Living Things and

E BIG

Unit
TH
What do plants

2 and animals need?

Their Environments
Lesson Plan
Unit Opener & Lesson 1 What do living things need?
Activity Pages Time
• Unit Opener: Think! Why do the cows need the sun? SB p. 16 15 min
• Unit Opener: Identify what living things need. SB p. 16 15 min
• Unit Opener: Identify how plants and animals live in a land or SB p. 16 15 min
Engage water environment.
• Think! What do plants need? TB p. 18 15 min
• Think! How are the nutrients that plants get different from the TB p. 19 15 min
nutrients animals get?
Explore • Digital Lab: Do plants need water? (ActiveTeach) TB p. 17 30 min
• What plants need to grow SB p. 17 30 min
• Where plants get nutrients SB p. 18 30 min
Explain
• What animals need to live SB p. 19 30 min
• Got it? 60-Second Video (ActiveTeach) TB p. 19 15 min
• Flash Lab: Play a Plant SB p. 17 15 min
Elaborate • Science Notebook: What Plants Need to Grow TB p. 17 20 min
• Mind Map: How Plants Get Water TB p. 18 30 min
• Lesson 1 Check (ActiveTeach) TB p. 27a 20 min
• Assessment for Learning TB p. 19 15 min
Evaluate • Review (Lesson 1) SB p. 27 20 min
• Got it? Self Assessment (ActiveTeach) TB p. 27b 15 min
• Got it? Quiz (ActiveTeach) TB p. 27c 15 min

Lesson 2 How do plants and animals live in land environments?

Activity Pages Time
Engage • Think! Why did the bear climb the tree? SB p. 20 5 min
Explore • Digital Activity: Did You Know: Bighorn Sheep TB p. 20 20 min
• Environments and forest environments SB p. 20 30 min
• Prairie environment SB p. 21 30 min
Explain
• Desert environment SB p. 22 30 min
• Got it? 60-Second Video (ActiveTeach) TB p. 22 15 min
• Science Notebook: Land Environments TB p. 21 20 min
Elaborate
• Desert Chart TB p. 22 40 min
• Lesson 2 Check (ActiveTeach) TB p. 27a 20 min
• Assessment for Learning TB p. 22 15 min
Evaluate • Review (Lesson 2) SB p. 27 25 min
• Got it? Self Assessment (ActiveTeach) TB p. 27b 15 min
• Got it? Quiz (ActiveTeach) TB p. 27c 15 min

T15e Unit 2 • Unit Overview • Lesson Plan

 Lesson 3 How do plants and animals live in water environments?
Activity Pages Time
Engage • Think! What plants and animals live in water? TB p. 23 10 min

Explore • Digital Lab: How do some turtles stay warm in winter? (ActiveTeach) TB p. 23 30 min
• Water environments and marsh environments SB p. 23 30 min
• Swamp environment SB p. 24 30 min
Explain
• Ocean environment SB p. 25 30 min
• Got it? 60-Second Video (ActiveTeach) TB p. 25 15 min
• Science Notebook: Marsh Plants and Animals Diagram TB p. 23 40 min
Elaborate • Go Green: Wetlands TB p. 24 30 min
• Wetland Poster TB p. 24 40 min
• Lesson 3 Check (ActiveTeach) TB p. 27b 20 min
• Assessment for Learning TB p. 25 15 min
Evaluate • Review (Lesson 3) SB p. 27 25 min
• Got it? Self Assessment (ActiveTeach) TB p. 27b 15 min
• Got it? Quiz (ActiveTeach) TB p. 27c 15 min
Lab • Let’s Investigate! Why do plants need light? (ActiveTeach) TB p. 26 30 min

Flash Cards
environment need wetland Lesson 1

Key Words ELL Support

need, air, water, Wh- Questions:

light, nutrients, What do cows need?
soil, shelter Yes/No Questions:
Do cows need air and water?
Simple Present:
A plant needs air. Plants
forest ocean prairie need water.
Vocabulary: fly, cow, egg,
honey, cheese, milk, poppy,
strawberry, beaver

Lesson 2

Key Words ELL Support

environment, Vocabulary: sharp, claw, dig,

desert swamp marsh forest, prairie, prairie dog, hole, rain, snow,
desert rabbit, lizard, cactus, waxy

Lesson 3

Key Words ELL Support

wetland, swamp, Vocabulary: beak, wing, neck,

marsh, ocean leg, alligator, crocodile, swim,
tail, fish, oxygen, gill, fin

Unit 2 • Unit Overview • Lesson Plan T15f

 Unit

2 Living Things Unit Living Things and

and Their 2 Their Environments
Environments
What do plants I will learn
and animals need? ō what living things need.
ō how plants and animals
1 Circle where cows live.
can live in land and

Unit Objectives water environments.

