Science: Life Science – Grade 1

Your five senses are like special tools that help you learn about the world! 👀👂👃👅✋ Every living thing you see, hear, smell, feel, or taste can teach you something new.

Your eyes are amazing! They help you see the colors, shapes, and movements of living things. When you look at a butterfly, you can see its bright colors and watch it flutter from flower to flower. You can observe how a cat's eyes shine in the light or how a tree's leaves change color in the fall. 🦋

Try this: Go outside and look around. What living things can you see? Are they moving? What colors do you notice? Maybe you'll see green grass, brown squirrels, or colorful birds!

Your ears help you hear the sounds that living things make. Birds sing beautiful songs, dogs bark to communicate, and bees buzz as they fly from flower to flower. Even plants can make sounds - listen to leaves rustling in the wind! 🎵

Each animal has its own special sounds. A cow says "moo," a duck says "quack," and a lion roars loudly. These sounds help animals talk to each other and tell us about their feelings.

Your hands can feel the textures of living things. A flower petal feels soft and smooth, while tree bark feels rough and bumpy. A cat's fur feels soft and fluffy, but a turtle's shell feels hard and smooth. 🌸

Always remember to be gentle when touching living things and ask an adult first. Some plants and animals might not like to be touched, and some might even hurt you!

Your nose can smell the scents that living things make. Flowers smell sweet, fresh grass has a clean scent, and pine trees smell like Christmas! Some animals have their own smells too. 🌹

Smelling helps you learn about living things, but always ask an adult before smelling anything new. Some plants might not smell good or might even be dangerous.

Tasting is the most dangerous of your five senses when exploring nature. You should never taste anything from nature without asking an adult first. Some plants and berries can make you very sick! 🚫

When adults say it's safe, you might taste things like mint leaves, which taste fresh and cool, or edible flowers that taste sweet.

Good observers use all their senses together. When you find a living thing, try to:

• Look at its size, shape, and color
• Listen to any sounds it makes
• Gently feel its texture (if it's safe)
• Smell its scent (if it's safe)
• Write or draw what you discover

Remember to always be respectful to living things. Don't hurt them or take them away from their homes. You're like a scientist studying nature! 🔬

Plants are like living puzzles with four main pieces! 🧩 Each part has a special job that helps the plant stay healthy and grow. Let's explore roots, stems, leaves, and flowers to see how they work together.

Roots are like the plant's feet, but they live underground where you can't usually see them! 🦶 Roots have very important jobs:

What roots do:

• Hold the plant in place so it doesn't fall over
• Drink water from the soil like using a straw
• Collect nutrients (plant food) from the dirt
• Store extra food for the plant

Some roots are long and thin, like carrot roots that we eat! Other roots spread out wide like a spider's web underground. Big trees have huge roots that go deep down and spread far out to keep the tree standing tall. 🥕

Stems are like the plant's backbone and its highway system all in one! 🛣️ They have several important jobs:

What stems do:

• Hold the plant up straight toward the sun
• Carry water from the roots up to the leaves
• Carry food made in the leaves to other parts of the plant
• Support the leaves and flowers

Stems can be thick like tree trunks, or thin like grass blades. Some stems are green and soft, while others are brown and hard. Flower stems help hold the flowers up high so bees and butterflies can find them easily! 🌻

Leaves are amazing! They're like tiny food factories that make food for the whole plant. 🏭 This process is called photosynthesis, but you can think of it as "cooking with sunlight!"

What leaves do:

• Catch sunlight like solar panels
• Take in air through tiny holes
• Mix sunlight, air, and water to make sugar (plant food)
• Help the plant breathe by letting out oxygen

Leaves come in many shapes and sizes. Some are round, some are pointy, and some have jagged edges like a saw. Most leaves are green because they have a special green substance called chlorophyll that catches sunlight. 🍃

Flowers are probably the most beautiful part of plants, but they're not just pretty - they help make new plants! 🌺 Flowers are like the plant's nursery where baby plants begin.

