What Living Things Need: a full term of science

Ten ready-to-teach lessons for Year 1 Biological sciences. Print this pack and the term is prepared: every lesson comes with a step-by-step plan, the questions to ask, student worksheets, cut-out cards, an assessment kit and every answer.

Start here: five minutes to Monday

1. Skim the term at a glance on the next page.
2. Print the lesson you need. Each lesson is three A4 sheets: plan, worksheet, cards or tickets.
3. Gather the few everyday items under “You need” on the plan. Nothing needs a science cupboard.
4. Open the free interactive unit on your board or projector. Every plan tells you which picture to show and when.
5. Teach straight from the plan. Timings, talk prompts, misconceptions and answers are all on the one page.

No science background needed

This pack is written for the busy generalist teacher. Each plan explains the science idea in plain words, lists the ideas young children bring, and gives model answers, so you can walk in and teach it even if science was never your subject.

Two ways to run each lesson

Every lesson works as one 45-minute block, or as two short sessions. The split point is marked in every plan. Ten lessons fill a weekly science slot for a whole term, or up to twenty shorter sessions if your timetable runs small blocks.

The term at a glance

One lesson a week for a term. Each lesson stands on the ones before it, so run them in order where you can.

How the sequence builds

Lesson 1 sets up the big question: what does a living thing need to stay alive? Lessons 2 to 4 take the four needs one or two at a time: air and water, food, then shelter. Lesson 5 brings all four together. Lessons 6 and 7 turn to the second half of the descriptor: the place a living thing lives is its home, and a good home gives it those needs. Lesson 8 looks at what plants need, Lesson 9 predicts what happens when a need is missing, and Lesson 10 is the making task and final check.

Curriculum links (Australian Curriculum V9)

The whole term teaches the Science Understanding descriptor AC9S1U01 quoted on the cover. The lessons also work these Science Inquiry and Human Endeavour descriptors:

Assessment in this pack

• Every plan ends with “Answers and look-fors”: what meeting the idea sounds like in a Year 1 voice.
• The assessment sheet near the front has a class observation checklist and a three-level rubric.
• Lesson 10 is the summative pair: a good-home poster plus the “Show what we know” check sheet.

Materials for the whole term

One gathering session covers all ten lessons. Everything on this page is an everyday item or something you can pick up outside; nothing needs a science cupboard.

The one-trip list

• From the classroom: scissors, glue, big paper, sticky notes, string or wool, this pack printed.
• From home or the toy box: a small pot plant, a soft toy or two, old magazines or catalogues to cut.
• From outside (gathered safely): a garden weed with its roots, a cup of pond or tap water to look at.

Safety in one look

• Check plant allergies before Lesson 8 and any handling of plants.
• Wash hands after handling plants, soil or anything from outside.
• Look, do not taste. Nothing gathered outside goes near mouths.
• Water is for looking at in a cup, not for drinking from ponds or puddles.
• Watch for prickles, bees and ants on flowers and weeds.

Assessment without extra work

The term assesses itself. Every lesson plan ends with answers and look-fors, and Lesson 10 is the summative pair: the good-home poster plus the check sheet. This sheet is the place to jot down what you notice along the way.

The three levels

Class observation checklist

A tick a lesson is plenty; the Lesson 10 check sheet fills the gaps.

Word wall cards

Cut out the cards and build the wall as the words arrive. Lesson 1 starts the wall with need and want; add the four need words and the home words as the lessons land.

Dear families

This term in science, our class becomes a group of needs detectives. We find out what every living thing must have to stay alive, and how the place it lives gives it those things.

Every lesson points to one big idea: living things have basic needs, air, water, food and shelter, and a good home is a place that meets those needs. A frog in a pond, a rabbit in a burrow and a bird in a tree each live where their needs are met. Your child will practise spotting needs all term.

Try this at home

• At meal time, talk about food as a need: it gives us energy to grow and play.
• Water a pot plant together and find where the water goes in, through the roots.
• Find a pet or a bird outside and ask: where does it get air, water, food and shelter?
• Play “need or want” with things around the house: a drink, a toy, a warm bed.

What to ask your scientist

• What are the four things a living thing needs?
• How does a plant get its food? How is that different from an animal?
• How does its home give an animal what it needs?

A small safety note: we wash hands after handling plants and anything from outside, and we look rather than taste.

Warm regards,

The Year 1 team

Printed from the free seegongsik What Living Things Need teaching pack · seegongsik.com/au/y1/biological/AC9S1U01/pack

What living things need

Children learn that every living thing needs certain things just to stay alive, and start to tell a need from a want. This lesson opens the term: before we name the four needs one at a time, the class needs to feel the difference between what keeps something alive and what is only nice to have.