Lesson 1: Students will identify what plants and

animals need to live.
Lesson 2: Students will identify what plants and
2 Cross out ( ) what a cow does not need.
animals live in land environments.
Lesson 3: Students will read and write about plants
and animals that live in water environments.
Vocabulary: forest, pasture, desert, need, air, water, 3 Look and circle the products we get from cows.
light, nutrients, soil, shelter, environment, prairie, Think of two more.
wetland, swamp, marsh, ocean

T hi nk !

Introduce the
E BIG
TH
Why do cows need the
sun?
Big Question
16 Unit 2

What do plants and animals need?

Build Background Explain that plants and animals are
living things that grow and change. Talk about ways to
take care of different plants and animals. 3 Look and circle the products we get from
cows. Think of two more.
Engage Point to the cow and explain that some of the pictures
are products that come from a cow. Which products
come from the cow? (Milk. Cheese.) Point to the other
items and name them as well for students to hear
Why do cows need the sun? new words.
Have students look closely at the photograph, paying
special attention to what they see. Look at the picture of ELL Language Support
the place. What’s the weather like? Elicit cool, warm, or
hot. Point to the cow. Why do cows need sun? Accept Point out and practice questions with need.
all logical answers. Provide language support if needed. • What do cows need?
Next, explain to students that cows eat grass and grass • Why do cows need sun?
needs sunlight to grow. • Do cows need air and water?
Encourage students to notice the difference between
1 Circle where cows live. wh- questions and yes/no questions.
Have students circle the place where a cow lives.
Use the pictures to elicit vocabulary and teach
new words.
2 Cross out ( ) what a cow does not need.
Revisit the Big Question What do plants and animals
Point to the picture of the cow at the bottom of the need? Encourage students to think about what the flies
page. Review the meaning of need by providing a and the grass in exercise 2 need. (Possible answers: air,
simple definition (something we have to have or that water, light)
is very important). Point to the pictures for students to
name the items. What is this? It’s (grass/air/water).
They’re flies. Discuss with students what cows need.
Students cross out what cows don’t need: Right!
Cows don’t need flies.

T16 Unit 2 • Living Things and Their Environments: What do plants and animals need?
Lesson 1
What do living Lesson 1 . What do living Key Words

things need? things need?

1 Look and draw one missing thing
ō need
ō air
ō water
ō nutrients
ō soil
ō shelter
that the plant needs to grow. ō light
Read.
Objective: Learn how air, water, light, food, and
space are needs of living things.
Vocabulary: need, air, water, light, nutrients, soil,
shelter
Digital Resources: Flash Card (need), Let’s Needs
Explore! Digital Lab All living things have needs. A need
is something a living thing must
Materials: slightly withered plant, bottle of water have to live. Plants and animals Poppy plants have needs.
are living things. They have needs.
People have needs, too.
Unlock the Big Question Needs of Plants
Plants need air and water
water. They
N L OC K
U TH
E BIG Write the following on the board: I will learn need light to make food. They need
what living things need. space to live and grow.
2 Why do the poppy plants look
healthy? Talk about it as a class.
Build Background Attach the need Flash Card to the Let’s Explore! Lab Unit 2 17

board. Explain that the plant needs water. Draw a two-

column chart on the board with the column headings
Needs and Wants. Help students identify wants and needs
in their own lives. List their answers in the chart. As you 2 Why do the poppy plants look healthy?
revisit each answer, ask: Do you need this to live? Talk about it as a class.
Point to the photograph of the poppies and have the
Explore class read the sentence aloud. Explain that poppies
Let’s Explore! Lab Do plants need water? are flowers. Next, have students share their ideas
Objective: Determine if plants need water to live. about why the poppies look healthy. They have air,
water, and light.
Digital Resources: Let’s Explore! Digital Lab, Let’s
Explore! Activity Card (1 per student) Elaborate
• Put the withered plant on the table. Make sure the
bottle of water is out of sight. Observe the plant.
Does it look healthy? What can make it healthy?
Have students brainstorm ideas. Students write their
predictions down on the Activity Card.
• Students water the plant, wait one day, and write
down observations of what happens to the plant.
Students write an explanation of their results.
• Alternatively, show the Digital Lab. We will watch a
video to find out what the plant needs. (Answer: Water.)