What flowers do:

• Attract bees, butterflies, and other helpers with bright colors and sweet smells
• Make pollen and seeds
• Help create new plants
• Provide food for animals

Flowers come in every color you can imagine: red roses, yellow sunflowers, purple violets, and white daisies. Some flowers are tiny, and some are huge! After flowers do their job, they often turn into fruits with seeds inside. 🌈

All four parts of a plant work together like a team! 👥 Here's how:

1. Roots collect water and nutrients from the soil
2. Stems carry the water up to the leaves
3. Leaves use the water, air, and sunlight to make food
4. Stems carry the food to all parts of the plant
5. Flowers use some of that food to make seeds for new plants

It's like a plant restaurant where the roots are the grocery shoppers, the stems are the delivery trucks, the leaves are the kitchen, and the flowers are the customers who help make more restaurants!

Look around your home, school, or park to find examples of plant parts:

• Trees: Easy to see roots, thick stems (trunks), many leaves, and seasonal flowers
• Flowers in gardens: Beautiful flowers, green stems, different leaf shapes
• Grass: Thin stems, narrow leaves, tiny flowers you might not notice
• Vegetables: Carrots (roots), celery (stems), lettuce (leaves), broccoli (flowers)!

How can you tell if something is living or not living? 🤔 It's like being a detective! Living things have special characteristics that make them different from non-living things. Let's explore what makes something alive.

Living things have several important characteristics that non-living things don't have. Think of these as clues that help you solve the mystery of what's alive! 🔍

Living things:

• Grow and change over time
• Need food, water, and air to survive
• Move or respond to their environment
• Make more of themselves (have babies)
• Get rid of waste they don't need

All living things grow and change during their lives. You started as a tiny baby and have grown bigger and stronger! 👶➡️🧒 Plants start as small seeds and grow into big trees. Caterpillars change into beautiful butterflies. Puppies grow into dogs.

Non-living things like rocks, toys, and chairs don't grow or change on their own. A toy car will always be the same size unless someone breaks it or fixes it.

Just like you need to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, all living things need food to give them energy. 🍎 They also need water to drink and air to breathe.

Animals eat different kinds of food:

• Cats eat meat and cat food
• Rabbits eat carrots and grass
• Birds eat seeds and worms
• You eat fruits, vegetables, and many other foods!

Plants make their own food using sunlight, but they also need water from their roots and air from their leaves.

Non-living things like rocks and toys don't eat, drink, or breathe. They don't need anything to survive.

Living things can move or respond to what's happening around them. 🏃‍♂️ This doesn't mean they all walk or run like you do!

Animals move in many ways:

• Dogs run and walk
• Birds fly
• Fish swim
• Snakes slither
• Frogs hop

Plants move too, but more slowly:

• Flowers turn to face the sun
• Leaves move in the wind
• Vines grow around fences
• Some plants close their leaves when touched

Non-living things don't move on their own. A ball only moves when you kick it. A car only moves when someone drives it.

Living things can make more of themselves - they can have babies! 👶 This is called reproduction.

Animals have babies:

• Dogs have puppies
• Cats have kittens
• Birds lay eggs that hatch into baby birds
• Your parents had you!

Plants make new plants:

• Flowers make seeds
• Seeds grow into new plants
• Some plants grow new plants from parts of themselves

Non-living things can't make more of themselves. Rocks don't make baby rocks, and toys don't make baby toys.

Living things get rid of things they don't need. 🚽 Just like you go to the bathroom, all living things have ways to get rid of waste.

