This topic focuses on observing, exploring, describing and comparing living things in Ohio.
CONTENT STATEMENT
K.LS.1: Living things have specific characteristics and traits. Living things grow and reproduce. Living things are found worldwide.
CONTENT ELABORATION
Kindergarten Concepts
The emphasis of this content statement is to build a grade-appropriate understanding of what it means to be living, not to distinguish living and nonliving. Nonliving things often share some characteristics with living things (e.g., a fire uses energy and grows). Simply listing the characteristics that distinguish living things from nonliving things is not appropriate at this grade level.
There are different kinds of living things. The focus is on familiar organisms (e.g., grass, trees, flowers, cats, dogs, horses). Some grade-appropriate characteristics include that living things grow, reproduce, require energy and respond to stimuli. Animals need food for energy; plants acquire energy from the sun.
Living things respond to stimuli (e.g., fish in an aquarium respond to the addition of food). Living things grow (e.g., seedlings placed in soil grow). Conduct experiments and explorations to observe what happens when plants are placed in different classroom habitats (e.g., on the floor, in a closet, on a desk). Some observations can also be done virtually.
When studying living things, ethical treatment of animals, safety procedures and proper hygiene must be employed. Respect for and proper treatment of living things must be modeled. For example, shaking a container, rapping on insect bottles, unclean cages or aquariums, leaving living things in the hot sun or exposure to extreme temperatures (hot or cold) must be avoided.
The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) has a position paper to provide guidance in the ethical use and treatment of animals in the classroom.
Future Application of Concepts
Grades 1-2: This content builds to understanding that living things use the environment to acquire what they need in order to survive.
Grades 3-5: Food webs and food chains are used to illustrate energy transfer within an
ecosystem.
Grades 6-8: The characteristics of life are detailed via Modern Cell Theory and reproduction.