Kindergarten · Science · Unit 1 of 11
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.
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) teks student expectation: K.12(A); K.12(B) · what plants and animals need from their environment 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 Texas
In the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), this is unit 1 of 11 in Kindergarten Science, before Animal Features.
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 Texas parents
- Printable Kindergarten Science sheet
- Texas report cards explained
Source: Texas Education Agency (TEA)
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
A dog is thirsty. What does it need?
🐕- ⚽a ball
- 🛏️a bed
- 💧water
💧 water
Hint: When we are thirsty, we need a drink of water. Dogs do too!
Question 2
Living or not living? Tap a picture, then its basket.
Sort into: 🌱 living · 🪨 not living
- 🐞ladybug
- 🚗toy car
- 🪑chair
- 🌳tree
- 🐕dog
- ⚽ball
🌱 living: ladybug, tree, dog · 🪨 not living: toy car, chair, ball
Hint: Living things grow and need water and air. Toys and spoons don't!
Question 3
What do roots take in for the plant?
🌱- ☀️sunlight
- 💧water
- 🧸toys
💧 water
Hint: Roots grow in the soil and drink up water for the plant.
Question 4
A plant is kept in a dark closet. What will happen?
🪴- ⬆️It will grow faster
- 🥀It won't grow well
- 😐Nothing will change
🥀 It won't grow well
Hint: Plants need sunlight to grow. Without light, they get weak.
Question 5
Where does a fish live?
🐟- 🌊in water
- 🌳in a tree
- 🏜️in the desert
🌊 in water
Hint: Fish live in water. They need water to breathe.
Question 6
What does a plant need to grow?
🌱- 🧸a toy
- 🍬candy
- 💧water
💧 water
Hint: Plants need water, sunlight and air to grow.