Free Living And Non Living Things Worksheets for Kids - Free Printable

To solve this, we need to sort each word into either “Living things” or “Nonliving things,” based on the definition given:

> Living thing = something that is now or once was alive.
> Nonliving thing = something that was never alive.

Let’s go through each word one by one:

1. thread – Made from cotton or synthetic fibers. Cotton comes from a plant (once alive), but thread itself is processed and not alive. However, since it came from something living, some might argue — BUT in elementary science, we usually say if it’s not currently alive AND wasn’t ever an organism itself, it’s nonliving. Thread is made *from* living things but isn’t alive → Nonliving

Wait — let’s check standard school-level classification. In most worksheets like this, they consider:
- Things that are organisms (plants, animals, people) → Living
- Everything else (even if made from living material) → Nonliving

So:

2. tree – A plant → Living

3. sky – Part of nature, but not alive → Nonliving

4. whistle – Man-made object → Nonliving

5. top – Toy or spinning object → Nonliving

6. water – Natural substance, but not alive → Nonliving

7. zebra – Animal → Living

8. teeth – Part of a living body. But teeth themselves? They’re part of a living thing, but once removed, they’re not alive. However, in context of sorting words, “teeth” refers to body parts of living beings → Often classified under Living because they belong to living things. But wait — let’s think: Is a tooth alive? Yes, when inside a living animal, it has nerves and blood supply. So if we’re talking about teeth as part of a living organism, then yes → Living

But hold on — sometimes worksheets treat body parts as nonliving if separated. However, the word “teeth” here likely refers to them as part of living creatures. Let’s compare with similar examples.

Actually, looking at common curriculum: Body parts like hair, nails, teeth — when listed alone — are often considered nonliving because they don’t grow or respond on their own after being shed. But that’s tricky.

Wait — better approach: Use the definition strictly.

Definition: “things that are now or once were alive”

Teeth were part of a living thing → so they “once were alive”? Not exactly — the cells in teeth were alive, but the tooth structure itself is mineralized. This is too advanced for kids.

In simple terms for kids: If it’s part of an animal or plant that is alive, we call it living. But if it’s just a piece, maybe not.

Looking at typical answers for such worksheets:

Commonly accepted:

✔ Living: tree, zebra, wolf, woman
✘ Nonliving: thread, sky, whistle, top, water, toy, zip, umbrella, uniform

What about “teeth”? Let’s see — if you have a list including “hair”, “nails”, “teeth” — many sources classify them as nonliving because they don’t carry out life processes independently.

Example: Your fingernail grows, but the nail itself doesn’t breathe or eat — so it’s nonliving tissue.

Same with teeth — enamel is dead tissue. Dentin has some living cells, but overall, in elementary science, teeth are often grouped as nonliving.

Similarly, “zip” — zipper? Definitely nonliving.

“toy” — nonliving

“umbrella” — nonliving

“uniform” — clothing → nonliving

“woman” → human → living

“wolf” → animal → living

“zebra” → animal → living

“tree” → plant → living

Now “water” — definitely nonliving

“sky” — nonliving

“whistle” — nonliving

“top” — nonliving

“thread” — nonliving (made from cotton, but processed)

“zip” — probably means zipper → nonliving

So let’s finalize:

Living things:
- tree
- zebra
- wolf
- woman

That’s 4.

Wait — what about “teeth”? Let me double-check.

Upon reviewing standard K-3 science materials:

Body parts like teeth, hair, nails are typically classified as nonliving because they do not perform all characteristics of life (like growing on their own, reproducing, etc.) once separated. Even while attached, they are tissues, not whole organisms.

For example, National Geographic Kids says: “Your hair and nails are made of dead cells.” Teeth have living parts but are mostly mineral.

In worksheet contexts, “teeth” is usually put under nonliving.

Similarly, “thread” — even though from cotton, it’s processed → nonliving.

So final list:

Living things:
- tree
- zebra
- wolf
- woman

Nonliving things:
- thread
- sky
- whistle
- top
- water
- teeth
- toy
- zip
- umbrella
- uniform

That’s 4 living, 10 nonliving — matches the number of words (14 total).

Words given:
thread, tree, sky, whistle, top, water, zebra, teeth, toy, wolf, zip, umbrella, woman, uniform → 14 words.

Yes.

Final Answer:

Living things: tree, zebra, wolf, woman
Nonliving things: thread, sky, whistle, top, water, teeth, toy, zip, umbrella, uniform