Living or Nonliving?

Today we did a mini-inquiry to determine what makes a living thing, a living thing.
First, we searched in books for clues as to how we know something is living or not.

Then, we got together and brainstormed our ideas.  We had a great discussion--as each idea was shared, students showed if they agreed or disagreed by making signs, and then shared their thinking about why they disagreed or agreed.
This was our brainstormed list:

Everybody got a copy of that picture, and then used book sources or online sources to learn more about living and nonliving things.

We used Scholastic News...

...books...

...and the 'Living or Nonliving' article on PebbleGo.

Next, students marked each idea as confirmed (checkmark) or as a misconception (X) as they researched.

We met again for discussion and determined what it means to be 'living.'

We determined living things:

--need food/energy

--move

--need water

--breathe/need air

--grow/change

--can die

--have babies/reproduce

--go to the bathroom/give off waste

We were still a bit unsure about a few things...

Don't all living things need a place to live and grow?  Don't all living things have functional parts to help them survive?  Don't all living things have some kind of covering?

Some of us weren't convinced that plants could move on their own.  Here are some videos showing plants growing, changing, and moving on their own:

Stay tuned for the rest of our Immersion Phase of our animal inquiry!