Living & Non-Living Things: A Backyard Investigation at Home

This experiment pairs with the Living & Non-Living Things lesson. Your child will go outside and use the four-part living things checklist to classify what they find — including some tricky cases that make them think hard.

What you need

• A notebook and pencil
• A magnifying glass (optional but makes it more fun)
• A camera or phone to take photos (optional)
• A small bag for collecting non-living items
• The living things checklist (below)

The living things checklist

Something is living if it does all four:

1. It grows and changes over time
2. It needs food, water, or energy
3. It responds to the world around it
4. It can reproduce (make more of itself)

The experiment

Part 1: Backyard hunt

Go outside (a yard, park, or even a sidewalk works). Find at least 10 different things. For each one, write down the name and apply the checklist. Is it living, non-living, or once-living?

Suggested things to find:

• A tree, a rock, a flower, dirt, a worm, a puddle, a bird, a stick, a leaf on the ground, a mushroom, grass, a fence post, a cloud

Part 2: The tricky cases

Now test these harder cases with the checklist:

• A seed — Is it alive? It does not seem to move, eat, or grow right now, but can it?
• A fallen leaf — Was it alive? Is it now?
• A wooden bench — Was the wood ever alive?
• Fire — It grows, it needs fuel, it responds to wind. Is it alive?

Discuss each one. There are no trick answers — the checklist helps sort it out.

Part 3: Observation station

Pick one living thing you found (an ant hill, a plant, a bird at a feeder). Sit and watch it for 5 full minutes. Write down or draw everything you observe:

• What is it doing?
• How is it responding to its environment?
• What does it need to survive?

Part 4: Indoor hunt

Come back inside and repeat the hunt. Can your child find living things in the house? (Hint: houseplants, pets, mold on old bread, fruit flies, the people in the room.) What about once-living things? (Wooden furniture, cotton clothes, leather shoes, food.)

Discussion questions

1. What was the trickiest thing to classify? Why?
2. Is fire alive? How did you decide?
3. A robot can move and respond to things. Is it alive? Why or why not?
4. If you found a bone, would you call it living, non-living, or once-living?

What they are learning

This activity reinforces the Living & Non-Living Things lesson: living things grow, need energy, respond to their environment, and reproduce. The checklist gives kids a reliable tool for classification — and the tricky cases teach them that science requires careful thinking, not just quick answers.