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1st grade · Science · Unit 6 of 7

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.

Arizona Academic Standards learning standard: 1.L1U1.6 · the life cycles of animals and plants

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. All living things need food, water, air and shelter.
  2. Plants: seed, seedling, adult plant, seeds.
  3. A butterfly: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly.

Example: A butterfly starts life as an…? The first stage is an egg. Answer: egg

Basic Needs & Life Cycles in Arizona

In the Arizona Academic Standards, this is unit 6 of 7 in 1st grade Science, after How Plants Grow & Change and before Where Animals Live.

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: Arizona Department of Education

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

    Animals get their food by…

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

  3. Question 3

    Which has a life cycle that starts as a seed?

    • A bean plant
    • A frog
    • A butterfly

  4. Question 4

    A plant kept in a dark cupboard would…

    • grow weak without light
    • grow stronger
    • make extra food

  5. Question 5

    Which is a basic need of all living things?

    • A television
    • Food or energy
    • A toy

  6. Question 6

    A drought (no rain) is hard for plants because they lack…

    • sunlight
    • water
    • air

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