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Biology
What Living Things Need
Food, Water, Air, and Shelter
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Living things are all around us, in gardens, parks, homes, and schools. Plants, animals, and people are living things because they grow, change, and need care. Learning what living things need helps children understand how to care for pets, plants, and nature. A garden is a good place to see many living things meeting their needs.
Key Facts
- Living things need water to stay healthy and grow.
- Plants need sunlight, water, air, soil, and space.
- Animals need food, water, air, shelter, and space.
- People are living things, so we need food, water, air, shelter, and space too.
- Needs: air + water + food + space + shelter.
- Plants make their own food using sunlight, air, and water.
Vocabulary
- Living thing
- A living thing is something that grows, changes, and needs food or energy, water, and air.
- Need
- A need is something a living thing must have to stay alive and healthy.
- Shelter
- Shelter is a safe place that protects a living thing from danger, weather, or harm.
- Nutrients
- Nutrients are helpful parts of food or soil that living things use to grow and stay strong.
- Habitat
- A habitat is the place where a plant or animal lives and gets what it needs.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Thinking only animals need food is a mistake because plants also need energy, but they make their own food using sunlight, air, and water.
- Forgetting that plants need air is a mistake because plants use air to help make food and grow.
- Giving a plant too much water is a mistake because roots can be harmed if the soil stays too wet for too long.
- Thinking shelter is only a house is a mistake because shelter can be a nest, burrow, tree, cave, or any safe place.
Practice Questions
- 1 A class has 4 plants. Each plant needs 1 cup of water today. How many cups of water are needed in all?
- 2 Three rabbits each need 2 carrot pieces. How many carrot pieces are needed for all 3 rabbits?
- 3 A plant is kept in a dark closet and is not watered. Explain which needs are missing and what may happen to the plant.