Skip Navigation

Needs of Living Things

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).

  • Needs of Living Things: Pre-Assessment

    Needs of Living Things: Pre-AssessmentLesson

    Students take a pre-assessment to help estimate levels of understanding about the needs of living things.

    Grades: K-2

  • Need or Want?

    Need or Want?Lesson

    Students 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

    Needs of PlantsLesson

    Students make mini-gardens and observe the growth and development of radishes.

    Grades: K-2

  • Animals' Needs

    Animals' NeedsLesson

    Student teams observe a worm model and a live worm, create worm terrariums, and observe worms over time.

    Grades: K-2

  • Plant or Animal?

    Plant or Animal?Lesson

    Students explore two major kinds of living things, plants and animals, and compare their needs.

    Grades: K-2

  • Food for Kids

    Food for KidsLesson

    Students 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

    We Need WaterLesson

    Students 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

    Air and BreathingLesson

    Students explore breathing and air by blowing bubbles and by observing themselves and others during breathing.

    Grades: K-2

  • A Place to Be

    A Place to BeLesson

    Students play a “Concentration” type card game, matching animals with their “places to be.”

    Grades: K-2

  • Needs of Living Things: Post-assessment

    Needs of Living Things: Post-assessmentLesson

    Students 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