Animals get rid of waste in different ways:

• You use the toilet
• Animals leave waste in nature
• Some animals sweat to cool down

Plants get rid of waste too:

• They release oxygen through their leaves
• Old leaves fall off
• Some waste becomes part of the soil

Let's practice! Is it living or non-living? 🎯

Living things you might see:

• A dog running in the park ✅ (moves, eats, grows, has puppies)
• A tree in your yard ✅ (grows, needs water, makes seeds)
• A spider building a web ✅ (moves, eats flies, lays eggs)
• Grass growing in your lawn ✅ (grows, needs water and sunlight)

Non-living things you might see:

• A bicycle 🚫 (doesn't grow, eat, or have babies)
• A rock 🚫 (doesn't move, grow, or eat)
• A toy robot 🚫 (might move with batteries, but doesn't eat or grow)
• A balloon 🚫 (doesn't need food or water)

Sometimes it's tricky to tell! 🤷‍♂️ Here are some things that might confuse you:

Fire moves and grows, but it's not alive because it doesn't eat food or have babies.

Clouds move and change shape, but they're not alive because they don't eat or reproduce.

Robots might move and respond, but they're not alive because they don't grow naturally or have babies.

Crystals might grow, but they're not alive because they don't eat food or move on their own.

When you're not sure if something is living or non-living, ask yourself these detective questions:

1. Does it grow and change naturally?
2. Does it need food, water, and air?
3. Can it move or respond to its environment?
4. Can it make more of itself?
5. Does it get rid of waste?

If you answer "yes" to most of these questions, it's probably living! If you answer "no" to most of them, it's probably non-living. 🕵️‍♀️

All around us, we can see families in nature where children look like their parents! 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 This happens because parents pass on their traits to their children. A trait is something special about how a living thing looks or acts.

When you look at animal families, you'll see amazing similarities between parents and their babies! 🐾

Dogs and Puppies Puppies look like smaller versions of their parents. If the parent dogs have floppy ears, the puppies will probably have floppy ears too. If the parents have spots, the puppies might have spots. But each puppy is still unique - some might have more spots, some might have fewer! 🐕

Cats and Kittens Kittens inherit many features from their parents. A fluffy cat will usually have fluffy kittens. Orange cats often have orange kittens. But even in the same family, kittens can have different patterns of stripes or spots. 🐱

Birds and Chicks Baby birds look like their parents but are much smaller. Robin chicks will grow up to have the same red breast as their parents. Duck chicks will grow up to have the same type of beak and feet as their parents. Each chick develops its own personality - some are brave, some are shy! 🐦

Farm Animals On a farm, you can see many examples:

• Calves look like smaller cows with the same coloring
• Lambs have the same type of wool as their sheep parents
• Foals (baby horses) have the same body shape as their parents
• Piglets often have the same color pattern as their pig parents 🐄

Plants also have families! When a seed grows into a new plant, it looks like the parent plant that made the seed. 🌱

Flowers If you plant a sunflower seed, it will grow into a sunflower that looks like the parent plant. The flowers will be the same color and shape. But some sunflowers might grow taller, some shorter, and some might have slightly different petal patterns. 🌻

Trees An oak tree seed will always grow into an oak tree, never a pine tree! The new oak tree will have the same type of leaves, the same type of bark, and the same type of acorns as its parent tree. But it might grow in a different shape depending on where it's planted. 🌳

Vegetables When you plant tomato seeds, they grow into tomato plants that produce tomatoes. The tomatoes will be the same type as the parent plant, but each tomato might be a slightly different size or have a slightly different taste. 🍅

Parents pass many traits to their children: 🧬

Physical traits:

• Body size and shape
• Color of fur, feathers, or flowers
• Type of ears, tail, or beak
• Patterns like spots or stripes

Behavioral traits:

• How animals move (flying, swimming, running)
• What sounds they make
• What foods they like to eat
• How they build homes

Even though children look like their parents, each individual is unique and special! 🌟 Here's what makes each one different:

In the Same Family:

• Puppies from the same parents can be different sizes
• Some might be more playful, others more quiet
• They might have slightly different markings
• Each has its own personality

Twin Animals: Sometimes animals have twins (two babies at the same time). Even twins that look very similar have small differences. They might have different favorite foods or different ways of playing! 👯‍♀️

Plant Variations:

• Seeds from the same parent plant might grow to different heights
• Some might have bigger or smaller leaves
• Some might bloom earlier or later
• Each plant adapts to its specific growing conditions

Even though parents pass traits to their children, there are reasons why each individual is unique: 🤔

Combination of Traits: Children get some traits from one parent and some from the other parent. It's like mixing paint colors - you get something new!

