Third graders create aquariums or terrariums to explain how creatures depend on living and nonliving things.

Pupils review an online database and look for similarities and differences among the plants, animals, and non-living things that were listed. They compose a narrative based on their conclusions.

Students visit an outdoors area and mark out a square on the ground that they examine. They look for and record the plants, animals, and non-living things they find in the square and post their findings on the Internet for other classes...

Students visit an outdoors area and mark out a square on the ground that they examine, looking for living and non-living things. They make a model or drawing of the findings from the actual square.

Third graders set up a miniature greenhouse to help them explain how nonliving things affect the growth of living things.