Popular searches in the last week:

2024, 2025, 2026, dinosaurs, rainforest, english, fables, vikings, life cycles, persuasive writing

Dead or alive!

Science Year 2
This unit is part of Year 2 Science Habitats

Download all files

Objectives

Look at a live spider, a dead spider and a toy spider. What are some of the differences between the live spider and the dead one? And the dead spider and the toy one? How can we work out what's alive and not alive? Is it sometimes difficult to tell? Armed with all these questions, go outside and collect something alive, something dead and something that was never alive. Sort these specimens into three categories.

Science Objectives
i) Explore/compare the differences between things that are living, dead, and things that have never been alive.

ii) Identify that most living things live in habitats to which they are suited and describe how different habitats provide for the basic needs of different kinds of animals and plants, and how they depend on each other.

Working Scientifically

  1. Ask simple questions and recognise that they can be answered in different ways.
  2. Observe closely, using simple equipment.
  3. Identify and classify.
  4. Use their observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions.

You Will Need

Provided Resources

  • Looking for living and dead things resource

Additional Resources

  • Fairy lights
  • Clear plastic lidded container boxes
  • Overhead projector
  • Dead spiders and toy spiders
  • Magnifying glasses and microscopes
  • Cameras
  • Torches
  • Sketch books and pencils
  • Paint brushes
  • Freezer bags
  • Collecting pots

Weblinks
BBC Bitesize Dead or Alive: Is it Alive? from www.bbc.co.uk
Minuscule. Vol 4, episode 1 from www.YouTube.com

Lesson Planning

Teaching

  • Explore outside, and through observation, the differences between things that are living, dead, and have never been alive.
  • Discuss the features of those things that are living, dead and have never been alive.
  • Find, classify and label specimens into categories.
  • Engage in further discussion and thought around these questions: A robot can move, so why is it not alive? If a robot magically came to life, how could we test to make sure this were true?

Activities

  1. Understand the differences between things that are living, dead, and things that have never been alive.
  2. Understand the key features of things that are living, as opposed to dead.
  3. Be able to categorise specimens according to their features.

Investigation - exploring, sorting, classifying and identifying, problem solving
Explore outside, and through observation, the differences between things that are living, dead, and things that have never been alive.
Find specimens and explain how they know they are alive or otherwise.

Vocabulary
Living, dead, never been alive, categories, classification, needs air, feeds, grows, reproduces, gets rid of waste.

Log in or sign up to get access to this resource

School Subscription

Reduce teacher workload

From £155 (+ VAT) per year. Access to all key stages for multiple users.

Sign up

Individual Subscription

For inspirational teaching

Just £45 (£37.50 + VAT) per year to get access to all resources.

Sign up

Early Career Teacher

Develop your teaching

Just £33 (£27.50 + VAT) to get access to all resources for 2 years.

Sign up

Taster Account

100s of resources

Register to access all free resources.

Sign up

Already subscribed?

Log in to get access.