Explain
BOOK

1 Look and draw one missing thing that the Science Notebook: What Plants Need to Grow
plant needs to grow. Read. Have each student draw a plant in their Science Notebook
and show what the plant needs to live and grow. Drawings
Point to the pictures and name the items for students
should include information on water, air, and light.
to repeat. This is (a seed/soil/water/a shoot). Ask
students to read the text and say what is missing.
Light. Students draw the sun in the empty circle. In
pairs, ask students to read the highlighted words.
Then make sure students understand the main idea.
What needs do plants have? Air, water, and light.

Unit 2 • Lesson 1 What do living things need? T17

Lesson 1
What do living 3 Read. Look and point to where

things need? the strawberry plants get nutrients.

Nutrients
Plants need nutrients. Nutrients are materials
Objective: Learn what plants need to grow. that living things need. Plants can get nutrients
from the soil.
Vocabulary: plant, water, nutrient, light, soil 4 Why do strawberry plants need nutrients?
Digital Resources: I Will Know… Digital Activity Say with a partner.
5 Look and complete the chart.

Build Background To review what students already

Possible answers:
know and continue building on their knowledge, say
aloud sentences starting with Plants need ____ and fill in
the space with items plants do or do not need, such as space, air.
light, clothing, and so on. Have students respond with
a thumbs-up if the plant needs the item to live or with a
thumbs-down if the plant does not need it to live.

Explain
3 Read. Look and point to where the
strawberry plants get nutrients. 18 Unit 2 I Will Know...

Have students look at the picture. What are they?

They’re strawberry plants. Write nutrients on the
board and explain the meaning (things that help Elaborate
plants grow).
Mind Map
Have students read the text along with you. Then
ask them to point to the soil to show where nutrients Ask students to make mind maps that show different ways
come from. that plants might get water, such as from rain or from
people watering them, or light, such as from the sun or
Ask them to underline the information in the text that
from lamps. Suggest each student use their mind map as
says where the nutrients come from. (Answer: Plants
a basis for a short paragraph on what plants need to live.
can get nutrients from the soil.)
Ask comprehension questions: Where do plants
grow? (Answer: In the soil.) What do plants need?
(Answer: They need nutrients.)
What do plants need?
4 Why do strawberry plants need nutrients?
Write the questions below on the board. Invite volunteers
Say with a partner.
to come up and answer the questions. Accept all logical
Ask students to work with a partner and look back answers and provide language support if needed.
over the text to say why strawberry plants need A plant gets too big for its container. What does it need?
nutrients. (Answer: Plants are living things. Living (Possible answer: The plant needs space.)
things need nutrients to live and grow.)
It doesn’t rain for a long time. What do the plants need?
5 Look and complete the chart. (The plants need water or they can die.)
Have students look at the chart of what a plant Why does a plant need light? (A plant needs light to
needs. Then invite them to complete the missing word make food.)
(space/air). Explain that if plants don’t have space
or air they die.
Point to the rows of strawberries. Why are the
strawberries planted in rows? (Possible answer:
Planting strawberries in rows gives them space
to grow.)

T18 Unit 2 • Living Things and Their Environments: What do plants and animals need?
Lesson 1
What do living 6 Read. What do animals

things need? and people need?

Say with a partner.
Needs of Animals
Animals need air, water, and food.
Objective: Learn how shelter helps animals and
They get nutrients from food. Beavers build their own shelter.
people stay safe.
Animals need space to live.
Vocabulary: air, water, food, shelter, soil, water, Some animals need shelter.
animal, plant Shelter is a safe place.
Needs of People
Digital Resources: Lesson 1 Check (print out 1
per student), Got it? 60-Second Video, selected People need air, water, and food.
Animal Cards They get nutrients from food.
People need space to live. They
Materials: pictures of animal habitats, pictures of need shelter. Shelter keeps them
villages, towns, and cities warm and dry.
7 Match what plants and animals need.

Build Background Ask students to think of a pet they

have or would like to have and draw a picture of it. Then
tell students to suppose that they need to leave the pet
with a pet sitter. Have students talk about what they would
communicate to the pet sitter about their pet’s needs in
Lesson 1 Check Got it? 60-Second Video Unit 2 19
terms of air, water, and food.

Explain
6 Read. What do animals and people need?
Say with a partner.
Write the following question on the board: How are the
Point to the photographs of the beavers and the
nutrients that plants get different from the nutrients animals
people and encourage students to describe as much
get? (Answer: Plants get nutrients from soil. Animals get
as they can. Ask students to read both paragraphs to
nutrients from food.) Accept all other logical answers.
find out what animals and people need. Ask them to
read the text along with you. Next, pair students and
encourage them to say the needs. (Answers: animals:
Evaluate
air, water, food, space, shelter; humans: air, water, Lesson 1 Check Assessment for Learning
food, space, shelter) Distribute the Lesson 1 Check and guide students as they
complete it. Check answers as a class. Then ask students to
ELL Content Support grade their progress on the topic of what living things need
from 1 to 3: 3 = I understand what living things need; 2 =
Show pictures of different animals and animal
I need to study more; 3 = I need help! Encourage students
habitats and villages, towns, and cities and say
giving themselves a 1 or a 2 to say what they found
if the animals and people who live there have all
difficult and what they need to study more.
their needs met or not.

