Living or Non-living?
FoundationLiving things grow, reproduce and respond; they need air and water — care for animals and plants.
- Living things grow, reproduce and respond; non-living things do not.
- Animals move, eat and breathe.
- Sparrows, koi, banyan trees and Bauhinia are common in Hong Kong.
文體小知識：說明文教我們分辨和分類。這一篇用三個問題，教你判斷一件東西有生命還是沒有生命。
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1Walking in the school garden or the park, we see sparrows hopping in the trees and butterflies flying among flowers. Animals and plants are living things; stones, desks and toy cars are non-living things. There are very important differences between them, and learning to tell them apart is the first step to knowing nature.
2Living things grow: kittens grow into cats and saplings grow into trees. Living things reproduce: birds lay eggs that hatch into chicks, and plants make seeds that grow into new plants. Living things also respond to changes around them: touch a mimosa and its leaves close; call a puppy and it runs over. Non-living things do not grow, do not reproduce and do not respond.
3Animals share some common features: they can move about freely, they need food, and they breathe with some part of the body. Common animals in Hong Kong include sparrows and mynas in the sky, koi and turtles in park ponds, ants and butterflies in the grass, and the cats and dogs at home.
4Plants are living things too. Although they cannot walk, they grow, flower and bear fruit. Common plants in Hong Kong include the tall banyan trees in parks, the Bauhinia with its purple-red flowers in spring, and the sunflowers and hedges in school gardens. Plants are homes for many animals, and they give us food and shade.
5To stay alive, living things need air, water and food, and plants also need sunlight and soil. So we must respect and care for animals and plants: do not catch sparrows, do not pick flowers, do not kick tree trunks, and watch quietly without disturbing them. Caring for nature is something everyone can do!
1Summary 重點摘要
Living things grow, reproduce and respond; they need air and water — care for animals and plants.
2Vocabulary cards Vocabulary
Something with life that grows and reproduces, such as animals and plants.
Something without life that does not grow, such as stones and toys.
The process of living things getting bigger and changing.
To produce young, such as birds laying eggs and plants making seeds.
To answer changes around us, like the mimosa closing its leaves.
A common feature of animals; they move in their own ways.
The commonest small brown bird in Hong Kong, hopping about for food.
A common big tree in Hong Kong parks with beard-like hanging roots.
Brightly coloured fish in park ponds that breathe with gills in water.
To treat animals and plants gently and protect them from harm.
3Step by step Steps
- Step 1: Telling living from non-livingTo tell whether something has life, ask three questions: Does it grow? Does it reproduce? Does it respond to changes around it? If all answers are yes, it is a living thing. A bird grows, lays eggs and flies away at a sound — living. A stone does not grow, cannot make baby stones and does not dodge when tapped — non-living. With these three questions we can sort the things around us correctly.
- Step 2: Common features of animalsAnimals look very different, but they share common features: they move about freely in their own ways, they eat food, they breathe with some part of the body, and they grow and reproduce. Sparrows hop on two legs and fly with wings; koi swim with fins; ants crawl on six legs. Moving freely is the clearest feature of animals, so animals are easy to tell from plants, and lively little animals are easy to spot at once.
- Step 3: Common animals in Hong KongIn Hong Kong, look up and see sparrows and mynas hopping on trees and wires; by the park pond, koi wag their tails and turtles sunbathe on stones; crouch by the flowers and watch ants carrying food in a line and butterflies sipping nectar; and at home our cats and dogs are animal friends too. With careful eyes, you can find many animals without travelling far, and you can note down their names and the ways they move.
- Step 4: Common plants in Hong KongPlants cannot walk, yet they are living things: they grow, flower and bear fruit, and their leaves turn towards the sun. The banyan, common in Hong Kong, is tall and big, hanging beard-like aerial roots that give shade to passers-by. The Bauhinia blooms purple-red in spring and is the flower of Hong Kong. Schools have sunflowers, hedges and big lawns. Plants give us oxygen, food and shade, and they are homes for birds and insects, so look and admire them everywhere.
- Step 5: What living things needTo stay alive, living things need some basic things: air, water and food; plants also need sunlight and soil. Fish die out of water, flowers wither without watering, and people cannot live more than a few minutes without air. So keep the environment clean: never pour rubbish or dirty water into ponds, never cut trees, and take good care of the flowers in the park. When nature is healthy, all living things can live on and on, and our community becomes more beautiful too.
- Step 6: Respect and care for animals and plantsCaring for nature starts with small acts: watch sparrows and street cats from a distance; do not chase or catch them. Enjoy the beautiful park flowers with your eyes; do not pick them. Big trees are birds' homes; do not shake the trunks or break the branches. If you keep a pet, feed and care for it every day and never give it up halfway. Respecting life and caring for nature is the attitude we should all have, and it is also the politeness of young scientists.
5Worked example Example
Example: The teacher puts six things on the desk: a stone, a bird, a toy car, a big tree, a robot and an ant. Sort them into living and non-living things and explain why.
- Ask the three questions first: Does it grow? Does it reproduce? Does it respond to things around it?
- The bird, the big tree and the ant all grow and reproduce and respond to sound and light, so they are living things.
- The stone does not grow or reproduce; the toy car and the robot move only when people operate them or batteries drive them, and they never grow, so they are non-living.
- Careful observation matters: many classmates think the robot is alive because it moves, but moving is not the only test of life.
- Answer: Living things: the bird, the big tree and the ant — they grow, reproduce and respond to changes. Non-living things: the stone, the toy car and the robot — they do not grow or reproduce; the robot moves only because people operate it.
6Common mistakes Mistakes
7Quick check Quick check
Q1What is the biggest difference between living and non-living things?
Q2What is the clearest common feature of animals?
Q3Name a bird commonly seen in Hong Kong.
Q4What do living things need to stay alive?
Q5What should we do when we see birds in the park?
8Recap Recap
- Living things grow, reproduce and respond; non-living things do not.
- Animals move, eat and breathe.
- Sparrows, koi, banyan trees and Bauhinia are common in Hong Kong.
- Living things need air, water and food.
- Respect life: watch with your eyes only and never harm animals or plants.