Living and Nonliving Things, Kindergarten Lesson Plan: Draw About It!

Grade Level: Kindergarten

In this lesson plan, kindergartners use BrainPOP Jr. resources to learn the differences between living and nonliving things. They also explore similarities among all living things, such as their need for energy to survive, and ways they differ, like how they adapt to their environments. Then students apply their understanding by drawing an on- or offline picture of something they see every day and identifying it as living or nonliving.

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Lesson Plan Next Generation Science Standards Alignments

Students will:

  1. Build background knowledge: Watch the BrainPOP Jr. Living and Nonliving movie.
  2. Think and Do: Draw an on- or offline picture expressing their understanding of living and nonliving things.
  3. Complete an Assessment: Take the EASY Quiz to show what they learned.

Materials:

  • Internet access for BrainPOP Jr.
  • Construction paper and markers (offline option)

Preparation:

  *If using this lesson for distance learning, setup for video conferencing, such as Zoom, Google Meet, etc. Create and send an invitation with a link.

Lesson Procedure:

  1. Tap students’ prior knowledge. Ask them to tell you something that is living and something that is not living. Or you can give examples and ask if each is living or nonliving and how they know: Is a dog living? How do you know? Is a chair living? How do you know? Is a tree living? How do you know? 
  2. Watch the BrainPOP Jr. movie Living and Nonliving Things. Click the pause button each time a question appears in Annie’s Notebook and answer it. Then play to see how Annie answers it. 

    TIP: the pause button turns red to remind you to pause.  

    Offline Option: Print out the transcript and Annie’s Notebook for a grown-up to read aloud at home. Suggest that the child play Moby and “Beep” in response to Annie. 
  3. Instruct students to open their Draw About It assignment. Or, if you are not using the Assignment Builder, show how to open Draw About It.  
  4. Read aloud the prompt: Draw a picture of something you see every day. Then have a partner explain if it’s a living or nonliving thing. Direct students to click the Start arrow. When they finish their drawings, remind them to click the Submit To Teacher button and/or print out their picture.

    Offline Option: Students draw their pictures on paper with markers or crayons.
  5. Have students open their Quiz assignment. Or, if you are not using the Assignment Builder, show how to open the Easy Quiz.
  6. Hover over the questions and answers to hear them read aloud. If you assigned the quiz, you will see students’ results in your Dashboard. If not assigned, remind students to click the Submit to Teacher button.

    Offline Option: Print out the Easy Quiz for students by clicking the print icon.   Read aloud each question and answer options, repeating as needed. 
Filed as:  CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.K.4, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.K.5c, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.K.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.K.5, K-ESS3-1, K-LS1-1, Kindergarten, Lesson Plan, Living and Nonliving Things, Teacher Resources