Grade by Grade
B. Life Systems · Needs and Characteristics of Living Things

Needs and Characteristics of Living Things: Unit Review

B1.1 B1.2 B2.1 B2.2 B2.3 B2.4 B2.5 B2.6 A1.1 A1.2 A1.3 A1.4 A1.5 A3.1 A3.3About 40 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can sort living and non-living things and explain how they are connected.
  • I can name the basic needs of living things and the parts that help them meet those needs.
  • I can name body parts and the five senses.
  • I can describe a healthy environment and how living things help each other.

Words to know

environment
Everything around a living thing, the place where it lives.
basic needs
Air, water, food, heat, shelter and space.
senses
Sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch.
healthy environment
A place with clean air, clean water and nutritious food.

Let's review!

You have learned a lot about living things: what they are, what they need, how their bodies help them, and how we can take care of our environment. This review has a few questions from every lesson. Try each one, then press Show answer to check. If a part feels tricky, go back to that lesson.

dandeliontoy carDoes it grow?yesnoDoes it need food, water and air?yesnoCan it make more like itself?yesnoSo it is...LIVINGNON-LIVING
Ask the three questions. A living thing answers "yes" to all of them. Moving is not one of the tests!
sunmaple treesquirrelwaterfishloonlightfood, homea homefoodArrows point to the living thing that needs it.
Living and non-living things are connected. If one part disappears, the others feel it too.

Living and Non-Living Things in Our Environment

1

Living or non-living: a pine tree, a pebble, a ladybug, a balloon?

2

What is an environment?

3

How is a fish connected to the water in a lake?

What Living Things Need

1

Name the 6 basic needs.

2

Need or want: a bicycle?

3

Mia tests if seeds need water. One bag of beans gets water, one does not. What should be the same for both bags?

Plant and Animal Parts That Help Them Live

1

What do a plant's roots do?

2

How do a snowshoe hare's big back feet help it?

3

Describe a ladybug using colour, size and one part.

My Body and My Five Senses

1

Name the sense organ for each sense: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch.

2

What do your lungs do?

3

Which sense would warn you that milk has gone bad, before you drink it?

A Healthy Environment and How We Can Help

1

Name the 3 things a healthy environment has.

2

Name 2 things you can do to help the environment.

3

In the engineering design process, what do you do after you build and test?

Living Things Need Each Other

1

How does a flower help a bee?

2

Name the Three Sisters.

3

If a pond dried up, name 2 living things that would have a problem and why.

Just for fun

Riddle: I am alive, but I have no legs. My seeds fly away on the wind like tiny parachutes. I start out yellow and turn into a white puff. What am I?

A dandelion!

How to use this review

  • Do the review over two short sittings if your child gets tired. Each section matches one lesson.
  • Read questions aloud. Accept answers that are said, drawn or pointed to. Writing is not the goal in Grade 1 science.
  • Ask "How do you know?" Science is about explaining your thinking.
  • Note which section had mistakes, then revisit that lesson's activity, which is often the best way to learn it.
Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which is a living thing?

2.

Which is not one of the basic needs of living things?

3.

Which plant part makes food using sunlight?

4.

How do a duck's webbed feet help it?

5.

Which sense organ do you use to hear?

6.

What does your heart do?

7.

Which is part of a healthy environment?

8.

Which action helps the environment?

9.

In the Three Sisters, what do the beans climb?

10.

A forest is cut down. Which animals lose their shelter?

For parents and teachers

Use mistakes to choose what to revisit. Each review section matches one lesson.

  • Thinks things that move (cars, clouds) are alive, or forgets air and water are part of an environment: revisit Living and Non-Living Things in Our Environment and redo the scavenger hunt.
  • Can't name the six needs, or mixes needs and wants, or changes two things in an experiment: revisit What Living Things Need and the bean experiment.
  • Names parts but not their jobs ("roots" but not what they do): revisit Plant and Animal Parts That Help Them Live. Always ask "How does that help it live?"
  • Mixes up sense organs, or the heart and lungs: revisit My Body and My Five Senses and play Simon Says.
  • Can't say what makes an environment healthy, or only knows "recycle": revisit A Healthy Environment and How We Can Help.
  • Sees only one-way help (people help animals) or only one point of view: revisit Living Things Need Each Other and play the yarn web game.

A few mistakes are normal. Praise careful observing and good explanations, not only correct answers.