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Living vs Non-Living Things Cheat Sheet
A printable reference covering living things, non-living things, needs, growth, movement, and sorting examples for grades K-1.
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This cheat sheet helps young students tell the difference between living and non-living things. Kindergarten students see plants, animals, toys, rocks, and classroom objects every day, so they need simple rules for sorting them. The sheet uses clear examples and kid-friendly language to support science observation and discussion. Living things have needs, grow, and can make more living things like themselves. Animals and plants are living things, even though they do not move in the same way. Non-living things do not need food, water, or air, and they do not grow on their own. A helpful rule is: if it was never alive, does not grow, and has no needs, it is non-living.
Key Facts
- A living thing needs food or nutrients, water, and air to live.
- A living thing grows and changes during its life.
- Animals are living things because they need food, water, and air.
- Plants are living things because they need water, air, light, and nutrients.
- A non-living thing does not need food, water, or air to stay alive.
- A toy car can move when pushed, but it is non-living because it does not grow or have needs.
- A rock is non-living because it does not eat, breathe, grow, or make more rocks.
- A dead leaf came from a living plant, but it is not living now.
Vocabulary
- Living thing
- A living thing is something that needs resources, grows, and can change during its life.
- Non-living thing
- A non-living thing is something that does not need food, water, or air and does not grow on its own.
- Needs
- Needs are things a living thing must have to stay alive, such as water, air, food, or light.
- Grow
- To grow means to get bigger or change as part of being alive.
- Plant
- A plant is a living thing that usually needs water, air, light, and nutrients to live.
- Animal
- An animal is a living thing that needs food, water, and air and can respond to the world around it.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Calling anything that moves living is wrong because some non-living things move when people, wind, or machines make them move.
- Thinking plants are non-living is wrong because plants need water, air, light, and nutrients, and they grow.
- Calling a toy animal living is wrong because it may look like an animal, but it does not eat, breathe, or grow.
- Thinking big things are living and small things are non-living is wrong because size does not decide if something is alive.
- Forgetting that dead things were once alive can be confusing because a dead leaf is not living now, but it came from a living plant.
Practice Questions
- 1 Look at 3 things: a dog, a rock, and a pencil. How many are living things?
- 2 Sort these 5 items into living and non-living groups: tree, chair, bird, ball, flower. How many are living things?
- 3 Circle the living things: fish, book, grass, shoe, ant.
- 4 A toy robot walks and makes sounds. Explain why it is non-living.