A STUDENT SHOULD KNOW THAT:

A. MOST LIVING THINGS NEED FOOD, WATER, AIR, AND WAYS TO DISPOSE OF WASTE.

1. Animals need air, food, and water to live.
2. Plants need water, light, air and certain nutrients (minerals).
3. Plants and animals need ways to dispose of waste.

B. LIVING THINGS MUST HAVE AN ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH THEY CAN SURVIVE.

C. STRUCTURE IS RELATED TO FUNCTION.

1. Parts of an animal have functions that help the animal live and thrive.
   1. Structures such as wings, feet, legs, and fins enable some animals to seek shelter, to obtain food, and to escape predators.
   2. Beaks and mouths, including teeth, jaws, and tongues, enable some animals to eat and drink and to obtain food.
   3. Nostrils enable some animals to acquire air.
   4. Eyes, noses, ears, tongues, and skins of some animals enable the animals to sense their surroundings.
   5. Claws, shells, colors of body coverings, and other features enable some animals to protect themselves from other animals.
   6. Feathers, fur, and scales enable some animals to safeguard themselves from the surrounding conditions.
   7. Some animals have parts that are used to produce sounds to help the animal meet its needs.
   8. Parts of some animals change and meet the immediate needs of the animal. For example,
      1. Skin: perspiration rate changes to regulate temperature
      2. Heart: rate of beating changes during emergencies
      3. Eyelids: blinking or closing helps protect the eyes
      4. Lungs: breathing rate changes to provide varying amounts of air
2. Parts of plants have functions that help the plant to live and thrive.
   1. Roots help plants take in water and minerals.
   2. Leaves make food.
   3. Stems, stalks, trunks, and other similar structures provide support for the plant and transport materials within the plant.

D. LIVING THINGS HAVE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION.

E. EXTERNAL FEATURES OF LIVING THINGS HELP THEM SURVIVE IN THEIR
    HABITAT.

1. Animals
   1. Wings, legs, or fins enable some animals to seek shelter and to escape predators.
   2. Parts of some animals change as seasonal conditions change and help the animal to meet its needs. For example, fur grows and is shed to help regulate body heat.
2. Plants
   1. Parts of some plants change and meet the immediate needs of the plant. For example,
      1. Leaves turn toward light and some close in the dark.
      2. Some roots grow more rapidly in moist areas.
   2. Parts of some plants undergo seasonal changes that enable the plant to grow. For example,
      1. Seeds germinate.
      2. Leaves form and grow.
      3. Some roots and tubers store food.

A STUDENT SHOULD BE ABLE TO:

• Compare and contrast living and non-living things.
• Organize information into graphic organizers to show different levels of organization of living things.
• Predict the habitat of a living thing based on its external features.
• Hypothesize how an external feature of a living thing helps it to survive in its habitat.
• Infer whether an object is living based on its structure and needs.