We are learning to

• say that living things need things to stay alive,
• name something a living thing needs,
• tell a need from a want.

Success criteria

• I can name something a living thing needs.
• I can tell a need from a want.

You need

• a hoop or two loops of wool to make two sorting circles on the floor,
• the sorting cards (third sheet), one set per table, cut out ahead or by fast finishers,
• a class pot plant or a class pet to point to, if you have one,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 45 minutes)

Running two short sessions instead? End Session A after Sort the cards. Start Session B by re-sorting two cards from memory, then go on to Draw and write.

Watch for these ideas

• “A toy is a need because I love it.” Needs keep a living thing alive; a toy does not. Come back to air, water, food and a safe place.
• “Plants do not eat, so they need no food.” Plants do need food; they make their own, which we meet in Lesson 3.
• Money called a need. Money buys things, but you cannot breathe it, drink it or eat it.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: sort just four clear cards, two needs and two wants, before adding the rest.
• Bigger: find one need and one want in the room and say how you know which is which.

Answers and look-fors

• Needs: water, air, food, a warm bed, a safe home, sunlight for a plant. Wants: a toy car, lollies, a television, a new bike.
• Tricky: a warm coat is closer to a need (it shelters us from cold, like a safe place); a favourite teddy is a want (we can live without it).
• Look for a reason, not just a sort: “water is a need because we would die without a drink” meets the goal.

Needs and wants

A need keeps a living thing alive. A want is nice to have. Draw one of each. Then finish the sentence.

Need or want?

Cut out the cards. Sort them into two circles: needs and wants. Two cards are tricky on purpose.

Teacher note: the warm coat and the teddy are the tricky pair. A coat shelters us from cold, so it is close to a need; the teddy is a want, however loved.

Air and water

Children meet the first two of the four needs: air and water. Every living thing must take in air and must have water, and each one gets them from the place it lives. This lesson slows down on two needs at a time so the class can say why we need them and where an animal or a plant finds them.

We are learning to

• say that every living thing needs air and water,
• say why we need air and why we need water,
• name where an animal or a plant gets its water.

Success criteria

• I can say why we need air and water.
• I can name where an animal gets water.

You need

• a clear cup of water to hold up,
• a class pot plant to point to,
• a picture of an animal drinking,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 45 minutes)

Running two short sessions instead? End Session A after Where do they get it? Start Session B by naming the two needs from memory, then go on to Draw and write.

Watch for these ideas

• “A fish does not need air.” A fish does need air; its gills take air out of the water.
• “Plants do not drink.” Plants do take in water; they draw it up through their roots.
• “Only animals need water.” Plants need water too, or they wilt and die.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: name one need and say where we get it.
• Bigger: say where two different animals each get their water.

Answers and look-fors

• Air is for breathing and water is for drinking; both keep a living thing alive.
• A fish gets air from the water through its gills; a bird sips rain or dew; a tree draws water up through its roots.
• Look for a where, not just a yes: “a bird drinks rain from a leaf” meets the goal.

Air and water

Every living thing needs air and water. Draw one of each below. Then finish the sentence.

Air and water

Cut out the cards. For each living thing, talk about how it gets its air and its water.

Teacher note: every card is a living thing, so all of them need both air and water. The fish and the frog get their air from the water or at the surface; the plants (gum tree, grass, fern) take water up through their roots.

Finding and making food

Food is the third need, and it splits the living world in two. An animal must go and find its food, then eat it. A plant does not go looking; it makes its own food using light in its leaves. That difference between finding food and making food is the big idea of this lesson.

We are learning to

• say that food is a need for every living thing,
• say that animals find and eat their food,
• say that a plant makes its own food using light.

Success criteria

• I can say animals find food.
• I can say a plant makes its own food.

You need

• a pot plant, placed near a window,
• a picture of an animal eating, such as a bird with a worm or a dog at its bowl,
• the sorting cards (third sheet), one set per table,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 45 minutes)

Running two short sessions instead? End Session A after Find or make? Start Session B by re-sorting two cards from memory, then go on to Draw and write.

Watch for these ideas

• “Plants eat soil for food.” A plant makes its food from light; its roots take up water, not food.
• “A plant only gets food when we water it.” Water is a need, but the plant still makes its own food using light.
• “Animals make their own food too.” Animals cannot make food; they must find it and eat it.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: sort just two clear cards, a dog that finds food and a tree that makes food.
• Bigger: say what a plant needs to make its food (light).

