Texas TEKS 1.12.A

Science1st GradeOrganisms and environments

The Standard

classify living and nonliving things based upon whether they have basic needs and produce young

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students sort familiar plants, animals, and objects into living and nonliving groups. They use evidence about needs and making more of the same kind to explain each choice.
What Mastery Looks Like: A student correctly sorts familiar plants, animals, and objects. For each living example, the student names a need and explains that its kind can make new organisms. The student explains that nonliving things cannot do these things.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think anything that moves is alive, so they group cars and robots with animals. They may call plants nonliving because plants do not walk. They may also call fire living because it grows and uses fuel.
How to Assess It: Show pictures of a puppy, oak tree, bird, rock, toy car, and spoon. Students circle the living things, then explain one choice by naming a need and whether it makes more of its kind.

Lesson moves

Sort a potted plant, rock, toy car, spoon, dog card, and bird card into two groups using evidence about needs, babies, and seeds.
Ask: Is a bean plant alive even though it cannot walk? Students write a claim using water, light, and seeds as evidence.
Play Living or Nonliving Relay: teams place picture cards under two headings, then earn a point only after giving evidence.
Walk around the schoolyard and record three living and three nonliving examples, including the evidence used to classify each one.

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