Characteristics of Life Graphic Organizer

All 9 organizers

The characteristics 5

Blank chart for a list of your own Eight rows with no names printed, for a textbook's own list, with a column for what each characteristic means and one for an example.
Characteristics of life exit slips Half sheets to cut apart, three short boxes each: one characteristic, what it means, and an example.
Characteristics of life graphic organizer: a box for each trait Seven boxes, one for each characteristic of life, each asking what it means and for an example.
Living things: four boxes to draw and write For younger grades: one living thing drawn four times on wide primary lines, growing, getting energy, responding and making more of its kind.
One characteristic in a plant, an animal and a single cell One trait named in the middle of the page, with a box for what it means and a box for how each of three kinds of living thing shows it.

Living or not 2

A living thing beside a nonliving thing A box for a living thing and the traits it shows, a box for a nonliving thing and any traits it seems to show, and a box for what the second is missing.
Is it alive? One thing tested trait by trait A question for each of the seven traits, asked of one thing such as a seed, a flame or a robot, over a box for the verdict.

Filled-in samples 2

Sample characteristics of life organizer, filled in The seven boxes of the opening sheet, each with its meaning and one example.
Sample test, partly filled in: is fire alive? The test sheet for fire. Three boxes and the verdict are written in from NASA's example; the other four are left for the class.

How it works

This characteristics of life graphic organizer gives each trait a box for its meaning and an example. Another sheet turns the list into a test of one thing, such as a seed, a flame or a robot.

Read the full guide

Every trait, not most of them

A thing counts as living only if it shows all the traits. Nonliving things can show some of them, which is why the test sheet asks about each trait in turn and leaves the verdict for last.

If your book’s list is different

These sheets use the seven traits that NASA’s astrobiology lessons list. Biologists have no single agreed definition of life, and a textbook may name or group the traits another way. The blank chart takes any list.

Adaptation is a change in a population over generations. A bear going to its den when the weather turns cold is a response.
The fire sample leaves four boxes blank. Filling them in makes a good class argument.

Questions and answers

What are the characteristics of life?

NASA’s astrobiology lessons list seven: cellular organization, the ability to reproduce, growth and development, energy use, homeostasis, response to the environment and the ability to adapt.

Is fire alive?

No. Fire shows some traits of life: it consumes energy as wood and oxygen, it grows as it uses more fuel, and it may appear to reproduce as it spreads. It does not show all of them, so it is not counted as alive.

Are viruses alive?

Biologists disagree. Viruses replicate only inside the cells of a host, and whether they should be counted as alive is controversial. With an older class, a virus makes a good subject for the test sheet.

What is homeostasis?

The ability to keep a steady internal environment whatever the conditions outside. Sweating, which lowers the body’s temperature, is one example.