Unit 4 People and animals

Lesson 1 Duration of lesson: 3 periods

Learning objectives
• Know that people and animals are living things.
• Understand that people and animals need air, food and water to stay alive.

Engage (1st E) Use of questions or pictures (10 min)

Option 1
Purpose: To assess pupils' prior knowledge of living and non-living things
Resource: Textbook

1. Have pupils turn to Textbook pp. 42—43. Ask:

• Can Joe and Sue move around by themselves? (Yes, they can.)
• Can Sue's doll and Joe's robot move by themselves? (No, they cannot.)
Note pupils' answers and address any misconceptions they may have.
2. Direct pupils to the questions at the bottom of Textbook p. 42. Ask:
• Do you talk to your toys? Why or why not? (Prompt pupils to say that their toys will not be able to
reply to them.)

Option 2
Purpose: To assess pupils' prior knowledge of living and non-living things
Resources: Textbook, pictures of living and non-living things

1. Show pupils some pictures of living and non-living things. Point to each picture and ask questions such as:
• Can this move by itself? Why or why not?
• Can this doll talk? Why or why not?
• If you place food and drinks in front of the girl and the teddy bear, which one will reach for the food? Why?
• Which one of these can run by itself, the toy zebra or this zebra on the grassland? Why?
Note pupils' answers and address any misconceptions they may have.
2. Direct pupils to the questions at the bottom of Textbook p. 42. Ask:
• Do you talk to your toys? Why or why not? (Prompt pupils to say that their toys will not be able to
reply to them.)

Explore (2nd E) Guided inquiry (30 min)

Purpose: To recognise that people and animals are living things, and that living things need air, food and
water to stay alive
Resource: Textbook

1. Have pupils turn to Textbook pp. 44—45. Direct pupils to the trigger questions. Point to the words in the
'Word bank' and guide pupils to use the words to answer the questions. Discuss possible answers.
2. Guide pupils to understand that people and animals need water, food and air. Ask:
• What do you do when you are thirsty? (We drink water.)
• What do you do when you are hungry? (We eat food.)
• Do you know you are breathing all the time? (Have pupils take a deep breath. Tell them that they are
breathing in air. All living things need air to stay alive.)
3. Guide pupils to point out other examples of living and non-living things in the picture. Ask:
• Do you think Joe, Sue and Dr Atom need air, food and water? (Yes, they need air, food and water because
they are living things.)
• Do you think the fountain, the bench and the marbles need air, food and water? (No, they do not need air,
food and water because they are non-living things.)
4. Direct pupils to the 'Be careful' feature on Textbook p. 45. Warn them about the danger of suffocation.

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 Explain (3rd E) Teacher-directed discussion (20 min)

Purpose: To reiterate that people and animals are living things, and that living things need air, food and
water to stay alive
Resource: Textbook

1. Have pupils turn to Textbook pp. 46—47. Consolidate the points discussed earlier and reiterate that people
and animals are living things. Direct pupils to the header 'We are alive!'. Explain that living things are alive,
while non-living things are not alive. Direct pupils to the teddy bear at the bottom of Textbook p. 47. Ask:
• Why is it okay to keep the teddy bear inside a sealed bag? (It is a non-living thing. It does not need air.)
• Does the teddy bear need to eat or drink? (No, it does not need to eat or drink because it is not alive.)

Elaborate (4th E) Application of concepts (30 min)

Purpose: To identify living and non-living things

Resources: Textbook, pictures of living and non-living things

1. Have pupils revisit Textbook pp. 42—43. Ask:

• What are the things that do not need air, food and water to stay alive? (The toys in the basket, the stool,
the table, the chest of drawers, the toy train and the books.)
2. Have pupils find two pictures of living things, and two pictures of non-living things from newspapers or
magazines. Ask them to bring the pictures to class for the next lesson. Ask for volunteers to share what they
have found with the class. Encourage pupils to find pictures of living things eating, drinking or breathing so
that you can reinforce that living things need air, food and water to stay alive.