Environmental Factors:

• A plant that gets more sunlight might grow taller
• An animal that exercises more might be stronger
• Different foods can affect how an animal grows

Natural Variation: Nature likes variety! Having individuals with small differences helps species survive in different conditions.

You can be a nature detective and look for family similarities! 🔍

At Home:

• Look at pets and their babies
• Plant seeds and watch them grow
• Compare houseplants of the same type

In Your Neighborhood:

• Watch birds feeding their chicks
• Look at trees of the same type
• Observe flowers in gardens

At the Zoo or Farm:

• See animal families together
• Notice how babies look like smaller versions of parents
• Look for individual differences in the same species

Just like animals and plants, you inherited traits from your parents! 👧👦 You might have:

• Your mom's eye color
• Your dad's hair color
• Your grandmother's smile
• Your grandfather's height

But you're also unique and special in your own way! You have your own personality, your own interests, and your own special talents that make you who you are.

Isn't it amazing how nature works? 🌈 Parents and children share similarities that help us recognize families, but each individual is special and unique. This combination of similarity and uniqueness makes the natural world beautiful and diverse!

Next time you see a family of animals or plants, take a moment to notice both how they're alike and how they're different. You're observing one of nature's most wonderful patterns!

Every living thing on Earth needs four basic things to survive and be healthy. These needs are the same whether you're a tiny ant or a giant elephant! 🐜🐘 Let's explore each of these important needs.

All living things need air to breathe! 💨 Air contains oxygen, which is like food for your body's cells. Without air, living things cannot survive for very long.

How Animals Breathe:

• You and other mammals breathe air through your nose and mouth into your lungs
• Birds have special air sacs that help them breathe efficiently, especially when flying
• Fish breathe oxygen from water using their gills
• Insects breathe through tiny holes called spiracles all over their bodies
• Frogs can breathe through their skin and lungs!

How Plants "Breathe": Plants also need air! They take in carbon dioxide from the air and release oxygen. This happens through tiny holes in their leaves called stomata. During the day, plants also make oxygen that we can breathe! 🌿

Clean Air is Important: All living things need clean air to stay healthy. Dirty air can make animals and plants sick, just like it can make you sick.

Water is super important for all living things! 💧 In fact, most living things are made mostly of water - even you are about 60% water!

How Animals Use Water:

• Drinking: Animals drink water to stay hydrated and healthy
• Cooling: Many animals use water to cool down when it's hot
• Cleaning: Some animals use water to clean themselves
• Transportation: Fish and other water animals live in water and use it to move around

How Plants Use Water:

• Drinking: Plants "drink" water through their roots
• Transportation: Water carries nutrients throughout the plant
• Food Making: Plants need water to make their own food
• Structure: Water helps plants stand up straight and keeps leaves from wilting

Different Sources of Water:

• Rivers and streams 🏞️
• Lakes and ponds
• Rain and snow ☔
• Underground water
• Ocean water (though most land animals can't drink salt water)

All living things need food to give them energy to grow, move, and stay alive! 🍎 But different living things eat different kinds of food.

