What It Is: An advanced
Characteristics of Living Things Analysis worksheet designed for upper-elementary and early middle-school students. Learners evaluate three subjects—paper, fire, and a tree—using the seven biological characteristics of life. Students complete a comparative table and respond to higher-order questions that require justification and scientific reasoning.
This worksheet follows the previous resource
“Living or Non-Living – Classroom Observation Chart” and is ideal for deepening understanding of what makes something truly alive.
Why Use It: This activity strengthens students’ ability to:
• Apply the seven characteristics of life to real-world examples
• Distinguish between biological and non-biological processes
• Use evidence and reasoning to support scientific claims
• Build foundational skills for later life science units (cells, organisms, ecosystems)
How to Use It: • Introduce or review the seven characteristics: movement, respiration, nutrition, excretion, growth, reproduction, and response to stimuli.
• Have students complete the comparative table using logical evidence.
• Discuss why some non-living things (e.g., fire) appear to have “living-like” traits.
• Use the written-response questions to assess critical thinking and application.
Grade Suitability: Best suited for
Grades 4–6.
•
Grade 4: Apply characteristics of life to simple examples.
•
Grade 5: Analyze borderline cases (e.g., fire) using scientific reasoning.
•
Grade 6: Connect characteristics of life to cellular processes and classification.
Target Users: Ideal for
science teachers, intervention groups, high-level elementary learners, and middle-school introductory biology classes.