7 Match what plants and animals need.

Invite volunteers to read the words on the page
aloud. Allow students time to draw lines from the
word plants to all their needs and then from animals
to all their needs. Invite volunteers to say the answers
for the class.

Unit 2 • Lesson 1 What do living things need? T19

Lesson 2
How do plants and
animals live in land
environments?
Objective: Learn about land environments.
Vocabulary: environment, forest, sharp, claw, dig
Digital Resources: Flash Cards (environment,
forest), Explore My Planet! Digital Activity
Unlock the Big Question
N L OC K
U E BIG
TH Write the following question on the board:
What type of environment do you live in?
(Land.) What is in your environment? (Answers
may include students’ homes or natural
surroundings, foods they eat, water, air, etc.)
Build Background Display the environment and
forest Flash Cards. Say the words aloud for students to
repeat. Point to the bear. Bears live in a forest. Bears live
on land. Land is an environment. Ask students to repeat
the information in pairs. Ask them to name items they
can see on the page. (Answers: bear, tree, branch, bark,
pine needles)
Write the following question on the board: Why did the
bear climb the tree? Invite volunteers to answer. (Possible
answers: To get insects or honey for food. To sharpen
its claws.)
Explore
Explore My Planet! Did You Know:
Bighorn Sheep
Objective: Students will learn how bighorn sheep live in
a desert environment.
Digital Resources: Explore My Planet! Digital Activity,
Explore My Planet! Activity Card (1 per student)
• Show the Explore My Planet! Ask students to look at
the photograph and answer the first question orally
as a class before writing the answer.
• Ask students to work independently or in pairs to
answer the second question. Before they answer,
discuss cactus spines with the class. Ask volunteers
to share their answers with the class.
• Have students complete the Activity Card.
T20 Unit 2 • Living Things and Their Environments: What do plants and animals need?
Lesson 2 . How do plants and animals
live in land environments?
1 Read. Look at the picture and Key Words
say two things you think are
in the horses’ environment.
ō environment ō prairie
ō forest ō desert
Environments
An environment is all the living and
nonliving things in one place. It has
food, water, and air. Land is one kind of
environment. Land has rocks and soil.
Many plants and animals live on land.
2 Read. With a partner, describe
the forest.
Forest Environments
A forest is a land environment. It is
land that has many trees and other
plants. Black bears live in some
forests. They have sharp claws. Bears
use their claws to dig for food. Sharp
claws help bears climb trees. T hi nk !
Why did the bear
climb the tree?
20 Unit 2 Explore My Planet!
Explain
1 Read. Look at the picture and say two
things that you think are in the horses’
environment.
Have students read the text along with you. Pair
students and have them look at the picture of the
horses and identify things they can see in the
environment. (Answers: grass, soil, plants) Then
check answers as a class.
2 Read. With a partner, describe the forest.
Have students look at the photo and identify the
bear and what is in the forest. Invite students to read
the text. Discuss the meaning of sharp, claws, and
dig using mime and simple definitions. Then pair
students to describe what is in the forest. (Answer:
Many trees and other plants.) Invite students to write
the words forest, tree, and plant in their notebooks
and draw simple pictures of them to reinforce their
understanding of land environments.
ELL Content Support
Divide the class into two teams. Ask students to
answer the following quiz questions. What plants
and animals do you see on this page? (Answers:
grass, horses, tree, bear) What are the horses doing?
(Answers: standing, eating) What is the bear doing?
(Answer: climbing)
Lesson 2
How do plants and
animals live in land
environments?
Objective: Identify different kinds of land
environments.
Vocabulary: prairie, prairie dog, sharp, claw,
dig, hole
Digital Resources: Flash Card (prairie),
I Will Know… Digital Lab
Explain
3 Read. Cross out ( ) one thing you will not
find in the prairies.
Encourage students to look at the picture and name
the environment and animals on the page. (Answers:
prairie, prairie dog) Have students read the text
along with you. Then encourage students to look
at the four words and cross out the thing you will
not find on prairies. (Answer: mountains) Discuss
how they came to this conclusion (Possible answers:
Mountains don’t appear in the text. The text mentions
flat lands, and mountains aren’t flat.)
4 Circle the part of the prairie dog that helps
it dig holes.
Read the instruction and make sure students understand
dig and holes by drawing simple sketches on the
board. Ask them to find where the words appear in
the text to help them locate the correct information for
the answer. Students read and circle the words that
show the parts that help the prairie dog dig. Invite a
volunteer to share the answer with the class. (Answer:
sharp claws) Then ask students to circle the part of the
prairie dog in the photograph.
Have students read the text again. Pair students to
answer the following questions you write on the
board. How do sharp teeth help prairie dogs survive?
(They help the prairie dogs chew prairie grass.) Why
is a prairie a better environment for prairie dogs than
a forest? (Prairie dogs need grass to eat, and prairies
have a lot of grass. It could be hard for prairie dogs
to dig holes in the forest floor.) Invite volunteers to
share answers with the class.
Unit 2 • Lesson 2 How do plants and animals live in land environments?
3 Read. Cross out ( ) one thing
you will not find in the prairies.
Prairie Environment
A prairie is a land environment. It is
flat land that is covered with grasses.
Prairie dogs live in some prairies.
They have sharp teeth. Sharp teeth
help them chew the prairie grass.
Prairie dogs have sharp claws, too.
They help them dig holes in the
ground. They use holes for shelter.
4 Circle the part of the prairie
dog that helps it dig holes.
I Will Know... Unit 2 21
ELL Vocabulary Support
Write the words sharp, claw, and dig on the board.
Have students remember which other animal
description contains these words. (Answer: black
bears) Then ask students to draw in their notebooks a
picture of a black bear digging for food and a prairie
dog digging a hole. Then ask students to label their
pictures with the three words on the board. Use of
visual activities will help them to learn new vocabulary.
Elaborate
BOOK
Science Notebook: Land Environments
Explain to students that scientists who study environments
learn to be careful observers. Ask them to imagine they
are environmental scientists and to observe the animals
on pages 20 and 21 carefully. Ask them to describe all
the things they can see in one environment. Encourage
them to include as much detail as possible. Then ask
them to draw one of the things they discovered and
write a sentence about it.
T21
Lesson 2
How do plants and 5 Read. With a partner, say words that

