Subject: Science

Unit: Organisms
Grade: First

Lesson 1: Sharing What We Know About Organisms

STAGE ONE Established Goals
Relevant Standards/Intended Learning Outcomes and Goals:
Massachusetts Science, Technology and Engineering Frameworks:
PreK- 2, Life Science: Characteristics of Living Things

Recognize that animals (including humans) and plants are living things that grow, reproduce, and need food, air, and
water.

Differentiate between living and nonliving things. Group both living and nonliving things according to the
characteristics that they share.

Essential Questions:

How are all living things the same and how are they
different?

How do people use the process of science to investigate

questions about the natural world?

Content Knowledge:

Vocabulary: living things, organism(s)

Organisms have basic needs, such as food, water, air,

space and shelter.

Each type of organism has specific needs, such as type

of food, amount of water, amount of light, amount of
space, and type of shelter.

There is a wide diversity of living things one earth.

Organisms grow, change and die over time.

Plants have similarities, such as the ability to grow and

the need for water, light, space, and air.

Animals have similarities, such as the ability to move

and the need for food, water, space, and shelter.

Plants and animals have similarities, such as basic needs,

ability to grow and change, and death.

Enduring Understandings/Take-Aways:

All organisms share similar characteristics and basic

needs, but they also have differences that allow people to
identify, describe and classify them.

Scientific inquiry involves asking scientifically- oriented

questions, collecting evidence, forming explanations,
connecting explanations to scientific knowledge and
theory, and communicating and justifying explanations.

Skills:
I can:

Communicate ideas through writing, drawing and

discussion.

Name some living things or organisms and think

about what they need to live.

Identify whether an organism is a plant or animal.

STAGE TWO Assessment: Acceptable Evidence

Evidence to be Collected:
Record Sheet 1A: My Living Thing
Has the student drawn a living thing? Was the student able to add one or two things it needs to live? Did the
student add other elements to the drawing? Did the student show relationships between organism and its
environment?
Class List of Living Things
Did the class list include both plants and animals? Does it include any other types of organisms? Does it include
any nonliving things?
Class Discussion
Can students articulate their thoughts about living things? What information do students already have about plants
and animals?

Materials

Record Sheet 1A: My Living Thing

Crayons

Chart paper

Living/non-living thing picture sort set and pocket chart

Whats Alive by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld

Hook (5 minutes)
Show the students the clue objects I have been sharing with them each day for the past week as a teaser for our science unit:
seed pod from a Coffee tree, rubbery leaf, preserved Piranha, sprig of forsythia. Ask the students what all theses things have
in common?
Activities
Whats an organism? (5 minutes)
All of these things were once living things. Explain that another word for living thing is organism. Write the word on the
board. Have students repeat it. Explain that this is the theme of our new science unit which we will be studying for the next
few weeks. Today we are going to be thinking about what makes a living thing a living thing and what is the difference
between a living thing and a non-living thing.
Pass out a picture to each student from the picture sort set. Explain that each student needs to decide if the picture is a living
thing or a non-living thing. When you are called, walk to the pocket chart and add your picture under the Living or Nonliving title. Then take your place on the rug and observe what other students do with their pictures. Think to yourself if you
agree or disagree with them.
Whats Alive Read-Aloud (15 minutes)
Discuss the results of the picture sort. Ascertain if the students agree with the results. Are there any pictures which require
some discussion?
Read through page 11 of Whats Alive. Note the comparison/contrast text structure that students have been studying in
reading. Ask how we are like and not like cats, trees and plants? Discuss, what does the book say all living things have in
common?
Display the anchor chart:
Living Thing?
Does it need water?
Does it need food?
Does it need air?
Does it move or grow?
Drawing a Living Thing (15 minutes)
Ask students to think of a living thing which they could draw. When they have an idea, have them give a thumbs up in their
laps.
Tell students that they now have a chance to show what they know and think about living things. On the recording sheet,
they will:
Ask students to:

Draw a living thing in the middle of the paper.

Add to the drawing what you think the living thing needs to live and be healthy.

Label the parts of the drawing.

Complete the sentences at the bottom of the drawing (I drew a.I think it needs..). Offer to list vocabulary words
on board as needed.

Put your name and todays date on the paper.

Students who show a thumbs up return to their desks and begin work on Record Sheet 1-A: My Living Thing. Students
who do not yet have their thumbs up remain on rug for consultation with the teacher.
As students work, continue to write their vocabulary ideas on the board. Circulate and ask questions about what living things
students have drawn. Showcase student work that evidences particularly effective strategies for showing what a living thing

needs to live.
Plant or Animal? (5 minutes)
Display a piece of chart paper with two columns: Plant, Animal.
Tell students that we are going to list the living things that students have drawn on the chart paper. If a student names an
organism that is a plant, we will make tree branches with our arms (model and practice with the students). If a student names
an organism that is an animal we will make our hands look like paws and pant with our mouths (model and practice with
students). Call on students and write responses on chart paper. Continue to call on students until all new responses have
been given. Discuss any responses that make students unclear about whether it is an animal or a plant.
Wrap Up (5 minutes)
Have students put their work into their Science Folders. We will return to our pictures at the end of our unit so that we can
see how much we have learned since today. For our next science lesson, we will be discovering how we can use our senses
to learn more about organisms and how we can record the information we learn.