Evaluate (5th E) Assessment (30 min)

Purpose: To assess pupils' understanding of the lesson

Resource: Activity Book

1. Have pupils complete Activity 4.1 on Activity Book pp. 26—27. Pupils may work independently or in pairs.
Guide pupils to fill in their best possible answers. Ask pupils to share their answers. Correct or refine
their answers.

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Lesson 2 Duration of lesson: 4 periods
Learning objective
• Understand that people and animals respond to changes, move, grow and change, have young, and die.

Engage (1st E) Use of photographs or pictures (30 min)

Option 1
Purpose: To assess pupils' prior knowledge of what living things can do
Resources: Textbook, photographs of pupils when they were younger, clothes pegs, a long string

1. Have pupils bring photographs of themselves when they were younger, i.e. as a baby or a four-to five-
year-old. Use clothes pegs to clip the photographs to some string and hang them in class. Be careful not to
damage any photographs.
2. Direct pupils to the 'Science at home' activity on Textbook p. 49. Assign a partner to each pupil. Tell them
that they need to find their partner's photograph. Guide them to observe the facial features. This will help
them in their search. When the partner has identified the correct photograph, the pupil may remove it from
the string.
3. After the activity, ask for volunteers to share how they identified their partner's photograph. Guide them to
see that all of them have grown and changed since their photographs were taken. Ask:
• Did your partner grow bigger and taller?
• Does your partner look different from the photograph? How does he or she look different?

Option 2
Purpose: To assess pupils' prior knowledge of what living things can do
Resources: Pictures of people and animals and their young, and of people or animals moving around

1. Show pupils pictures of people and animals and their young. Ask:
• Will the baby still look the same in a few years time? Why or why not?
• What will happen in a few years time? Will the baby grow to look like his or her parents? Why or why not?
Note pupils' answers and address any misconceptions that they may have.
2. Show pupils pictures of people or animals moving around. Ask:
• What is the person/animal in this picture doing?
• Can non-living things move around like this person/animal? Why or why not?
• What else can living things do?
Note pupils' answers and address any misconceptions that they may have.

Explore (2nd E) Guided inquiry (30 min)

Purpose: To recognise that living things can have young, grow and change, respond to changes, move
and die
Resource: Textbook

1. Have pupils turn to Textbook pp. 48—49. Direct pupils to the trigger questions. Point to the words in the
'Word bank' and guide pupils to use the words to answer the questions. Discuss possible answers.
2. Guide pupils to understand that living things can have young, and grow and change to resemble their
parents. Ask:
• Has anyone ever told you that you look like your father or mother?
3. Guide pupils to understand that living things can move and respond to changes. Explain that by crying, the
baby is responding to the change in her environment, which frightened her. Guide pupils to understand that
living things can also move. Ask:
• What are Zoe and the chicks doing? (They are running. They can move.)
Help pupils to understand that when Zoe chases the chicks, the chicks respond by moving away because
they are afraid of Zoe. If Zoe had not chased the chicks, they might not have moved away from where
they were.
4. Guide pupils to understand that living things can die. Ask:
• What is Sue holding? (Sue is holding a fishbowl. There is a dead fish inside.)
• Can the fish inside the fishbowl move by itself? (No, it cannot because it is no longer alive.)
5. Direct pupils to the 'My treasure chest' activity. Have pupils work in pairs. Ask them to take turns describing
how the young of animals resemble their parents.

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 Explain (3rd E) Teacher-directed discussion (20 min)

Purpose: To explain what living things can do

Resource: Textbook

1. Have pupils turn to Textbook pp. 50—51. Consolidate the points discussed earlier. Direct pupils to look at
each picture. Ask:
• Will the baby rhinoceros grow up to look like its mother? (Yes, it will grow up to be big like its mother.}
• Will the boy grow up to look like his parents? (Yes, he will grow taller and bigger.)
• Why did the birds fly away? (They do not want the boy to catch them.)
Ask for volunteers to give other examples of how living things respond to changes. For each situation,
have pupils identify the change in the environment that caused a living thing to respond. See p. 4.13 for
some examples.
• Why is Sue crying? (Sue is crying because she is sad. Her grandma has passed away.)

