# Lesson 127: Comparing living things

🔬 SCIENCE (40 Lessons) • 🟢 A. Living and Nonliving

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## Objective

I can compare different living things such as plants, animals, and people. I can say what they all need, and how they are alike and different in their body parts, how they move, and where they live.

## Materials

- Pictures or toys of living things (for example: a child, a dog, a bird, a tree, a flower)
- Paper for a simple chart (same / different)
- Pencil and notebook or scrap paper

## Mini-lesson — How are living things the same and different?

All living things are alive. They can grow and change, and they need certain things to stay alive.

What living things have in common

- They need air to stay alive.
- They need water.
- They need food (or light for plants) for energy.
- They need space to live and grow.

How living things can be different

- They may have different body parts (legs, wings, leaves, roots).
- They may move in different ways: walk, fly, swim, or stay fixed in the ground.
- They may live in different places (houses, nests, ponds, soil).

Comparing two living things

- Pick two living things (for example: a dog and a tree).
- Ask: What is the same? (Both need water and air.)
- Ask: What is different? (The dog moves on legs; the tree stays in one place.)

When you compare, you look for same and different. Use science words like needs, moves, and parts to explain your ideas.

Picture strip: Same needs, different bodies

Same needs

Different bodies and ways of moving

## Guided Practice — Compare three living things

You will compare three living things, such as a child, a dog, and a tree. You will look for what is the same and what is different.

1. Choose your three: Pick a person (or child), an animal (like a dog or bird), and a plant (like a tree or flower).
2. Ask about needs: For each living thing, ask: "Does it need air? water? food or light?" Mark a check next to each need on your paper.
3. Ask about body parts: Circle legs, wings, leaves, roots, eyes, or other parts you can see for each one.
4. Ask about movement: Does it walk, fly, swim, or stay in one place? Write one word for each living thing.
5. Make a "same / different" chart: On your paper draw two columns and label them "same" and "different". Add short notes (for example: "all need water" in the same column, "dog walks, tree stays" in the different column).
6. Say your comparison: Use a full sentence, such as "The dog and the child both need food, but the tree makes its own food from light."
7. Use the tracing pad: Choose words like plant, animal, human, needs, water, or moves and trace them while you say the word.

Tracing Pad
Lines
Trace
Pen

## Practice 1 — Same needs chart

Choose three living things (for example: cat, bird, tree) and make a small chart of their needs.

1. Draw three columns and write the names of the living things at the top.
2. Down the side, write air, water, food, space.
3. Put a check mark in each box that fits each living thing.
4. Write one sentence about something they all need.

## Practice 2 — Different body parts and movement

Now compare how your chosen living things look and move.

1. Under each living thing, draw quick sketches of its main body parts (legs, wings, leaves, roots, etc.).
2. Write one word for how it moves: walk, fly, swim, or stays.
3. Write one sentence that tells a difference (for example: "The bird has wings, but the cat does not.").

## Practice 3 — Where do they live?

Think about the places where living things live.

1. For each living thing, draw or name its home (house, nest, soil, water, etc.).
2. Circle any living things that can live near you right now.
3. Write one sentence about how a living thing's home helps it meet its needs.

## Quick Check — Comparing living things

Answer each question about living things. Think about what they need, how they look, and how they move.

1) What is one thing all living things need?

Toys. Water. Cars.
All living things need water to stay alive.

2) A cat, a bird, and a tree are all living things. What is one thing they have in common?

They all can fly. They all live in water. They all need air and water.
All living things need air and water, even if they look different.

3) Which pair compares living things by their movement?

The bird flies; the cat walks. The tree is green; the rock is gray. The chair is hard; the cup is bright.
Flying and walking are ways that living things move.

4) A tree and a flower both…

Walk on legs. Grow in soil. Fly in the sky.
Both are plants that grow in soil.

5) Which word tells how a fish usually moves?

Walk. Fly. Swim.
Fish swim in water.

6) You compare a dog and a tree. What is different?

The dog can walk; the tree stays in one place. They both need water. They both are animals.
The dog moves on legs; the tree does not move from its spot.

7) Which living thing uses wings to move?

Cat. Bird. Tree.
Birds use wings to fly.

8) Plants are different from animals because plants usually…

Walk to find food. Eat other animals. Stay in one place and use light.
Plants stay fixed and use light to make their own food.

9) Which set compares where living things live?

A bird in a nest and a fish in water. A chair and a table in a room. A pencil and a book on a desk.
Nests and water are homes for living things.

10) A child and a dog are similar because they both…

Grow leaves. Need food and water. Make their own food from light.
Both are animals that need food and water from outside.

11) Which sentence uses a good comparing word?

The tree is tall. The dog is brown. The tree is taller than the flower.
"Taller than" compares two living things.

12) You compare a fish and a bird. What is one difference?

The fish swims; the bird flies. Both live in water. Both live in nests.
Fish swim; birds fly. That is a big difference.

13) What is one way a tree and a flower are alike?

The tree can walk. Both are plants that grow from seeds. Both eat other animals.
Trees and flowers are both plants that grow from seeds.

14) Why do we compare living things?

To understand how they are the same and different. So we only look at one animal. To forget about plants.
Comparing helps us learn more about living things.

15) Which best shows a good comparison sentence?

"A dog." "A tree is green." "The dog moves on legs, but the tree stays in one place."
This sentence shows one thing that is the same group (living) and one clear difference.

## Assessment (parent/teacher)

Student can name basic needs that all living things share (air, water, food, space). Student can give at least one similarity and one difference between two living things. Student can describe simple body parts and ways of moving for different living things. Student can say where different living things live (home, nest, soil, water, etc.). Student can explain a comparison using a full sentence (for example, "The bird can fly but the cat cannot.").

## Exit ticket (student)

😀 I can compare living things and explain what is the same and different. 🙂 I can compare some living things but still need more practice. 😅 Comparing living things still feels tricky for me.

#### Next time I will practise…

Saying what all living things need Comparing how two animals move Comparing a plant and an animal
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