B. Life Systems · Needs and Characteristics of Living Things

Plant and Animal Parts That Help Them Live

B2.3 A1.1 A1.5About 35 minutes

Learning goals

I can describe plants and animals by their size, shape, colour and parts.
I can name the parts of a plant and tell what each part does.
I can explain how an animal's body parts help it meet its needs.
I can tell how my own body parts help me meet my needs.

Words to know

characteristic
Something about a living thing that you can observe, like its size, shape, colour or parts.

roots
The part of a plant under the ground. Roots take in water and hold the plant in the soil.

stem
The part of a plant that holds it up and carries water from the roots to the leaves.

leaf
The part of a plant that makes food for the plant, using sunlight.

flower
The part of many plants that makes seeds.

seed
A small part made by a plant that can grow into a new plant.

Why does a duck have funny feet?

Have you ever seen a duck's feet? They are flat and wide, with skin between the toes. They look like flippers!

Those feet are not funny at all. They are perfect for swimming. Every part of a plant or animal helps it live in its environment.

A mallard duck with a green head and orange webbed feet standing on a rock beside a pond. — Look at this duck's wide, flat orange feet with skin between the toes. They work like flippers for swimming. AI-generated image

Describing living things

Scientists observe plants and animals closely. They describe their characteristics:

Size: big or small, tall or short
Shape: round, long, pointy, flat
Colour: green, brown, white, red
Parts: legs, wings, fur, feathers, leaves, roots

For example, a moose is very big and brown, with long legs and (on males) wide, flat antlers.

Parts of a plant

Most plants have the same main parts. Each part has a job.

The parts of a plant: flower, leaf, stem and roots.

Plant part	Its job
roots	take in water from the soil and hold the plant in place
stem	holds the plant up and carries water to the leaves
leaves	make food for the plant using sunlight, air and water
flower	makes seeds
seeds	grow into new plants

Animal parts that help

Animals have body parts that help them get food, stay warm, stay safe and move.

Animal	Characteristic	How it helps
🦫 beaver	big, strong front teeth; flat tail	Teeth cut down trees for food and building. The tail helps it steer when swimming.
🦆 duck	webbed feet	Help it paddle through water to find food.
🐻‍❄️ polar bear	thick white fur and a layer of fat	Keep it warm in the Arctic cold. White fur blends in with snow.
🐇 snowshoe hare	big back feet; fur turns white in winter	Big feet help it hop on snow. White fur helps it hide from foxes and lynx.
🦔 porcupine	sharp quills	Protect it from animals that want to eat it.
🦅 eagle	sharp eyes and strong, hooked beak	Sharp eyes help it spot fish from high in the sky. The hooked beak tears its food.

Body parts help animals meet their needs

A beaver's body parts help it live: teeth for cutting trees, a flat tail for steering, and webbed back feet for swimming.

People have helpful parts too

You are a living thing! Your body parts help you meet your needs:

Your teeth bite and chew food.
Your legs help you move to find food and shelter.
Your hands can build, carry and hold.
Your nose and mouth take in air.

People do not have thick fur, so we make clothes and build homes to stay warm and safe.

Worked example

Let's describe a maple tree

Describe a sugar maple tree and explain how one of its parts helps it.

Size: It is very tall, taller than a house.
Shape and colour: Its leaves have pointy edges, like the leaf on Canada's flag. They are green in summer and turn red, orange or yellow in the fall.
Parts: roots, a thick trunk (its stem), branches, leaves and winged seeds ("helicopters").
How a part helps: The winged seeds spin and float away in the wind. That spreads them out, so new trees have space to grow.

A sugar maple is tall, with pointy leaves and a thick trunk. Its winged seeds help new trees find space to grow.

Worked example

Let's compare two animals

How are a robin and a fox alike? How are they different?

Alike: Both are animals. Both have eyes, a mouth and legs. Both need air, water, food and shelter.
Different: A robin is small, has feathers, wings and a beak. A fox is bigger, has fur, four legs and a bushy tail.
How parts help: The robin's wings let it fly away from danger. The fox's fur keeps it warm in winter.

They are both animals with the same needs, but they have different body parts that help them live.

Just for fun

Funny but true: A beaver's front teeth are orange! They have iron in them, which makes them extra strong for chewing wood. No toothbrush needed for that colour!

Hands-on activity

Nature detective sketch

You need: paper, a pencil, crayons, and maybe a magnifying glass.

Find a plant (a houseplant, a dandelion or a tree) and an animal (a pet, a bird or a bug). Watch animals from a distance.
Observe each one for 2 minutes. Look at size, shape, colour and parts.
Draw each one. Label at least 3 parts (for example: leaf, stem, root; or wing, beak, leg).
Next to one part, write or tell how it helps the plant or animal live.
Show your grown-up and explain your drawing like a scientist!

What to look for: Correct labels and one clear idea, like "The cat's sharp claws help it climb."

Your turn

Name the 4 main parts of a plant shown in the picture.

What do roots do?

What part of a plant makes its food?

How do a duck's webbed feet help it?

Describe a polar bear using size and colour.

How do your teeth help you meet a need?

Why does a snowshoe hare's fur turn white in winter?

More practice: warm-up

Which plant part makes seeds?

What does a bird have: fur or feathers?

What colour are most plant leaves in summer?

Name an animal with 4 legs.

What part of a plant is under the ground?

More practice: on your own

How do a porcupine's quills help it?

Why do plants need stems?

A beaver has big, strong front teeth. Name 2 ways they help it.

People don't have thick fur. How do we stay warm in winter?

Compare a fish and a frog. Name one way they are alike and one way they are different.

Challenge

A cactus has thick stems that store water. Where do you think cactuses grow? Why does this part help?

Make up an animal that lives in a snowy forest. Give it 2 body parts and tell how each one helps.

Why do you think a woodpecker has a strong, pointy beak?

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which plant part takes in water from the soil?

Which plant part makes food using sunlight?

How do a beaver's strong front teeth help it?

Which characteristic helps a polar bear stay warm?

Which word describes colour?

How do people stay warm when it is very cold?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Plants and animals (including people) have characteristics such as size, shape, colour and body parts, and these parts help them meet their needs.

Common difficulties:

Describing only colour. Prompt for size, shape and parts too: "How big is it? What parts does it have?"
Naming a part without its job. Always follow up: "How does that help it live?"
Thinking a tree trunk is not a stem. A trunk is a big, woody stem.

How to help: Look closely at a houseplant or a weed together (pull one up to see its roots). At the zoo, a farm or the park, ask "What part helps this animal get food? Stay warm? Stay safe?" Labelled drawings are a great way for Grade 1 scientists to record and share what they observed (A1.1, A1.5).