B. Life Systems · Needs and Characteristics of Living Things

A Healthy Environment and How We Can Help

B2.5 B1.2 A1.3 A3.1About 40 minutes

Learning goals

I can describe a healthy environment: clean air, clean water and healthy food.
I can explain why living things need a healthy environment.
I can name things people do that harm or help the environment.
I can name actions I can take to help keep our environment healthy.
I can design and build something useful from reused materials.

Words to know

healthy environment
A place with clean air, clean water and healthy food, where living things can live and grow well.

pollution
Garbage, smoke or other harmful things that make air, water or land dirty.

nutritious food
Healthy food that helps a body grow strong.

reduce
To use less of something, so there is less garbage.

reuse
To use something again instead of throwing it away.

recycle
To put used things like paper, cans and some plastics in the blue bin so they can be made into new things.

Two ponds

Pond 1 has clear water. Frogs sing, ducks swim, and cattails grow at the edge.

Pond 2 has plastic bags floating in it. The water is cloudy and smells bad. Hardly any animals live there.

Which pond would you want to live in if you were a frog? Pond 1 is a healthy environment.

A clear pond with cattails, lily pads, a frog on a lily pad and two ducks swimming. — A healthy pond like Pond 1: clear water, cattails at the edge, ducks swimming and a frog resting on a lily pad. AI-generated image

Pond 1 has clean water, so frogs, ducks and cattails can live there. Pond 2 has litter and cloudy water, so few living things can.

What makes an environment healthy?

A healthy environment has:

🌬️ clean air to breathe
💧 clean water to drink and live in
🥕 nutritious (healthy) food to eat

All living things need these things to grow and stay healthy. People, animals and plants all share the same air and water. If the air or water becomes dirty, living things can get sick.

Healthy environment	Unhealthy environment
clean, fresh air	smoky or dirty air
clean lakes and rivers	garbage and oil in the water
healthy food for animals and people	food plants that can't grow, or animals eating garbage
plenty of trees and plants	few plants, lots of litter

People can harm the environment

Some things people do make the environment less healthy:

Littering (dropping garbage on the ground). Animals can get stuck in it or eat it.
Making too much garbage.
Car exhaust and smoke that make the air dirty.
Wasting water.

People can help the environment!

The good news is that people can also help. Even a Grade 1 student can help!

Action	How it helps
🗑️ Put garbage in the bin, never on the ground	Keeps land and water clean and safe for animals
♻️ Reduce, reuse, recycle	Less garbage goes to the dump
🥪 Pack a litterless lunch in reusable containers	Less plastic wrap and garbage
🚶 Walk, bike or take the bus when you can	Less car exhaust, cleaner air
🚰 Turn off the tap while you brush your teeth	Saves clean water
🌳 Plant a tree or flowers	Plants help clean the air and give food and shelter to animals

Actions that help keep the environment healthy

Worked example

Let's find the problem and a solution

At the park, you see a juice box and a plastic bag on the grass near the creek. What is the problem? What can you do?

Problem: This is litter. The wind could blow the bag into the creek. A fish or bird could get stuck in it or eat it.
Solution: With a grown-up's help and gloves, pick it up and put it in the right bin. The juice box may go in recycling, depending on your town's rules.
Even better: Next time, bring a reusable water bottle so there is no juice box at all. That is reducing!

Littering harms living things. Picking up litter and making less garbage helps keep the park healthy.

Just for fun

Knock, knock. Who's there? Water. Water who?

Water you doing with that juice box? Put it in the bin!

Worked example

Let's design something useful from garbage (engineering design)

Problem: Your family throws away lots of empty cardboard boxes and toilet paper rolls. Can you reuse them to make something useful?

Plan: Ask, "What do we need?" Maybe a pencil holder for your desk.
Design: Draw your idea. A cardboard box base with 3 toilet paper rolls glued on top, standing up.
Build: Use tape or glue. Decorate it.
Test: Put pencils and crayons in. Does it tip over? Does it hold them?
Improve: If it tips, glue it to a wider base or put a rock in the bottom.

We turned garbage into a pencil holder. We reused materials, so less went to the dump.

The engineering design process goes around in a loop. After you test, you improve your design and test again.

Hands-on activity

Reuse design challenge

You need: clean items from your recycling bin (boxes, toilet paper rolls, clean yogurt cups, jar lids), tape, glue, scissors (with a grown-up), crayons.

Think of a problem to solve, like: a place to keep your hair clips, a planter for a seed, a bird feeder, or a toy for your pet.
Draw your design first. Label the materials.
Build it.
Test it. Does it work?
Make it better and test again.
Tell someone: What problem did you solve? How does reusing help the environment?

Bonus: Make a "Keep Our Park Clean" poster with a picture and 3 words, and hang it in your window.

Your turn

Name the 3 things a healthy environment has.

Why is litter bad for animals?

What do the 3 R's stand for?

Name one way you can save water at home.

Why do all living things need clean water?

Name one thing people do that makes the air dirty.

More practice: warm-up

Where should you put garbage?

Is a pond with plastic bags in it healthy or unhealthy?

Name a food that is nutritious.

True or false: Planting trees helps the environment.

What does reuse mean?

More practice: on your own

Max uses a new plastic bag every day for his sandwich. What could he do instead?

How does walking to school help the air?

A family puts their pop cans in the blue bin. Which R is that?

Why is clean air important for people?

In the design challenge, why do we test what we build?

Challenge

A factory pours dirty water into a river. Name 2 living things that could be harmed and explain.

Which helps more: recycling a plastic water bottle, or using a reusable bottle so you never need the plastic one? Explain.

Make a plan for a class or family "Earth Day" to help the environment. Name 3 actions.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which is part of a healthy environment?

What should you do with an empty yogurt cup?

Which action reduces garbage?

Why is littering harmful?

Which helps keep the air clean?

Why do living things need a healthy environment?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: A healthy environment has clean air, clean water and nutritious food, and all living things need it. People's actions can harm or help the environment, and children can take real action (B1.2).

Common difficulties:

Thinking recycling is the only answer. Emphasize the order: reduce first, then reuse, then recycle.
Worry about big problems. Keep the focus positive and on things a child can do. Avoid scary detail.
Rushing the design challenge. The engineering design process (A1.3) is plan, build, test, improve. The testing and improving are the most important parts.

How to help: Check your municipality's recycling and green bin rules together. Try a litterless lunch for a week. Pick up litter together (wear gloves, and let an adult handle anything sharp). Connect to community helpers who keep the environment healthy, like waste collectors and park staff (A3.1).