Begin with a captivating story about a caterpillar transforming into a butterfly, highlighting the concept of growth and change in living things.
Go to the LessonLesson Plans
Living Things Grow and Reproduce
Learning Objectives
- Understand that living things reproduce and make new things like themselves.
- Recognize that plants grow from seeds and eventually resemble their parent plants.
- Identify that animals, like puppies and kittens, often look like their parents from birth.
- Learn that some animals undergo significant changes as they grow, such as caterpillars becoming butterflies.
Introduction and Hook
Introduce the topic by discussing how both plants and animals grow and reproduce, using relatable examples like puppies and kittens.
Direct Instruction
Use the 'Living Things Reproduce' video to explain the various ways living things reproduce, such as seed growth in plants and live births in animals.
Discuss the life cycle of plants using the 'How Plants Grow' video, which covers seed germination and the role of sunlight in photosynthesis.
Guided Exploration
Facilitate a discussion on how some animals, like butterflies, undergo significant changes as they grow.
Encourage students to share examples of plants or animals they know that resemble their parents.
Hands-On Activity
Guide students in planting seeds and observing their growth over time, using the 'Do Plants Need Water?' assessment to track their observations.
Have students draw and label the stages of a plant's life cycle, reinforcing the concept of growth and change.
Independent Practice
Assign the 'How Do Animals Grow and Change?' assessment, where students match animals with their young and compare similarities.
Check for Understanding
Use the 'Do You Know How Plants Grow? (Quiz Edition)' video to quiz students on plant growth concepts, reinforcing their understanding.
Review and Reflection
Conduct a class discussion reflecting on the similarities between offspring and their parents in both plants and animals.
Encourage students to share what they found most interesting about how living things grow and reproduce.
Assessment and Extension
Administer the 'Needs of Living Things' assessment to evaluate students' understanding of the basic needs of living organisms.
Try the Quiz
Encourage students to explore the topic further by researching a specific plant or animal and presenting their findings to the class.
