Worksheet 4: Alive or not?

Teaching aids:

• It can be helpful to show the “special cases“ as illustrative material in the classroom. This makes it easier for the children to talk and discuss.

Procedure:

The teacher introduces the following group assignment (which could be also discussed in class): „Check for the following „special cases“ if they are alive or not and write down the reasons for your decision. Then try to classify them according to the groups scientists use“:

1. a fly
2. a flower bouquet
3. fire
4. an apple
5. an apple core
6. an orange
7. an orange with mildew
8. a dog
9. a robot dog

During class discussion, it is sometimes not easy to determine if something is alive or not. Sometimes the classification into the scientific categories helps further. The aim of the task is not to find a clear solution. Instead of that, it is important to activate the knowledge of the students and to consolidate in the discussion. Depending on the condition the „special cases“ can be alive or dead.

Afterwards, there can be a group work or the task is edited in the class discussion.