Grade 1 · Needs and Characteristics of Living Things · Living Things and Their Needs
What Living Things Need
Living things can look very different, but they all depend on resources and conditions in the places where they live.
Visual model
See how the ideas connect
Identify basic needs of living things
Connect body parts to survival
Describe how living things help one another
Living Things and Their Needs
For students
Notice, predict, explain
Choose one part of the model. Predict how it connects to another part, then use the lesson evidence to explain your thinking.
For teachers
Pause for science talk
Show the model before the explanation. Ask “What do you notice?” and “What might change?” Then revisit student ideas after the worked example.
The big idea
Living things and environments are connected
Plants, animals, and humans need air, water, suitable heat, and space. Animals also need food and shelter, while plants use light to make food.
Work it through
Compare three living things
- Step 1 A child drinks water, eats food, breathes air, and uses a home for shelter.
- Step 2 A bird drinks water, eats seeds or other food, breathes air, and may use a nest for shelter.
- Step 3 A plant takes in water, exchanges gases with the air, needs space and suitable heat, and uses light to make food.
- Step 4 Each living thing also helps others: plants provide food and oxygen, and animals can move pollen or seeds.