Needs of Living Things
All living things need a source of energy (food), water, air and a place to be.
© Cathy Yeulet.
Differences between needs and wants, living and nonliving, and plants and animals, and survival needs for people, plants, and animals (air, food, water, home, habitat, environment).
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Needs of Living Things: Pre-Assessment
LessonStudents take a pre-assessment to help estimate levels of understanding about the needs of living things.
Grades: K-2 -
Need or Want?
LessonStudents learn to distinguish between basic survival “needs” of human beings and things that are not essential for life (“wants”).
Grades: K-2 -
Needs of Plants
LessonStudents make mini-gardens and observe the growth and development of radishes.
Grades: K-2 -
Animals' Needs
LessonStudent teams observe a worm model and a live worm, create worm terrariums, and observe worms over time.
Grades: K-2 -
Plant or Animal?
LessonStudents explore two major kinds of living things, plants and animals, and compare their needs.
Grades: K-2 -
Food for Kids
LessonStudents learn how cooking makes some foods easier to eat by observing uncooked popcorn and cooked popcorn. They also will make a snack (pudding) in class.
Grades: K-2 -
We Need Water
LessonStudents make lemonade by mixing lemon juice, sugar and water, and discover that the water they need every day is sometimes in sources other than drinking water.
Grades: K-2 -
Air and Breathing
LessonStudents explore breathing and air by blowing bubbles and by observing themselves and others during breathing.
Grades: K-2 -
A Place to Be
LessonStudents play a “Concentration” type card game, matching animals with their “places to be.”
Grades: K-2 -
Needs of Living Things: Post-assessment
LessonStudents take a post-assessment, then apply concepts learned in this unit by revisiting the pre-assessment, where they originally recorded what they needed to live.
Grades: K-2