Living things & their habitats
What makes something a living thing — and what does it need to stay alive?
⏱ Whole lesson ≈ 44 min · pick a tier in the bar, or leave on “All”
Whiteboard task as you come in — a look back at Year 5: life cycles & reproduction.
Put the butterfly life cycle in order.
Match the baby to the adult: tadpole → ? lamb → ?
A frog changes shape completely as it grows; a lamb doesn't. Explain why, using the word metamorphosis. Which other animals change shape as they grow up?
Show the pictures. Pupils respond at their tier.
Sort into two piles: alive / not alive.
Sort three ways — alive, not alive, or tricky. Be ready to give one reason for each.
A friend says “the car is alive because it moves.” Are they right? Prove it with two reasons a car cannot be alive.
Teacher models. Watch, then unpack MRS GREN together.
Swap the clip: change the ID after /embed/ (now RpZUCo_rKLc).
Together on the board — pupils supply the evidence, you scribe.
Which MRS GREN jobs can it do? Find at least three as a class.
A tree can't run — so how do we know it's alive? (It grows, and it turns to the light.)
Model the misconception, then what living things need.
Plants grow and bend towards the light — that's movement. Plants are alive!
Big difference: a plant makes its own food from sunlight.
Class vote for each item, then justify with a MRS GREN word.
For each one: alive, not alive, or tricky? And which sign of life is your proof?
🐝 Honeybee · 🪨 Rock · 🍄 Mushroom
🕯️ Candle flame · 🌱 Seed · 🤖 Robot
On your own. Use the Alive Sorter, then write your evidence at your tier.
Tap a specimen to sort it…
Sort into alive / not alive (leave “tricky” out). Then finish:
Sort all three bins. Then write for one living thing:
Sort all three bins, then explain why each “tricky” one is hard to place. Pick the flame or the seed and argue your answer with evidence.
Answer at your tier, then hand it in on the way out.
A cactus lives in a desert with almost no water. Which conditions for life does it still need, and how might it survive with so little water? Explain your thinking.