Answers and look-fors

• Animals find and eat their food: a bird eats worms, a cow eats grass.
• Plants make their own food using light in their leaves.
• Look for the two words find and make used the right way round.

Finding and making food

Animals find their food. Plants make their own food using light. Draw one of each. Then finish the sentence.

Find or make?

Cut out the cards. Sort them into two groups: living things that find food, and living things that make their own food. Two cards are tricky on purpose.

Teacher note: animals find their food (dog, cow, bird, frog, bee, cat); plants make their own food with light (gum tree, grass, fern, sunflower). The tricky pair: a seed carries stored food to start with, then grows into a plant that makes its own food; a mushroom is not a plant and does not make food from light, so it feeds on old wood and leaves.

A safe place to shelter

Shelter is the fourth need: a safe place that keeps a living thing out of the cold, rain and sun, and away from danger. Children learn that shelter is not just a house; animals use many kinds, from a burrow in the ground to a shell they carry. This lesson has them match an animal to the shelter it uses.

We are learning to

• say that shelter is a safe place a living thing needs,
• say what shelter keeps a living thing safe from,
• match an animal to the shelter it uses.

Success criteria

• I can say what shelter is.
• I can match an animal to its shelter.

You need

• the shelter cards (third sheet), one set per table, cut out ahead or by fast finishers,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 45 minutes)

Running two short sessions instead? End Session A after Match the shelter. Start Session B by re-matching two pairs from memory, then go on to Draw and write.

Watch for these ideas

• “Shelter is only a house or a building.” A burrow, a nest, a hollow log and a shell are all shelter too.
• “Only pets need shelter.” Wild animals need shelter just as much, and they build or find their own.
• “Shelter is the same as food.” Shelter keeps you safe; it is a different need from food.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: match just two clear pairs, a bird to a nest and a dog to a kennel.
• Bigger: name a shelter for a new animal that is not on the cards.

Answers and look-fors

• Pairs: bird and nest, rabbit and burrow, dog and kennel, bee and hive, snail and shell, fish and reeds.
• Shelter protects a living thing from weather and from danger.
• Look for the reason: “a burrow keeps the rabbit warm and safe underground” meets the goal.

A safe place to shelter

Shelter is a safe place. Draw an animal in its shelter, and draw your own shelter. Then finish the sentence.

Match the shelter

Cut out the cards. Match each animal to the shelter it uses. There are six pairs.

Teacher note: the six pairs are bird and nest, rabbit and burrow, bee and hive, snail and shell, dog and kennel, bear and den. Each shelter is a safe place that keeps the animal out of the weather and away from danger.

The four needs together

Lessons 2 to 4 took the needs one or two at a time. Now the class brings them together: the four basic needs are air, water, food and shelter, and every living thing needs all four, not just some. This lesson names the whole set and checks that a place gives every one.

We are learning to

• name the four basic needs,
• say that every living thing needs all four,
• check that a place gives all four needs.

Success criteria

• I can name the four needs.
• I can check a place gives all four.

You need

• the four-needs cards (third sheet), one set per table,
• two or four sorting circles made from hoops or loops of wool,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 45 minutes)

Running two short sessions instead? End Session A after Sort into the four needs. Start Session B by naming the four needs from memory, then go on to Draw and write.

Watch for these ideas

• “A living thing can skip one need.” It needs all four; missing one puts it in danger.
• “Food and water are the same need.” They are two different needs: food to eat, water to drink.
• “Shelter is only a want.” Shelter is a need; a safe place keeps a living thing alive.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: name just two of the four needs.
• Bigger: check the classroom gives a class pet all four of its needs.

Answers and look-fors

• The four needs are air, water, food and shelter.
• A good place to live gives all four of them.
• Look for all four named, not three: a child who forgets air or shelter has more to add.

The four needs together

There are four basic needs. Draw or write one example in each box. Then finish the sentence.

Sort into the four needs

Cut out the cards. Sort them into four groups, one for each need: air, water, food and shelter.

Teacher note: air to breathe, a puff of fresh air, a deep breath belong to air; a drink, a puddle, pond water belong to water; a berry, a worm, green grass belong to food; a nest, a burrow, a shell belong to shelter.

A place to live is a home

Now that the class knows the four needs, this lesson turns to the second half of the big idea: the place a living thing lives is its home, and a good home gives it those needs. Children look at real homes, from a pond to a burrow, and find the needs each one provides.

We are learning to

• say that the place a living thing lives is its home,
• say that a good home gives a living thing its needs,
• name a need that a home gives.

Success criteria

• I can say a home gives a living thing its needs.
• I can name a need a home gives.

