Living and Nonliving Things Worksheets - 15 Worksheets Library - Free Printable

Let’s go step by step to sort each item into the correct category: Living, Once Living, or Never Living.

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Step 1: Understand the categories

- Living: Things that are alive right now — they grow, breathe, eat, reproduce.
- Once Living: Things that were once alive but are not anymore (like dead plants, wood, food from animals/plants).
- Never Living: Things that were never alive — made by humans or natural non-living things like rocks, cars, shoes.

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Step 2: Go through each picture one by one

We have 12 pictures. Let’s list them and decide:

1. Ant → It’s an insect, moving, eating, breathing → Living
2. Leaf → This is a green leaf, probably still on a plant? But in worksheets like this, if it’s just a leaf cut off, it’s often considered “once living” because it came from a living tree. However, sometimes if it looks fresh and attached, it might be “living”. But looking at the image — it’s a single leaf, no stem shown → likely Once Living
*Wait — let’s check common worksheet logic: A leaf that’s been picked is “once living”. If it’s still on the tree, it’s “living”. Since it’s shown alone, we’ll say Once Living.*

Actually — let me double-check with standard science for kids:
In many elementary worksheets, a leaf shown separately is classified as “Once Living” because it was part of a living plant but is no longer growing or connected. So yes → Once Living

3. Shoe → Made by humans, never alive → Never Living
4. Donut → Made from flour, sugar, etc. Flour comes from wheat (once living), but the donut itself is processed and not alive → Once Living? Wait — actually, in most school worksheets, food items like bread, donuts, applesauce are considered “Once Living” because they came from living things. But some teachers may say “never living” if it’s highly processed. Let’s think:
Donut = made from wheat (plant) and maybe eggs (animal) → so ingredients were once living → Once Living

BUT — wait! There’s a better way:
- Apple → clearly once living (fruit from tree)
- Avocado → same
- Donut → also made from once-living things → so Once Living

However, some curricula classify baked goods as “never living” because they’re transformed. But I think for consistency, since apple and avocado are “once living”, donut should be too.

Let’s hold that thought and come back.

5. Apple → Fruit from a tree → was part of a living thing → Once Living
6. Rock → Never alive → Never Living
7. Stick / Twig → Part of a tree → Once Living
8. Avocado half → Fruit from a tree → Once Living
9. Scissors → Metal tool, made by humans → Never Living
10. Potted flower → The whole plant in pot — roots, leaves, flowers — it’s alive → Living
11. Armadillo → Animal, walking around → Living
12. Car → Machine, never alive → Never Living

Now let’s revisit the donut.

In many standardized elementary science resources (like 15Worksheets.com, which this is from), food items that come from plants or animals are labeled “Once Living”, even if processed. For example:

- Bread → once living (from wheat)
- Cheese → once living (from milk/cow)
- Donut → once living (from wheat, egg, etc.)

So yes → Donut = Once Living

But wait — what about the leaf? Is it really “once living”? Or could it be “living”?

Looking again: The leaf is drawn as a single, detached leaf. In biology, a detached leaf is no longer performing life functions (no water uptake, no growth) → so it’s once living.

However, some might argue it’s still “living” for a short time after detachment. But for sorting purposes in 1st–3rd grade, detached leaves are usually “once living”.

Let’s confirm with another approach: What would a teacher expect?

Standard answers for similar worksheets:

- Ant → Living
- Leaf → Once Living
- Shoe → Never Living
- Donut → Once Living
- Apple → Once Living
- Rock → Never Living
- Stick → Once Living
- Avocado → Once Living
- Scissors → Never Living
- Potted plant → Living
- Armadillo → Living
- Car → Never Living

Yes, that seems consistent.

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Step 3: Group them

Living:
- Ant
- Potted flower
- Armadillo

→ That’s 3 items

Once Living:
- Leaf
- Donut
- Apple
- Stick
- Avocado

→ That’s 5 items

Never Living:
- Shoe
- Rock
- Scissors
- Car

→ That’s 4 items

Total: 3 + 5 + 4 = 12 → matches all pictures.

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Final Check:

Is there any mistake?

- Leaf: Some might say “living” if it’s green — but in context of being cut out and sorted, it’s “once living”. Correct.
- Donut: Yes, made from once-living ingredients → “once living”. Correct.
- Stick: Definitely once living (part of tree). Correct.
- Avocado: Same as apple → once living. Correct.
- Potted flower: Whole plant, alive → living. Correct.
- Armadillo: Alive animal → living. Correct.
- Ant: Alive insect → living. Correct.
- Others: shoe, rock, scissors, car → never living. Correct.

All good.

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Final Answer:

Living: Ant, Potted flower, Armadillo
Once Living: Leaf, Donut, Apple, Stick, Avocado
Never Living: Shoe, Rock, Scissors, Car