Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v5 - Grade 4

Lesson Video

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Performance objectives

• Tell the difference between living and non-living things.
• List the basic needs of living things.
• Describe how living and non-living things interact.
• Sort objects as either living or non-living and explain why.
• Explain why non-living things are important for survival.

Lesson summary

This week, we're going to continue exploring the exciting world of living and non-living things. Understanding the differences between living and non-living things is important because it helps us appreciate the environment around us. It allows us to understand how plants grow and provide us with food, how animals interact with each other and with us, and how we depend on non-living resources like water, soil, and sunlight. Here in South Africa, understanding these relationships helps us to manage our resources sustainably and protect our unique biodiversity.

Lesson notes

What are Living Things? Living things are things that are alive! They share certain characteristics that distinguish them from non-living things.

The most important characteristics are: Movement: Living things can move, although the way they move varies. Animals like zebras and lions can run, birds can fly, and even plants move (though more slowly), for example, a sunflower turns its head to face the sun.

Respiration: Living things need air to breathe. They take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide. This process is called respiration.

Sensitivity: Living things can sense and respond to changes in their environment. For example, if you touch a hot plate (ouch!), you quickly pull your hand away. Plants can also sense light and grow towards it.

Growth: Living things grow bigger and develop over time. A tiny seed grows into a large tree, and a baby grows into an adult.

Reproduction: Living things can make more of their own kind. A hen lays eggs that hatch into chicks. Plants produce seeds that grow into new plants.

Excretion: Living things get rid of waste products. We sweat, animals urinate, and plants release gases through their leaves.

Nutrition: Living things need food (or energy) to survive. Animals eat plants or other animals. Plants make their own food using sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide through a process called photosynthesis. What are Non-Living Things? Non-living things are things that are not alive. They do not possess all the characteristics of living things. Examples of non-living things include rocks, water, air, soil, sunlight, buildings, and cars. They do not grow. They do not reproduce. They do not need food or water. They do not breathe. They generally do not move on their own (unless acted upon by an external force). Examples of Living and Non-Living Things in South Africa: Living: Lions, elephants, protea flowers, baobab trees, fish in the ocean, people.

Non-Living: The Drakensberg mountains, the sand in the Kalahari Desert, the water in the Vaal River, the air we breathe, the bricks used to build a house, a car, a table.

How Living and Non-Living Things Interact: Living things depend on non-living things for survival.

Here are some examples: Plants need sunlight (non-living) to make food. They also need water (non-living) and nutrients from the soil (non-living). Animals need air (non-living) to breathe and water (non-living) to drink. Many animals need soil (non-living) to build their homes or find food. Humans need water (non-living) to drink, air (non-living) to breathe, and soil (non-living) to grow food. We also use non-living resources like rocks and minerals to build houses and make tools.

Worked example

Example 1: Consider a succulent plant growing in a pot on a windowsill in Cape Town. List 3 living and 3 non-living things that are interacting.

Living: Succulent plant, perhaps small insects living in the soil, the person who waters the plant.

Non-Living: Pot, soil, sunlight.

The succulent plant uses sunlight (non-living) to make food. The soil (non-living) provides the plant with nutrients and support. The plant uses the water (non-living) provided by the person.

Example 2: Imagine a group of penguins on the beach in Boulders Beach. Identify a few ways the penguins interact with non-living components of their environment.

Penguins interacting with the sand (non-living): Penguins walk, rest, and sometimes build nests on the sand.

Penguins interacting with the ocean water (non-living): Penguins swim in the ocean to find food. They also drink the water.

Penguins interacting with the air (non-living): Penguins breathe the air.

Guided Practice (With Solutions)

Question 1: Is a bicycle a living or non-living thing? Explain your answer.

Solution: A bicycle is a non-living thing. It does not grow, reproduce, eat, breathe, or move on its own. It requires a living thing (a person) to move it.