Year 2 Science curriculum area ‘Living things and habitats’
Lesson 4: ‘Life processes'
Learning
Objectives
To identify the seven life processes of all living things.
Resources
 List from starter of the previous lesson.
 A picture/photograph of a lady/dressed-up adult.
 Large letters M, R, S, N, E, R, G.
 Smaller letters to spell MRS NERG - enough for one set between 2.
Living, alive, not alive, dead, object, sort, similarities, differences,
natural, man-made, manufactured, survive, healthy, habitat,
movement, reproduction, sensitivity, nutrition, excretion, respiration,
growth, life processes.
1. Look at our list from the starter of the previous lesson. How do
we know if something is alive?
2. Introduce MRS NERG. (Show a picture of a lady or dress up a
spare adult!) Display her name. She can help us to remember
the things that all living things display in order to show that they
are alive. These are called ‘Life Processes’. There are 7. Each
letter of her name is the start of a different life process. M Movement (even plants move - very slowly, turning their leaves
to face the sun; sunflowers turn their heads to face the sun), R reproduction (all living things can produce more of
themselves/their type), S - Sensitivity (feeling), N - Nutrition, E Excretion (getting rid of waste products, such as carbon dioxide),
R - Respiration (using the oxygen in our bodies), G - Growth.
Which ones have we not heard of before? Explain each one in
child-friendly terms, suitable for the age being taught. Did we
get any of these in our list, last lesson?
1. Work with a partner to sort the letters of MRS NERG to make
her name. Can they work together to recall and write the life
process for each letter on a whiteboard or strip of paper?
2. Draw a picture of a plant or an animal in the centre of the page.
Write the 7 life processes around the picture. Challenge HAPs to
write sentences to explain some of the life processes.
Teacher to hold up the letters of MRS NERG’s name in order and then
randomly. Can children call out the life processes as the letters appear?
Vocabulary
Starter
activity
Main
activities
Plenary
activity
Assessment
Identify living things. Understand that all living things display they are
alive using the seven life processes. Recall the life processes. Explain
some of the life processes in a simple terms.