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Sort and classify
Living and Nonliving Things
Living or Nonliving in the Garden?
Cut out and sort eight garden pictures into living and nonliving groups. Observe, talk, and classify together.
- Age 4
- 15 min
- Easy
- Small group
- Sort and classify
Learning areas
Skills practised
About this activity
Children look at pictures of plants, animals, and objects they might find in a garden. Then they sort and glue them into two groups: living and nonliving.
As they talk about their choices, children practice sorting and begin to recognize that plants and animals are living things.
Learning objectives
- Sort eight pictures into living and nonliving groups.
- Recognize plants and animals as living things.
- Explain at least one choice using words or gestures.
The printable
Print
What you need
- Printed activity sheet
- Child-safe scissors
- Glue stick
Safety notes
Use child-safe scissors with close adult supervision. An adult can cut out the pictures if needed.
How to do it
- Print the sheet and gather the materials.
- Look at the pictures together and invite the child to name each one.
- Explain that plants and animals are living things, while objects such as the ball are nonliving.
- Point to the tree and show which group it belongs in.
- Help the child cut out the pictures.
- Invite the child to place each picture in a group, then glue it down.
- Look at the groups together and talk about the child's choices.
Teaching suggestions
- Read the picture and group labels aloud.
- If needed, offer two pictures at a time and help with cutting.
- Say, “The plant grows and needs water. It is a living thing.”
- In a group, invite children to take turns choosing pictures.
Variations
Make it easier
Cut out the pictures beforehand and offer them one at a time. The child can point to a group while you do the gluing.
Make it harder
Before gluing, invite the child to explain their choices by comparing one picture from each group.
Extend the activity
Look out a window or walk together in a garden. Find a living thing and something nonliving, and talk about them.
Talk about it
- What do you notice about the living things in the pictures?
- Why did you put the tree in that group?
- What do the worm and the bird have in common?
- What other living and nonliving things can you find in a garden?
What to look for
- Notice whether the child sorts the pictures into the two groups.
- Look for recognition that the plant and tree are living things, as well as the animals.
- Listen or watch as the child explains one choice.
Odd one out
Shapes
Scavenger hunt