animals live in land describe deserts.

Desert Environment

environments? A desert is a land environment. It is land that is

very dry. It gets very little rain or snow. Most
deserts are very hot; others are very cold.
Plants grow in deserts. Plants in deserts
Objective: Identify plants and animals in
hold water. Many animals get the water
a desert environment.
they need from the plants they eat.
Vocabulary: desert, rain, snow, rabbit, lizard, 6 Read. Circle the parts of the
cactus, waxy rabbit, the plant, and the lizard
that help keep them cool.
Digital Resources: Flash Card (desert)
Lesson 2 Check (print out 1 per student),
Got it? 60-Second Video
Materials: construction paper, markers

Build Background Display the desert Flash Card.

Write the word desert on the board. This is a desert
environment. Ask What might you wear on a normal day
in a desert environment? Why? (Possible answers: Shorts,
a T-shirt, sunglasses, and a sunhat. Because it is hot and 22 Unit 2 Lesson 2 Check Got it? 60-Second Video

sunny.)

Explain the information according to the text in exercise 6. Review

5 Read. With a partner, say words that the answers with the class. Display the charts around the
describe deserts. classroom. Invite groups to present their charts to the class.

Have students read the text along with you. Allow Evaluate
them time to underline words individually that they
think describe deserts. Pair students. Have them Lesson 2 Check Check Assessment for Learning
share the words that describe deserts. (Answers: Distribute the Lesson 2 Check and guide students as they
dry, little rain, hot, cold) complete it. Check answers as a class. Then ask students
to grade their progress on the topic of plants and animals
in land environments from 1 to 3: 3 = I understand how
6 Read. Circle the parts of the rabbit, the plants and animals live in land environments; 2 = I need
plant, and the lizard that help keep to study more; 1 = I need help! Encourage students giving
them cool. themselves a 1 or 2 to describe what they found difficult
Have students read the text again individually. Pair and what they need to study more.
students and encourage them to circle the parts. Invite
volunteers to say the words. (Answers: rabbit: big
ears; plant: waxy leaves; lizard: light-colored skin)
Ask students more questions about the text. In what
ways is a desert similar to a forest? In what ways is
it different? (Possible answers: similar: Both are land
environments and have plants and animals. different:
The desert has fewer plants, more sun, and different
animals than a forest.)

