Living and Non-Living Things — Reading Comprehension Lesson

Reading Passage

Living and Non-Living Things

Everything in the world around us can be classified as either living or non-living. Scientists have identified a set of characteristics that all living things share. To be considered alive, an organism must have all of these characteristics. Non-living things may have some of these characteristics but not all of them.

All living things are made of cells. Cells are the smallest unit of life. Some organisms, like bacteria, are made of just one cell. Others, like humans, are made of trillions of cells working together. Living things also grow and develop over time. A seed grows into a plant, a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly, and a baby grows into an adult. Non-living things like rocks do not grow in this way.

Living things need energy to survive. Plants make their own energy from sunlight through photosynthesis. Animals get energy by eating plants or other animals. All living things also respond to their environment. A plant grows toward light. An animal runs from a predator. Even simple one-celled organisms respond to heat, chemicals, and light.

All living things reproduce — they make more of their own kind. Plants produce seeds, animals have offspring, and bacteria divide to make copies of themselves. Without reproduction, a species would eventually disappear. Living things also maintain a stable internal environment, a process called homeostasis. Your body regulates your temperature, blood sugar, and water balance to keep conditions just right for life.

Non-living things like water, rocks, and air do not carry out all of these life processes. They may look like they do something — a river flows, fire grows and consumes oxygen — but they do not grow, reproduce, or respond to their environment in the way living things do. Viruses are an interesting case — they have genetic material and can reproduce, but only inside a living cell, so scientists debate whether viruses are truly living or non-living.

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