Mississippi Science L.K.1A.1
The Standard
- L.K.1A
- Students will demonstrate an understanding of living and non-living things.
With teacher guidance, conduct an investigation of living organisms and non-living objects in various real-world environments to define characteristics of living organisms that distinguish them from non-living things (e.g., playground, garden, school grounds).
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Hierarchical Organization
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- With a teacher, children examine plants, animals, and objects outside. They decide what is alive using clues such as growth and the need for water and air.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student identifies a tree as living and a rock as nonliving, then explains that the tree needs water and grows. They do not call a rolling ball alive just because it moves.
Common Misconceptions
- Some children call a plant nonliving because it cannot walk. Others call a moving toy alive, or think a green plastic leaf is living because it looks like a plant.
How to Assess It
- Set a potted plant and a toy car on a table. Ask each child which one is living and to name one clue besides movement.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Walk the school grounds with clipboards; children sketch a living thing and a nonliving object, then share what they noticed.
Ask children to explain why a rolling ball is not living but a still tree is.
Give pairs picture cards of a worm, tree, rock, and bicycle; have them sort the cards and explain each choice.
At dismissal, have children compare a nearby tree with a parked car and explain which grows and which only moves when driven.
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Related Standards
- L.K.3A.1
With teacher guidance, conduct a structured investigation to determine what plants need to live and grow (water, light, and a place to grow). Measure growth by ...
- L.K.1A
Students will demonstrate an understanding of living and non-living things.
- BIO.1A.1
Develop criteria to differentiate between living and non-living things.
- BIO.5
Students will Investigate and evaluate the interdependence of living organisms and their environment.
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