How Animals Get Food:

Plant Eaters (Herbivores):

• Rabbits eat grass, vegetables, and fruits
• Cows eat grass and hay
• Deer eat leaves, twigs, and plants
• Butterflies drink nectar from flowers 🦋

Meat Eaters (Carnivores):

• Lions hunt other animals
• Cats eat meat and fish
• Hawks catch small animals and birds
• Spiders catch insects in their webs 🕷️

Everything Eaters (Omnivores):

• Bears eat fish, berries, and honey
• Pigs eat plants and small animals
• Humans eat both plants and animals
• Raccoons eat fruits, nuts, and small animals 🐻

How Plants Get Food: Plants are amazing because they make their own food! They use sunlight, water, and air to create sugar (their food) in their leaves. This process is called photosynthesis. Plants are like solar-powered food factories! ☀️

All living things need space to live, grow, and move around! 🏠 This space is called their habitat or home.

What Animals Need Space For:

• Living: A safe place to sleep and rest
• Moving: Room to run, fly, swim, or crawl
• Hunting: Space to find food
• Families: Room to raise their babies
• Hiding: Places to hide from predators

What Plants Need Space For:

• Growing: Room for their roots to spread underground
• Sunlight: Space so their leaves can catch sunlight
• Reproduction: Room to make flowers and seeds
• Nutrients: Space so they don't have to compete too much with other plants

Different Types of Spaces:

• Forests: Home to many animals and plants 🌲
• Oceans: Home to fish, whales, and sea plants
• Deserts: Home to cacti, lizards, and snakes
• Grasslands: Home to grazing animals and grass
• Cities: Home to pigeons, rats, and humans

Different living things have developed amazing ways to meet their basic needs! 🌟

Adaptations for Getting Air:

• Whales come to the surface to breathe air
• Camels have special nostrils that can close during sandstorms
• High-altitude birds have larger lungs to get more oxygen

Adaptations for Getting Water:

• Camels can store water in their bodies for long trips
• Cacti store water in their thick stems
• Desert animals get water from the food they eat

Adaptations for Getting Food:

• Giraffes have long necks to reach leaves high in trees
• Woodpeckers have strong beaks to find insects in tree bark
• Venus flytraps catch and eat insects!

Adaptations for Finding Space:

• Birds migrate to find better living spaces
• Hermit crabs find new shells as they grow
• Prairie dogs dig underground tunnels for safe spaces

You are a living thing too, so you have the same basic needs as all other living things! 🧒

Your Need for Air:

• You breathe air through your nose and mouth
• You need clean air to stay healthy
• You can't survive without air for more than a few minutes

Your Need for Water:

• You drink water and other liquids
• You need water to help your body work properly
• You can't survive without water for more than a few days

Your Need for Food:

• You eat plants (fruits, vegetables) and animals (meat, fish)
• You need different types of food to stay healthy
• You can't survive without food for more than a few weeks

Your Need for Space:

• You need a home to live in
• You need space to play, learn, and grow
• You need room to move around and be active

When living things don't get their basic needs met, they become unhealthy or might even die. 😢

Without Air:

• Living things can't breathe and die quickly
• Polluted air makes living things sick

Without Water:

• Plants wilt and die
• Animals become weak and sick
• Living things can't survive for long

Without Food:

• Living things become weak and skinny
• They don't have energy to move or grow
• Young animals and plants can't develop properly

Without Space:

• Living things become stressed and unhappy
• They can't find enough food or water
• They have trouble raising their families

Since all living things have the same basic needs, we can help protect them! 🌍

Keep Air Clean:

• Walk or bike instead of driving when possible
• Plant trees that make oxygen
• Don't litter or burn things that make dirty air

Keep Water Clean:

• Don't put trash in rivers or lakes
• Use less water so there's more for other living things
• Clean up after yourself at beaches and parks

Protect Food Sources:

• Plant flowers for bees and butterflies
• Don't disturb animal homes where they find food
• Compost food scraps to help plants grow

Protect Living Spaces:

• Don't destroy animal homes
• Create gardens for plants and animals
• Be respectful when visiting nature

All living things are connected because they share the same basic needs! 🔗 When we take care of the air, water, food sources, and living spaces, we help all living things - including ourselves!

Remember: You are part of the amazing web of life on Earth. By understanding and respecting the needs of all living things, you become a guardian of our planet! 🌟