BiologyPlants and Animals Are Both Alive
A sunny backyard garden where Lumi kneels beside a bright sunflower and a friendly rabbit, pointing excitedly at both and holding a sorting basket filled with leaf cards and animal picture cards.
- Identify plants and animals as two groups of living things.
- Name at least one need that plants have and one need that animals have.
- Name one part of a plant and describe what it does.
- Sort pictures of living things into the plant group or the animal group.
Key terms
- plant
- A living thing that makes its own food from sunlight.
- animal
- A living thing that must eat food to get energy.
- living thing
- Something that grows, needs water, and makes more of itself.
- energy
- The power a living thing uses to grow and move.
Two Groups Of Living Things
All living things can be sorted into two big groups: plants and animals. Trees, flowers, and grass are plants. Dogs, birds, fish, and even you are animals. Both groups are alive, which means they grow bigger, they need water, and they can make new living things just like themselves. Sorting living things into plants and animals helps us understand how each one lives and what it needs.
How Plants And Animals Are Different
Plants and animals are both alive, but they live in different ways. Plants have roots, stems, and leaves, and they make their own food using sunlight, water, and air. A plant stays in one spot. Animals cannot make their own food, so they must eat plants, other animals, or both. Animals have legs, fins, or wings that let them move around to find food and stay safe from danger.
A Simple Way To Tell Them Apart
When you find a living thing, you can figure out which group it belongs to by asking a question. Does it make its own food using sunlight and stay in one place? Then it is a plant, like a sunflower or a cactus. Does it move around and eat other things to get energy? Then it is an animal, like a rabbit or a frog. This simple question helps you sort living things every time.
Worked examples
Is a cactus a plant or an animal?
- A cactus makes its own food using sunlight, water, and air.
- A cactus stays rooted in one place and does not move around.
- Making its own food and staying put are signs of a plant.
Answer: A cactus is a plant.
What do a rabbit and a sunflower share?
- A rabbit is an animal and a sunflower is a plant.
- Both of them grow bigger over time and both need water.
- Both can make new living things just like themselves.
Answer: They are both living things that grow and need water.
Activity
Sort each card into the plant basket or the animal basket.
Practice
Decide whether an oak tree belongs in the plant group or animal group.
Name one way plants and animals get their food differently.
Common mistakes to avoid
- A plant is not alive because it cannot walkA plant is alive because it grows, needs water, and makes new plants, even though it cannot walk or talk.
- Animals can make their own food like plantsAnimals cannot make their own food; they must eat plants or other animals to get the energy they need.
Check your understanding
A rabbit eats grass to get energy. A sunflower uses sunlight to make energy. What do the rabbit and the sunflower have in common?
Carlos says a cactus is not alive because it does not talk or walk. Is he right?
Which of these does a plant use to make its own food?
Recap
Living things are sorted into two groups: plants and animals. Both grow, need water, and make more of themselves, but plants make their own food from sunlight and stay still, while animals must eat food and can move around.
Reflect
What living thing did you see today, and which group is it in?