You need

• the home cards (third sheet), one set per table, cut out ahead or by fast finishers,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 45 minutes)

Running two short sessions instead? End Session A after One home, four needs. Start Session B by naming one home and one need it gives, then go on to Draw and write.

Watch for these ideas

• “A home is just a building.” A pond, a tree, a burrow and a reef are all homes too.
• “A home only gives shelter.” A good home gives all four needs, not just a safe place.
• “Animals build a home just for fun.” A home gives them the needs they must have to stay alive.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: name one need that a home gives.
• Bigger: pick a home and name two different needs it gives.

Answers and look-fors

• A home is the place a living thing lives, and a good home gives it air, water, food and shelter.
• A pond gives a fish water to live in, air in the water, food to eat and a safe place among the reeds.
• Look for a need linked to the home: “the tree gives the bird a safe place for its nest” meets the goal.

A place to live is a home

A home gives a living thing its needs. Draw an animal in its home, and draw the needs its home gives. Then finish the sentence.

One home, four needs

Cut out the cards. For each home, talk about which of the four needs it gives to a living thing.

Teacher note: a good home gives all four needs together. A pond gives water, air in the water, food and a safe place among the reeds; a tree gives a bird a safe place to nest, shade and food; a burrow keeps a rabbit warm and safe near its food.

Homes and their needs

Lesson 6 showed that the place a living thing lives is its home, and a good home gives it the four needs. This lesson looks closely at three real homes: a pond, a burrow and a tree. For each one, children find how that home meets air, water, food and shelter, so the idea moves from a general rule to three clear, everyday examples.

We are learning to

• look closely at three homes: a pond, a burrow and a tree,
• find how each home gives the four needs,
• match a need to the home that gives it.

Success criteria

• I can name a home.
• I can say a need that home gives.

You need

• the home cards (third sheet): a pond, a burrow and a tree, one set per table, cut out ahead or by fast finishers,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 45 minutes)

Running two short sessions instead? End Session A after Match the need to the home. Start Session B by naming the three homes from memory, then go on to Draw and write.

Watch for these ideas

• “Every animal can live in any home.” Each animal needs a home that gives its own needs; a fish needs water all around, so a tree would not suit it.
• “A home gives only shelter.” A good home gives all four needs, not just a safe place: air, water and food too.
• “A pond gives an animal no air.” A frog gulps air at the surface of the pond, so even a watery home gives air.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: take one home and find just one need it gives.
• Bigger: pick an animal and plan a home that meets all four of its needs.

Answers and look-fors

• Match: the frog lives in the pond, the rabbit in the burrow, the bird in the tree.
• Each home gives all four needs. Pond: air at the surface, water all around, bugs to eat, reeds to hide in. Burrow: air down the tunnel, dew and puddles, grass outside, warm and safe underground. Tree: air in the branches, rain in the leaves, seeds and berries, branches to hide it.
• Tricky: a frog could not live in a burrow (no water all around); a fish could not live in a tree (it needs water to breathe and swim).

An animal and its home

Draw an animal in its home. Then list the four needs the home gives it. Finish the sentence at the bottom.

Match the need to the home

Cut out the cards. Sort each need under the home that gives it: pond, burrow or tree.

Teacher note: four cards go under each home. Pond: gulps air at the surface, water all around, catches bugs, reeds to hide in. Burrow: air down the tunnel, dew and puddles, grass outside the door, warm and safe underground. Tree: air in the branches, rain in the leaves, seeds and berries, leaves and branches to hide it.

What plants need

Children have met animal needs all term; this lesson turns to plants. A plant is living, so it has needs too: water taken up through its roots, light caught by its leaves to make food, air, and room to grow. The idea to hold onto is that a plant makes its own food using light, which is what makes a plant different from an animal that has to find its food.

We are learning to

• name what a plant needs: water, light, air and room to grow,
• say that a plant takes up water through its roots and catches light with its leaves,
• say that a plant makes its own food using light.

Success criteria

• I can name what a plant needs.
• I can say a plant makes its own food with light.

You need

• a pot plant,
• a garden weed pulled with its roots (check for allergies first),
• a cup of water and a sunny window,
• the sorting cards (third sheet), one set per table,
• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child.

Lesson flow (about 45 minutes)

Running two short sessions instead? End Session A after Look at a real plant. Start Session B by naming one plant need from memory, then go on to Draw and write.