Elaborate
Desert Chart
Reinforce the concept of special parts or features. Draw
a three-column chart on the board with the headings Plant
or Animal, Special Feature, and How does it help?
Put students in small groups and provide them with
construction paper and markers. Invite students to complete

T22 Unit 2 • Living Things and Their Environments: What do plants and animals need?
Lesson 3
How do plants and
animals live in water
environments?
Objective: Identify and learn about plants and
animals in water environments.
Vocabulary: wetland, swamp, marsh, ocean,
beak, wing, neck, leg
Digital Resources: Flash Cards (wetland, marsh),
Let’s Explore! Digital Lab, Animal Cards
Unlock the Big Question
N L OC K
U TH
E BIG Write the following text on the board: I will
learn about plants and animals that live in
water environments.
Build Background Display the wetland and marsh
Flash Cards. Explain that wetlands are a water
environment. Write wetland on the board and point
to the two words that make it up: wet and land. What
plants and animals do you think live in this environment?
(Possible answers: water lilies, frogs)
What plants and animals live in water?
Ask the question and invite students to name plants
and animals they know live in water (frogs, crocodiles,
hippopotamus, etc.). It doesn’t matter if they name animals
from different habitats not studied in this unit at this stage.
Explore
Let’s Explore! Lab How do some turtles stay
warm in winter?
Objective: Observe different temperatures in water and
soil to see which is warmer.
Digital Resources: Let’s Explore! Digital Lab, Let’s Explore!
Activity Card (1 per student) (Optional: Do the lab in class;
refer to the Activity Card for materials and steps.)
• We will watch a video to observe how temperatures
change. We will decide how temperature affects
where turtles go in winter.
• Show the Digital Lab.
• Which stays warmer longer: water or soil? (Answer: soil)
• Show the Digital Lab again. Where do turtles stay?
(Answer: On shore or on land.)
• Have students complete the Activity Card.
Unit 2 • Lesson 3 How do plants and animals live in water environments?
Lesson 3 . How do plants and animals
live in water environments?
1 Read. With a partner, talk about
Key Words
ō wetland ō swamp
how some plants float on water.
Water Environments
ō marsh ō ocean
Some animals live in water environments.
They get what they need there. Some
plants live in water environments, too. Flat
leaves help the plants float. Long stems
with roots down to the soil soak up the
nutrients. Some plants live underwater.
2 Read. Circle two parts of the heron that help it live in
the marsh.
Marsh Environments
A wetland is an environment that is
covered with water. Marshes are wetlands,
and they have grasses. Many different
kinds of animals live in marshes. Blue
herons live in marshes. They have long,
sharp beaks, and they catch fish with them.
Herons have long, thin legs, too.
Let’s Explore! Lab Unit 2 23
Explain
1 Read. With a partner, talk about how some
plants float on water.
Have students read the text along with you. Encourage
them to underline the sentences that refer to plants on
water. Invite a volunteer to share the answer with the
class. (Answer: Flat leaves help the plants float. Long
stems with roots down to the soil soak up the nutrients.)
Have students draw and label a plant with flat leaves
on water and the stem going down in the water.
2 Read. Circle two parts of the heron that
help it live in the marsh.
Review or teach the words for a bird’s body parts. Mime
beak, wings, neck, and legs and say the words aloud.
Have students repeat and mime after you.
Ask students to scan the text for the word marshes
and guess the meaning according to the context
(wetlands with grasses). Have students read the text
along with you and then circle the parts of the heron.
Invite two volunteers to name the parts aloud (long
beaks and long legs).
Elaborate
BOOK
Science Notebook: Marsh Plants and
Animals Diagram
Have students find pictures of other marsh-dwelling plants and
animals in books and online. Ask each student to make one
diagram of a plant and another of an animal in their Science
Notebook and then label the key parts in their diagrams.
T23
Lesson 3
How do plants and 3 Read. Why do alligators in

animals live in water a swamp need to be good

swimmers? Say with a partner.
Wetlands

environments? Swamp Environment

Swamps are wetlands. A swamp
Find out about
wetlands in your
region. Write what
has soft, wet land and many trees. plants and animals
Alligators live in some swamps. They live there. How does
Objective: Identify different plants and animals in are good swimmers. They use their
your region help
protect wetlands?
wetlands and marshes. long, strong tails to help them swim.
Vocabulary: alligator, crocodile, marsh, swamp,
swim, tail
Digital Resources: I Will Know… Digital Activity
Materials: brochures and flyers about wetlands
in your country or books and online references or 4 Make a list of other animals you can find in a marsh
printouts about wetlands in the world, construction or a swamp.
paper, markers Possible answers:
fish, frogs, turtles

Build Background Ask students to say as much as

they can remember about wetlands and marshes from the
previous page. Write some of the key ideas on the board.
Make sure the whole class understands the key ideas. 24 Unit 2 I Will Know...

