Living and Nonliving: A First Sort
Sorting living and nonliving things is a child's first scientific classification, and a shell or a seed makes it interesting. A child of about 3.5 to 4 sorts a tray of real objects and pictures into two groups under two labels. The test is simple: living things grow, need food and water, and make more of their own kind.
Sourced from the texts, not yet presented at home
| Typical age | 3.5 to 6 years |
|---|---|
| Area | Cultural |
| Before this | |
| Materials | |
| Direct aim | To sort things into living and nonliving and say why. |
| Control of error | The questions. If it grows and needs food and water, it's living. Bought card sets have a control card. Real objects let the child test: a plant that wilts without water is clearly alive. |
| Leads to | |
| Time | About 10 minutes (our estimate). |
| Grouping | One child, or two discussing |
| Parent prep | Medium. Gather six to ten objects and pictures, and write two labels. |
| Cost | Buy about $12 to $12. Make: easy to make at home. |
| Other names | Living and non-living sort, Living or not living, Classification: living and nonliving, First classification |
What the work teaches
Direct aim. To sort things into living and nonliving and say why.
Indirect aims, the ones you will not see at once
- A first classification, the start of zoology and botany
- Looking closely and asking questions
- Words for what living things do: grow, eat, breathe, have babies
- Preparation for sorting plants and animals, then animals by kind
Set it out before you invite the child
Two label cards: living and nonliving. A rug or a table with room for two columns.
Six to ten things, about half of them alive: a houseplant or a cut flower in water, a snail or fish if you have one, pictures of animals and people; a stone, a spoon, a toy car, a shell, a block.
Bought sorting cards, such as Alison's set of 32 pictures with labels, cover things you can't bring to the table.
This sort comes from later Montessori albums. Montessori's 1912 book roots it in the care of plants and animals, which she called an initiation into the observation of life.
A few tricky cases for later: a seed, a dead leaf, a shell, fire, a robot toy.
Presentation, step by step
- 1Lay the two labels at the top of the rug, side by side. Read them: "Living. Nonliving."
- 2Pick up the plant. Ask: "Does it grow? Does it need water?" Agree, and set it under living.
- 3Pick up the stone. Ask the same questions. It doesn't grow or drink, so it goes under nonliving.
- 4Hand the child the next object or picture and ask the questions together.
- 5Carry on until everything is sorted. Leave any disagreement for discussion.
- 6Read each column back: "These are living. These are nonliving."
- 7On another day, add the tricky cases and let the child argue them out.
Details that hold the child's attention
A seed that looks like a stone but grows into a plant.
A shell that once belonged to something living.
The child placing themselves in the living column.
A fish or snail on the table, moving.
How the child sees a mistake
The questions. If it grows and needs food and water, it's living. Bought card sets have a control card. Real objects let the child test: a plant that wilts without water is clearly alive.
The words come after the hands
| Words | Shown with |
|---|---|
| living | Grows, needs food and water, makes more of its kind. |
| nonliving | Doesn't do those things. |
| grow | Get bigger by itself. |
| seed | A tricky case: alive, waiting to grow. |
The three-period lesson, scripted
You need the two label cards.
| Period | What you do and say |
|---|---|
| 1. Naming | Read each label as you lay it down: "Living." "Nonliving." |
| 2. Recognition | "Put the flower where it belongs." |
| 3. Recall | Hold up an object and ask "Living or nonliving?" |
Our suggestion. The sorting carries the lesson; the three periods only fix the two words.
Extensions and variations
- Sorting living things into plants and animals
- Animals sorted by where they live: land, water, air
- A nature walk with a basket, sorting the finds at home
- Montessori's noun game turned around: people and animals answer when called, a table can't
- Drawing a living thing and a nonliving thing and saying how they differ
Variations
- Pictures only, for a child who handles objects roughly
- A third column, "was living", for dead leaves and shells
Make it or buy it
| Material | Make it | Buy, approx. |
|---|---|---|
| Living and Nonliving Sorting Cards | Easy | $12 to $12 |
Prices noted . Approximate US street prices for home-use versions; they vary by maker and change often, so recheck before buying.
Making it at home
Two labels on card, and six to ten things from the house and garden: a plant, a flower, a stone, a spoon, a shell, pictures of animals.
What to check when buying a set
Printed sorting cards add pictures of things you can't put on a table. Real objects come first.
Printables for this age
This work needs only the material, so it has no printable of its own. The shelf plan below places it among the other works for the same age.
