ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the following key ideas: that children can be encouraged to explore and recognise the features of living things; that there are differences between living things and things that are not alive and how the characteristics are shown in animals and plants. It also considers some key ideas: that humans, as animals, need certain things in order to stay alive and healthy; that children can be guided to find out more about their own bodies and that there are similarities and differences between themselves and other pupils. Children usually show a lively interest in their own bodies and those of other children because they have spent their first few years learning about what their bodies can do and how they can control many of their actions. Some of the characteristics of living things are that: they are able to move; they can respond to changes in their surroundings by using their senses; and they can make new individuals by reproducing.