Explain
3 Read. Why do alligators in a swamp need
to be good swimmers? Say with a partner.
Point to the highlighted word swamp and explain that
it is another wetland environment. Have students read
the text along with you and discuss why alligators
in a swamp need to be good swimmers. (Answer:
Because swamps have water, and swimming is the Wetlands
easiest and fastest way to get around.) Then ask Divide students into small groups. Ask them to
students to draw an on the part of the alligator bring in brochures and flyers about wetlands
that helps it swim. (Answer: The tail.) Check that in their country or the region where they live.
they have marked the correct part. If there are none, encourage them to research
in print books or online to find more plants and
ELL Content Support animals that live there. Ask them what things
local people do to protect wetlands.
Explain that alligators and crocodiles are two
different species. Tell them that alligators have wider
snouts and crocodiles have more pointed snouts.
Elaborate
4 Make a list of other animals you can find in Wetland Poster
a marsh or a swamp.
Reinforce the concept of animals and plants that live in
Pair students and encourage them to think of animals. If wetlands. Pair students. Distribute construction paper
you have time, allow them to consult print books or go and markers. Pairs make a poster to present animals and
online to find animals. Invite volunteers to write answers plants they have learned about in this lesson so far. Ask
on the board. Make sure all the students have written pairs to present their posters to the class. Display the
three correct animals. (Possible answers: fish, frog, turtle, posters around the classroom at the end of the activity.
tadpole, flamingo)

T24 Unit 2 • Living Things and Their Environments: What do plants and animals need?
Lesson 3
How do plants and 5 Read. Underline the sentence

animals live in water that tells how gills help fish live
in the ocean.

environments? Ocean Environment

An ocean is a large body of salty water.
Some parts of the ocean are deep.
Fish live in the ocean. They have gills.
Objective: Identify and learn how fish and plants
Gills let fish take in oxygen from the
live in the ocean.
water. Fish have fins, which help
Vocabulary: ocean, fish, oxygen, gill, fin them swim.
Plants need sunlight to make food.
Digital Resources: Flash Card (ocean),
Ocean plants live where there is light.
Lesson 3 Check (print out 1 per student),
The deep ocean is dark. Plants do not
Got it? 60-Second Video live there.
Materials: world map with names of the oceans 6 Draw an on the parts of the fish
marked on it that help it swim.
7 Why don’t plants live in the deep
ocean? Say as a class.
Build Background Show students a world map and
point out the oceans. Invite students to find the names
of the oceans and ask volunteers to read them aloud.
Ask them what color the oceans are on the map. (Blue.)
Ask them how much of Earth is blue on the map (more Lesson 3 Check Got it? 60-Second Video Unit 2 25
than half) to reinforce the concept that most of the planet’s
surface is covered with water.

Explain 7 Why don’t plants live in the deep ocean?

Say as a class.
5 Read. Underline the sentence that tells how
Read the question aloud. Encourage students
gills help fish live in the ocean.
to share their ideas: It’s dark, and there is no
Point to the picture on page 25 and encourage light for plants to grow.
students to describe and name as many elements
as they can: The fish is blue. There is water. There ELL Content Support
is coral.
Ask students what water environments they have
Have students read the text along with you. Pair
learned about in the whole unit. (Answers: wetlands,
students and have them underline the sentence.
marshes, swamps) Draw a three-circle Venn diagram
Review the answer with the class. Encourage them
on the board to compare the environments. Have
to point to the gills on the fish.
students volunteer to write items in each space.
6 Draw an on the parts of the fish that help
it swim.
Have students read the last sentences of the first Evaluate
paragraph along with you. Show the meaning of Lesson 3 Check Assessment for Learning
fins by moving your hands like fish fins. Ask students
Distribute the Lesson 3 Check and guide students as they
to mark the fins with an on the picture. Check that
complete it. Check answers as a class. Then ask students to
students mark the correct parts.
grade their progress on the topic of plants and animals that
ELL Vocabulary Support live in water environments from 1 to 3: 3 = I understand
plants and animals that live in water environments; 2 = I
Write the words for these animals in four columns on need to study more; 1 = I need help! Encourage students
the board: prairie dog, heron, alligator, fish. Invite giving themselves a 1 or 2 to describe what they found
volunteers to write the words they learned related difficult and what they need to study more.
to each animal’s body parts. (Answers: prairie
dogs: claws, teeth; heron: beak, wings, neck, legs;
alligator: tail, snout; fish: gill, fin) Invite students to
copy the columns into their notebooks.