Elaborate (4th E) Application to the real world (40 min)

Purpose: To differentiate living things from non-living things

1. Bring pupils to a garden or the school animal corner. Ask pupils to take note of the living and non-living
things that they see. Back in class, divide the board into two sections: 'Living things' and
'Non-living things'. Ask for volunteers to give examples of living and non-living things from the short
observation trip out of the class. Write pupils' answers under the correct sections on the board.

Evaluate (5th E) Assessment (40 min)

Purpose: To assess pupils' understanding of the lesson

Resources: Textbook, Activity Book

1.Ask pupils to complete Activity 4.2 on Activity Book pp. 28—29. Pupils may work independently or in pairs.
Guide pupils to fill in their best possible answers. Ask pupils to share their answers. Correct or refine
their answers.
2. Revisit the learning objectives of the topic. Have pupils turn to Textbook pp. 42—43. Ask them to point out
the living and non-living things in the picture.
3. Direct pupils to the pictorial concept map on Textbook pp. 52—53. Sum up that people and animals are living
things. Reinforce each point with examples.
4. Co through the 'Science words' list with pupils. Ask pupils if there is any word they are not sure of and explain
it to them. Encourage pupils to learn how to spell these words and to form sentences with each word. E.g.
Living things need to eat; We breathe in air; Non-living things cannot respond to changes.
5. Have pupils complete the 'Self-check' activity independently or in pairs. Guide pupils to complete the
questions if there is a need to. Check that pupils' answers are correct.

© 2010 Marshall Cavendish International (Singapore) Pte Ltd People and animals
 The diversity of things around us can be broadly categorised into two big groups: Living and non-living things.
In order to be considered a living thing, it must fulfil these six criteria:
1. It is made up of cells.
2. It gets nutrients to produce energy for its use.
3. It can grow and develop.
4. It can respond to its environment.
5. It can reproduce.
6. It can adapt to its surrounding environment.

People and animals

Let's find out:

• What are living things?
• What do living things need?
• What can living things do?

Ask pupils if their toys can

reply to them.

Unit 4 €> 2010 Marshall Cavendish International (Singapore) Pte Ltd

 Some battery-operated toys
are able to talk and move by
themselves. Explain to pupils that
this does not mean the toys are
alive. These toys need batteries
in order to talk or move, and they
can only do so according to how
they are programmed. Living
things do not need batteries to
talk or move around.

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Unit 4 i 2010 Marshall Cavendish International (Singapore) Pte Ltd
 The pigeons are drinking water.
The ducks are eating.
What are the birds doing?**— Word bank
Are the birds living things?**— eating • food • drinking
How do you know? water • air • breathe
Yes, the birds are living things.
What will happen if Zoe stays in They need food and water.
II
1 the
Is Zoe a living thing? CarefuT
Never put a plastic bag Explain to pupils that the plastic
How do you know?-«- over your head. bag will prevent us from breathing
in the air around us. This is
What other living and non-living
extremely dangerous as we can
things can you see?**— die due to the lack of air.

Zoe will not be able to breathe

because the bag will prevent air
from reaching her.

• Yes, Zoe is a living thing. She

needs air.

Joe, Sue and Dr Atom are

living things.
The fountain, bench and marbles
are non-living things.

• Direct pupils to the bag of marbles

Teaching points: next to Joe. Explain that marbles
• Help pupils understand that living are non-living things, therefore Joe
things need air, food and water.
• Explain to pupils that non-living can keep them in a sealed bag as
marbles things do not need air, food they do not need air.
and water.
• Guide pupils to identity living and
non-living things.

People and animals 45

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 round ii
We can survive for about three weeks without food. However, we will die within a few days without water,
and within minutes without air.

Some living things such as insects and rodents get water from the food they eat. They do not need to
drink water.