Watch for these ideas

• “Plants eat soil for their food.” A plant makes its own food using light, not by eating soil; soil mostly holds the roots and the water.
• “Plants do not need air.” Plants do need air, just as animals do.
• “A plant does not need light if you keep watering it.” Water is not enough: without light a plant cannot make food and grows weak and pale.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: name just one thing a plant needs.
• Bigger: say one thing a plant can do that an animal cannot, that it makes its own food.

Answers and look-fors

• A plant needs water (taken up by the roots), light (caught by the leaves to make food), air, and room to grow.
• A plant makes its own food using light. That is how a plant is different from an animal, which has to find its food.
• Look for the parts named: roots take up water, leaves catch the light.

What a plant needs

Draw a plant. Mark where the water goes in and where the light hits. Then finish the sentence.

What does a plant need?

Cut out the cards. Sort each one: does a plant need this, yes or no?

Teacher note: a plant needs water, light, air, room to grow, soil to hold its roots, and warmth. It does not need to hunt, meat to eat, a nest, shoes, a torch at night, or darkness. Two are tricky on purpose: darkness is no, because a plant needs light; and a plant does not hunt or eat meat, because it makes its own food.

When a need is missing

The whole term has built the four needs and the idea that a good home gives them. This lesson tests the idea by taking one need away: what happens to a living thing with no water, no light, no food, no air or no shelter? Children predict what will happen and, just as importantly, give a reason. This is the first real predict-and-check of the term.

We are learning to

• predict what happens when one need is taken away,
• give a reason for the prediction,
• check the prediction against what happens on the board.

Success criteria

• I can predict what happens with no water.
• I can give a reason.

You need

• the worksheet (next sheet), one per child,
• the board unit open at the missing-need picture,
• the matching cards (third sheet), one set per table.

Lesson flow (about 45 minutes)

Running two short sessions instead? End Session A after Predict, then check. Start Session B by recalling one prediction from memory, then go on to Draw and write your prediction.

Watch for these ideas

• “A plant with no water grows faster.” The opposite is true: with no water a plant wilts and droops.
• “A living thing is fine missing just one need.” Every one of the four needs matters; take any away and the living thing is harmed.
• “Nothing changes at all.” Taking a need away always makes a change; the change points back to the need that is missing.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: predict just one, what happens with no water.
• Bigger: predict two and give a reason for each.

Answers and look-fors

• No water: it wilts and droops. No light: it grows weak and pale. No food: it is weak and hungry. No air: it cannot live. No shelter: it is cold and in danger.
• Look for a reason joined to the missing need: “it droops because it has no water to hold it up” meets the goal.
• Tricky: a drooping plant is most likely missing water.

What if a need is missing?

Draw a healthy plant, then the same plant with no water. Then finish your prediction at the bottom.

Missing need

Cut out the cards. Match each missing need to what happens. There are six pairs.

Missing need cards

What happens cards

Teacher note: the pairs are no water with it wilts and droops; no light with it grows pale and weak; no food with it gets weak and hungry; no air with it cannot breathe; no shelter with it is cold and unsafe; and all needs met with it is healthy and grows.

Show what we know

The last lesson brings the whole term together. Children plan a good home for an animal, one that gives it all four needs, make a poster of it, then do a short final check. The making task shows what they can put together; the check sheet, or the board quiz run as a class game, shows what each child has learned.

We are learning to

• plan a good home that gives an animal its four needs,
• make a poster that labels each need,
• answer the final check.

Success criteria

• I can make a home that gives the four needs.
• I can answer the check questions.

You need

• old magazines or catalogues to cut, glue, and large paper (or space to draw),
• the poster planner and the check sheet (the next two sheets), one each per child,
• the board self-check quiz, if you would like to run it as a class game.

Lesson flow (about 45 minutes)

Running two short sessions instead? End Session A after Plan a good home. Start Session B by re-reading one plan aloud, then go on to Make the poster.

Watch for these ideas

• A poster that names a home but forgets a need. Ask which of the four is still missing.
• Only shelter shown. A good home gives all four needs, not just a safe place.
• The plant and animal food mix-up. An animal finds its food; a plant makes its own.

Make it easier, make it bigger

• Easier: label just two needs on the poster.
• Bigger: explain why the home suits that animal.

Answers and look-fors

• A good poster shows all four needs met by the home: air, water, food and shelter.
• Check answers: 1 water is a basic need (a toy or a colour is not). 2 a burrow gives shelter. 3 a plant makes its own food. 4 the place a living thing lives is its home, and a good home gives its needs. 5 a plant with no water droops and wilts.

Plan a good home

Choose an animal. Plan the home that gives it the four needs.

My animal

Show what we know

Circle or write your answer.

Answer key is on the Lesson 10 teacher plan.