Living Things Around Us
Primary 1 · Science and Elementary Technology
Living Things Around Us
Lesson 3 of 3
13 min
Let's begin
Before the holiday, Uwase grew two bean plants in two tins. She carried one home and watered it every day. She forgot the other one on the school window.
When school opened again, the plant at home was green and tall. The one at school was brown, dry and dead.
Same seed. Same soil. So what was different? Today you will find out.
Look at a goat. Now look at a stone.
The goat eats. It drinks. It breathes. It grows bigger. One day it has kids of its own.
The stone does none of that. It does not eat. It does not drink. A small stone will never grow into a big stone.
The goat is a living thing. The stone is a non-living thing.
Living things: you, your friends, the cow, the chicken, the fish in the lake, the banana plant, the grass.
Non-living things: a stone, a cup, a chair, a jerrycan, a football.
You eat beans, ubugali, sweet potato and bananas. Food gives you power to run and to grow.
The goat eats grass. The chicken pecks maize and small insects. The lion eats meat.
And a plant? A plant does not eat. It makes its own food, in its leaves, using sunlight.
So people and animals look for food. Plants make food. But every single one of them needs food.
You drink water every day. After running at break you get thirsty fast.
A cow drinks a lot of water. Even a chicken needs a bowl of clean water.
A plant drinks too. Its roots pull the water out of the soil.
Now you know what happened to Uwase's plant at school. Nobody gave it water. No water, no life.
Put your hand in front of your nose and breathe out. Can you feel it? That is air.
You breathe air in and out all day, and all night, even while you are asleep.
The dog breathes air. The cow breathes air. Even a fish needs air, and it takes its air out of the water.
Plants need air too. They take it in through their leaves.
Nothing that is alive can live without air.
Hide a plant in a dark box for a week and it goes pale and weak. Its leaves cannot make food in the dark.
That is why a farmer plants beans in an open field, out where the sun can reach them.
Plants:
Animals:
People:
Tip
Three words. Say them out loud three times: food, water, air.
You need them. Animals need them. Plants need them. Remember those three words and you remember what every living thing needs.
Think first, then tap Show answer to check.
Is a chair a living thing?
Answer: no. A chair does not eat, drink, breathe or grow. It is a non-living thing.
Name the three things every living thing needs.
Answer: food, water and air.
Keza's flower is drooping and the soil is dry and dusty. What does it need?
Answer: water. Give it water and the leaves will lift up again.
A plant cannot walk to the market. So where does its food come from?
Answer: the plant makes its own food, in its leaves, using sunlight.
On a hot day, Mutesi sees that her dog's bowl is empty. What should she do first?
Answer: fill the bowl with clean water. The dog is thirsty.
Note
What you learned today:
Quick check
Which one is a living thing?
