First grade ichthyologists observed fish in conjunction with their living and nonliving unit. Click here to watch fish.

All living things (plants and animals):

• Move on their own
• Reproduce (make more of their own kind)
• Need air, food (energy), and water
• Grow and change (life cycle)
• React to changes around them (light, heat, sound)

After a lesson about fish body parts, life cycles, and habitats, each of us had a goldfish to observe up close. Is the fish alive? How do you know? This can be a confusing unit. Children often think water, cell phones, fire, and clouds are living. Is a stick or an apple living? Yes, they are classified as once living.

The ability to meaningfully interpret text features in non-fiction books is an important skill. As we observed our fish, we drew a diagram and added the labels.

When I was cleaning up, I discovered that one of my biologists had drawn a heart on the paper under her fish. I love living things too!