Unit 2 • Lesson 3 How do plants and animals live in water environments? T25
Let’s Investigate!
Materials Let’s Investigate!
In this unit, students learn about plants and animals in
different environments and what they need to live. In this Why do plants need light?
lab, students will observe what happens to plants that do 1. Water both plants. Draw both
2 cups
not get light. plants in a chart to record
with grass
what you observe.
water

Let’s Investigate! Lab Why do plants

need light?
Objective: Students will make observations to
determine if plants need light.
Materials: per group: 2 clear plastic cups, 2 grass 2. Put one cup in sunlight. Put one
plugs 8 cm in diameter and a few centimeters deep, cup in a dark place.
water, sticky labels, markers
Digital Resources: Let’s Investigate! Activity Card
(1 per group), Let’s Investigate! Digital Lab
Advance Preparation: Dig up small plugs of
grass from a lawn and put them in the plastic cups.
• Divide the class into small groups and
3. Check the plants every day. Draw both plants
distribute materials.
after 1 week.
• Ask students in the groups to write their names 26 Unit 2 Let’s Investigate! Lab

on the sticky labels and attach them to their

cups of grass.
• Invite groups to put one cup in the sunlight and
the other in a dark place, such as a cupboard Unlock the Big Question
or locker in the classroom.
N L OC K Have students refer to the Big Question on the
U E BIG
• Tell groups to water the grass so that it is moist, TH
Unit Opener page. In pairs, have them recall
but to avoid overwatering. what they have learned about what plants and
• After one day, distribute the Let’s Investigate! animals need. Have pairs answer Questions 4
Activity Card. Ask groups to record their and 5 on the Activity Card.
observations about what the grass in both cups
looks like.
• Remind students that now they will only water
the cups a little every day to keep the soil moist.
• After a week, ask groups to take out their
Let’s Investigate! Activity Cards and note any
changes to the grass in both cups.
• Discuss the results with the class. Discuss
how the grass that grew in the sunlight looks
healthier. Say how the grass that grew in the
dark looks paler and less healthy.
• In order to promote further inquiry, ask what
will happen to the plant that is in the dark if
they move it to the light.
Teacher Time-Saving Option: Show the Let’s
Investigate! Digital Lab as an alternative to the
hands-on lab activity and have students use the
pictures on the Student’s Book page as a reference
for completing the Activity Card.

T26 Unit 2 • Living Things and Their Environments: What do plants and animals need?
Unit 2 Review Unit 2
Review What do plants
VI EW and animals need?
RE
TH
E BIG
What do plants Lesson 1

What do living things need?

and animals need? 1 Read and match.

a) They get nutrients from food.
b) They use light to make food.

Lesson 2

How do plants and animals live in

land environments?
2 Circle what best completes the sentence.
______ help bears live in the forest.
Evaluate
Lesson 3

How do plants and animals live in

water environments?
3 Cross out ( ) the animal that does not live in a
wetland environment.

Got it? Quiz Got it? Self Assessment Unit 2 27

ELL Language Support

Before students start working on the Review activities,

have them read each question aloud along with you.

Unit 2 • Unit Review T27

T27a Unit 2 • Digital Resources and Photocopiables
Unit 2 • Digital Resources and Photocopiables T27b
 Teacher’s Notes

T27c Unit 2 • Digital Resources and Photocopiables

 VI EW VI EW
REHE BIG REHE BIG
T T

Unit 2 Study Guide

What do plants and Review the

animals need? Big Question
Lesson 1 What do plants and
What do living things need? animals need?
• Plants need air, water, light, and nutrients. Have students use what they have learned from
• Animals need air, water, food, and shelter. the unit to answer the question in their own words.
How has your answer to the Big Question
Lesson 2 changed since the beginning of the unit? What
are some things you learned that caused your
How do plants and animals live answer to change?
in land environments?
• Forests, prairies, and deserts are Make a Concept Map
land environments. Have students make a concept map like the
• Bears use claws to dig for food and climb one shown on this page to help them organize
trees. Prairie dogs have sharp teeth to chew key concepts.
grass. Rabbits in the desert have big ears to
keep cool. Lizards have light-colored skin to
keep cool in the desert.

Lesson 3
How do plants and animals live
in water environments?
• Wetlands, marshes, swamps, and oceans
are water environments.
• Herons have long beaks to catch fish.
Alligators have strong tails to help them
swim. Fish have gills to breathe oxygen
in the water.

VI EW
REHE BIG
T

Unit 2 Concept Map

Living Things

Plants Animals

need light, live in many need air, live in many

air, water, places. water, shelter, places.
nutrients, and and food.
space.

Students can make a concept map to help review the Big Question.

Unit 2 • Study Guide T27d