This study aimed to survey the prior knowledge of students from COOPEC-Central - Central, Bahia - at initial grades of Elementary School, in February 2009, describing the context of teaching in classrooms during that school year. This study is part of a masters dissertation and involved content of some aspects of living beings (identification, size and function) in the early grades (2nd to 5th year), children aged between 7 and 11. We developed our studies based on Vygotsky's children's spontaneous and scientific knowledge theory and on other spontaneous conceptions reference in that area. We applied questionnaires with general questions to students in order to obtain information on students' spontaneous knowledge with respect to living beings; we discussed with teachers the knowledge brought by the students to school in bimonthly meetings; and we applied a questionnaire to which teachers responded at end of the last meeting. Data analysis - with the students' and teachers' reponses - was performed considering all the initial Elementary School grades, based on the comparative method in order to highlight what children actually knew about living beings, as a starting point for planning education on the subject.
Initial series; prior knowledge; living beings; Vygotsky; education planning.