Subscribe

3rd grade · Science · Unit 7 of 12

Basic Needs & Life Cycles

What living things need, and the stages of their lives.

What your child practices

Practices the basic needs of organisms (food, water, air, shelter) and the life cycles of plants and animals, including metamorphosis in butterflies and frogs.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: 3.5; 3.10 · life cycles, and the food, water, air and shelter living things need

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Living things need food, water, air and shelter.
  2. Plants make food from sunlight, air and water. Animals eat plants or other animals.
  3. Butterfly: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis), adult.

Example: A caterpillar is which stage of a butterfly? Egg comes first, then the young form that eats leaves. Answer: larva

Basic Needs & Life Cycles in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 7 of 12 in 3rd grade Science, after Animal Life Cycles and before Traits & Variation.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Which is the right order for a plant?

    • seed, seedling, adult plant, seeds
    • seedling, seed, adult plant
    • adult plant, seed, seedling

  2. Question 2

    The adult stage of a life cycle can…

    • turn into rock
    • only sleep
    • make new young

  3. Question 3

    Animals get their food by…

    • eating plants or other animals
    • making it from sunlight
    • drinking only air

  4. Question 4

    Which is NOT a basic need of a pet fish?

    • Food
    • A video game
    • Clean water

  5. Question 5

    What stage comes after the caterpillar?

    • egg
    • pupa (chrysalis)
    • adult hatching

  6. Question 6

    Two different animals both live in a pond. They share the pond to meet their…

    • toys
    • homework
    • needs

More 3rd grade