No, I will be interested to see what other people say. We teach this in Kindergarten and the lessons in the science kit are horrible!
A good project might be to make terrariums. You can make a class one or individual ones. I've seen them made with 2 liter soda bottles. Then you can put earthworms, plants, dirt, rocks, litter, compost...if it's a big one, even a frog, or other class pet that might do well in that environment. Then have the kids draw a picture of the Terr. labeling living/non-living, then document changes as they happen week to week (drawing or journaling changes). This will also cover cycles, life in a closed environment, etc
Last year, when I taught living, non-living, and once living, I put together paper bags filled with objects that the children had to identify as living, non-living, or once living. For instance, I put a leaf, a rock, plastic spiders/bugs (to represent living things), pencil, a turtle shell, or anything else that you could think of. Then, in groups, the students would pull each item out and discuss whether it was living, non-living, or once living.
