Kindergarten · Science · Unit 1 of 8
What Living Things Need
Food, water, air and sunlight
What your child practices
Telling living from non-living things, and what plants and animals need to live: food, water, air, shelter and sunlight.
Maine Learning Results learning standard: K-LS1-1 · patterns in what plants and animals, including people, need to survive
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- Living things grow and change. Toys and rocks do not.
- Plants and animals need water, air and food.
- Plants need sunlight too.
Example: Which one is living: a ball or a bird? A bird grows and eats. A ball does not. Answer: a bird
What Living Things Need in Maine
In the Maine Learning Results, this is unit 1 of 8 in Kindergarten Science, before Push & Pull.
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.
- Kindergarten guide for Maine parents
- Printable Kindergarten Science sheet
- Maine report cards explained
Source: Maine 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.
Question 1
What do animals need to live?
🐇- 🍎food and water
- 📺a TV
- 🧸toys
🍎 food and water
Hint: All animals need food, water and air to live.
Question 2
What do we breathe in to stay alive?
- 🏖️sand
- 🧃juice
- 🌬️air
🌬️ air
Hint: Take a big breath. You are breathing in air!
Question 3
What does a plant need to grow?
🌱- 🍬candy
- 💧water
- 🧸a toy
💧 water
Hint: Plants need water, sunlight and air to grow.
Question 4
Where does a fish live?
🐟- 🌳in a tree
- 🌊in water
- 🏜️in the desert
🌊 in water
Hint: Fish live in water. They need water to breathe.
Question 5
Which one needs food, water and air?
- 🚲a bike
- 🐇a rabbit
- 🪨a rock
🐇 a rabbit
Hint: A rabbit is living, so it needs food, water and air.
Question 6
What do roots take in for the plant?
🌱- 💧water
- ☀️sunlight
- 🧸toys
💧 water
Hint: Roots grow in the soil and drink up water for the plant.