- Shelf plan for age 3PDF, 1 page, 250 KBEvery work for this age on one page, in order, with a column to date each presentation.
Every printable for one age, by email
The shelf plan and the lesson printables for your child's age in one email, then three short emails on the first lesson, what to make or buy, and what comes next.
Signs the child is ready, and signs it is done
Ready for the first presentation
- Cares for a plant and knows it needs water.
- Sorts objects by color or size without help.
- Asks questions about animals and plants.
- Understands "yes" and "no" questions about an object.
Ready for the next lesson
- Sorts familiar objects correctly and says why.
- Argues a tricky case with a reason: "A seed grows, so it's alive."
- Sorts pictures of things not in the room.
- Asks to sort the living things again, by plant and animal.
Fitting it into a home, not a classroom
| If you have | Do this |
|---|---|
| A tight budget | Use objects from the house and garden and pictures cut from magazines. Two labels on card. |
| No pets | A houseplant, a cut flower and a pot of sprouting beans are living things you can put on the table. |
| Two children of different ages | The older one adds the tricky cases; the younger sorts the easy ones. |
| Outdoors | Sort on a picnic blanket from a basket of finds: leaves, stones, a snail, a feather. |
When it does not go to plan
| When | Try this |
|---|---|
| Everything that moves goes under living. | Add a toy car or a ball. It moves, but does it grow or eat? |
| The child argues every case. | Good. Ask the three questions together and let the answer decide. |
| Dead things cause upset. | Use a third column for things that were living, and keep it gentle. |
| Too easy after one go. | Bring in the tricky cases, or move on to plants and animals. |
Hazards to check before each session
Wash hands after handling snails and outdoor finds.
Small objects like seeds and pebbles are choking hazards for a child under 3.
Where other sequences and standards place it
We have not bought the paid homeschool curricula, so they are not listed here.
| Framework | Where it sits |
|---|---|
| This site's Cultural sequence | Lesson 7 of 12 published, after Caring for Plants, before Zoology Puzzles (Parts of an Animal). Checked in: the scope and sequence |
| Montessori, The Montessori Method (1912) | Through the care of plants and animals the child is initiated into the observation of the phenomena of life. Checked in: Chapter X, Nature in Education |
| Indiana Early Learning Standards, preschool | SC 3.1: demonstrate awareness of life. Checked in: www.in.gov |
| Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework, preschool | P-SCI 3: the child compares and categorizes observable phenomena. Checked in: www.in.gov |
Living and nonliving: questions parents ask
How do you teach living and nonliving to preschoolers?
With real things on a rug and two labels. For each object ask: does it grow, does it need food and water, does it make more of its kind? Living things do all three. Start with clear cases like a plant and a stone, and add tricky ones later.
Is a seed living or nonliving?
Living. A seed is a resting plant: give it soil and water and it grows. That's why seeds make a good tricky case once the easy sort is done.
What age is the living and nonliving sort for?
About 3.5 to 4, once a child has cared for a plant and sorts things easily, and on this site it runs to 6.
What comes after living and nonliving?
Sorting living things into plants and animals, then animals by kind or habitat, and parts of a plant with the botany cabinet and leaf cards.
Sources cited by book and chapter
- Maria Montessori, The Montessori Method (1912)
Chapter X, Nature in Education
Through the care of plants and animals the child is initiated into observation of the phenomena of life, and as his interest and observation grow, his care for the living creatures grows too.
Little ones are easily interested even in earthworms and the larvae of insects, without the horror adults feel, and this trust in living creatures should be developed.
Children see how some plants sprout sooner and some later, and how deciduous plants have a rapid life and fruit trees a slower growth.
- Maria Montessori, Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook (1914)
Language and Knowledge of the World
The botanist sees in every plant the qualities classified in his mind and assigns each plant its own place in the natural orders, giving it its exact name.
Writing
The material leads the child to distinguish identities from differences and to classify sensations, so the mind forms itself by observing, comparing and classifying.
- Maria Montessori, The Montessori Elementary Material (1917)
Part I, Grammar
People answer if we call them, and so do animals, but inanimate objects never answer because they cannot.
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What to offer next
Once the child chooses this work unprompted and finishes it without help, the next lesson to prepare is Zoology Puzzles (Parts of an Animal).
- Continent globe3 to 5 years
- Sink and float3 to 5.5 years
- Living and nonliving3.5 to 6 years
- Botany cabinet3.5 to 6 years
- Flags3.5 to 6 years