers are nature’s amazing engineers. This self-paced lesson is full of beautiful beaver videos, awesome fact-filled infographics, and all you can soak in about beavers, beaver dams, and beaver lodges.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (3) 5 :

5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

Invertebrates do not have backbones or vertebrae. Examples include jellyfish, sponges, worms, clams, snails, and octopuses. 

This resource presents a short slideshow about different invertebrates and their characteristics. The slideshow could be used to introduce students to the classification of organisms as living things, even if the organism does not have a skeleton! After utilizing this resource, the students can complete the short test to assess their understanding.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (3) 5 :

5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

Vertebrates have backbones that support their bodies and protect their inner organs. There are five main groups of vertebrates: fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

This resource presents a short slideshow about different vertebrates and their characteristics. The slideshow could be used to introduce students to the classification of organisms as living things that possess different characteristics. After utilizing this resource, the students can complete the short test to assess their understanding.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (3) 5 :

5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

Arthropods make up 75% of invertebrates. Arthropods have several qualities in common: jointed legs, bodies divided into sections, and an exoskeleton, or shell. Some of the arthropods you might know are lobsters, millipedes, spiders, ants, and butterflies.

This resource presents a short slideshow about different invertebrates and their characteristics. The slideshow could be used to introduce students to the classification of organisms as living things, even if the organism does not have a skeleton! After utilizing this resource, the students can complete the short test to assess their understanding.

   View Standards     Standard(s): [SC2015] (3) 5 :

5 ) Obtain and combine information to describe that organisms are classified as living things, rather than nonliving things, based on their ability to obtain and use resources, grow, reproduce, and maintain stable internal conditions while living in a constantly changing external environment.

Scientists group organisms, or living things, with similar traits together. Kingdoms are the largest group, and there are five of them: plant, animal, fungus, protist, and bacteria. Grouping organisms into kingdoms helps scientists understand similarities among living things.

The classroom resource provides a video that will describe the classification of living things. In addition, there is a sing-along video where students can perform karaoke-style. Lyrics for the karaoke song are available to be printed. After utilizing these two resources, the students can complete the short test to assess their understanding.