Preview · the opening missionRead this to the class:
Leo's class got a pet rabbit called Pepper and a sunflower in a pot. Leo was given the job of looking after both of them for the weekend. "What do they need?" he asked. "Do I feed the sunflower carrots? Does Pepper need a sunny window?" His sister laughed. "They are both alive," she said, "but they don't need the same things." Your team's job: find out what animals and plants need to live, and find the one big difference.
Teams of three, with jobs that rotate: the Picker chooses a card, the Thinker says what it needs, and the Checker asks "How do you know?" and ticks the sheet.
Look inside the PDF
Sample pages, stamped “preview”. The download is the clean, full lesson.
In the full lesson PDF
8 printable pages
- Predict (5 min)
- Hunt (20 min)
- Reveal (10–15 min)
- Act (10 min)
- Background for the teacher
- Assessment
- Student sheet
- Worksheet: Picture cards
- Worksheet: Label it
- Worksheet: Try it at home
On the student sheet
- My guess
- What does it need?
- Two piles
- Leo's care card
- Picture cards
- Label it
- Try it at home
US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white. The student sheet is on its own page, ready to photocopy.
Free with an account (any 3 lessons), or US$19 for all 3 lessons in this unit.
What students show by the end
- Names animal needs
- Names plant needs
- Uses evidence
From the lesson’s rubric, which scores each one as not yet, getting there or got it.
Questions teachers ask
How long does “What do animals and plants need to live?” take?
40–50 min. Group size: teams of 3.
How much prep does it need?
10 minutes: print the Living-thing cards and the Need cards (Worksheet sections below), one set per team, and cut them apart. Each team also needs a pencil, a scrap of paper and a pair of child scissors, which most classrooms already have. Clear a space on the carpet or in the middle of the room for the freeze game.
What materials do I need?
None. No materials needed: just the printed sheets.
Which curriculum standards does it cover?
NGSS (US): K-LS1-1. It also matches England National Curriculum, Year 2 and Cambridge Primary Science, Stages 1, 2 and 4 (not endorsed by Cambridge).
What’s in the lesson PDF?
A teacher guide that walks you through predict, hunt, reveal, act, background for the teacher and assessment, then a student sheet (“My guess”, “What does it need?”, “Two piles”, “Leo's care card”, “Picture cards”, “Label it” and “Try it at home”) on its own page, ready to photocopy. It’s US Letter and prints cleanly in black and white.
Can I try it for free?
Yes. A free account includes any 3 full lessons of your choice, and this can be one of them. After that, this unit is US$19 for all 3 lessons, yours to keep, or every lesson is US$199 a year.