Contents
Key Stage 1
It is important to understand whether something is alive, dead or was never alive.
Examples
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| A dog is alive. | A rock was never alive | A tree might not seem to move, but it can and is alive. |
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| A fly is alive. | Even though a mushroom doesn't appear to move it is still alive. | A skeleton is part of a dead animal. It is not alive anymore. |
Key Stage 2
It is important to understand whether something is alive, dead or was never alive.
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| A robot may seem lifelike but it was never alive. | A nut is the seed of a tree and can grow into a new tree. Even though it is dormant it is still alive. | An apple has been picked from a tree, but it is still alive until you cook it or eat it. You can tell a dead apple because it has rotted. |
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| Fire was never alive. It cannot sense its surroundings or move, it can only spread or go out. | The wood inside a tree is dead. Only the bark is alive and once you cut a tree down the bark dies too. | Even before cooking the meat from an animal has been dead since the animal was killed. |
Note to Teachers
For some reason many students falsely identify fire as being alive. In a survey of around 200 students between 11 and 16 years old, roughly 50% identified fire as alive. This unusual misconception is important to challenge early on to prevent further misunderstandings.
Key Stage 3
It is important to understand whether something is alive, dead or was never alive.
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| A cell is the basic unit of all living things. A cell is the smallest living part of an organism. | Beans are the seeds of a legume and alive because when they are planted they will grow into a new plant. | Before it is born a foetus is alive in the womb. |
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| The Earth is not alive but all known living things live on the Earth. | The teeth in the mouth are alive. If a tooth dies, it turns black. | The bark of a tree is alive but the wood inside is dead. |