We need food
We eat.

We need water.
We drink.

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 Enrichment for advanced learners
Have pupils name some examples of living things that live in the water, e.g. fishes and whales. Aquatic
animals are able to draw out oxygen from the water that passes through their nose or mouth. People and
animals that live on land cannot breathe in the water, because our body can only take in oxygen directly
from the air around us.

We need air to breathe

People and animals are living things.

We need air, food and water.
Non-living things do not
need air, food and water.

People and animals 47

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Unit 4 ' 2010 Marshall Cavendish International (Singapore) Pte Ltd
 The chicken and her eggs and
chicks; the farmer, his wife and
their baby
picture Word bank
examples < adult • scared • The baby will grow bigger and
young move by themselves • taller. The eggs will hatch into
respond to changes chicks, which will grow up to look
examples < like the rooster or the hen.

The baby is frightened by the

horse's loud neigh.
Why are the chicks funning
away from Zoe? •* Collect three pictures of Tell pupils to describe how the
animals and their young. young of these animals resemble
Do the young animals their parents. Guide them to look
look like their parents? at the colours of the body, the
Tell your friends. type of body coverings, the shape
of the mouth, etc.

The chicks are scared of Zoe. They

do not want Zoe to catch them.
ScienceJLat
£ home
Do you have photographs
of yourself as a baby? Pupils may also bring photographs
Bring them to class. of themselves when they were
between four to five years old.
Discuss how pupils have grown
and changed since the time these
photographs were taken.

Teaching points:
• Help pupils understand that living
things can have young. They can
also grow and change.
• Help pupils understand that living
things can move by themselves and
respond to changes.
• Help pupils understand that living
things can die.
• Explain to pupils that living things can
do the above because they are alive.

People and animals 49

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Enrichment for advanced learners
Have pupils name some examples of living things and their young. Here are some examples:
• Young of a butterfly — a caterpillar
• Young of a lion — a cub
• Young of a cat — a kitten
• Young of a sheep — a lamb

People and animals are living things

Living things can have young.

They change as they grow.

Here are some examples of how Hiving things can move by themselves.
living things respond to changes. They respond to changes.
• When it starts to rain, we run * The birds fly away when
for shelter. the bov chases them.
• When we feel cold, we wear
a jacket.
• When we hear a loud noise, we
cover our ears.
• When it is hot, we turn on
the fan.
• When there is a fire, we run.
Explain to pupils that responding
to changes is one of the ways
in which living things protect
themselves.

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 Sometimes, living things die due
to other reasons apart from the
lack of air, food or water. Old age,
diseases or accidents can cause
Living things die. living things to die.

Non-living things do not move by themselves

They cannot have young.
They do not grow and change,
and they do not die.

People and animals 51

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Reinforcement for struggling learners
Guide pupils to recall that people and animals are living things. Go through the learning points in this unit
again, and have them point out at least one example for each point in this pictorial concept map.

Living things

need air, food and water grow and change

Science words
living things non-living things have young
respond to changes grow and change eat
drink breathe air
water

Unit 4 © 2010 Marshall Cavendish International (Singapore) Pte Ltd

 Enrichment for advanced learners
Encourage pupils to provide examples, other than the ones found in this unit, for each point in this pictorial
concept map.

Self-check
living things alive die respond grow young

1. People and animals are living things

2. Living things need air, food and water to stay _ alive

3. Living things to changes. •*- respond

4. Living things and change. •*- grow

5. Living things can have. .. They can also-*- young, die

People and animals 53

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I
Reinforcement for struggling learners
Help pupils distinguish the living things from non-living things in this activity. Have them study the pictures
and ask questions such as:
• Does it need food or water? How do you know?
• Is anyone eating or drinking in these pictures?

Before you carry out

the activity Date:
Pupils should have been taught
• People and animals are

•
living things.
Living things need air, food and
Living and non-living things
water to stay alive.

How it can be done

(A) Cross out the non-living things.
• For part (A), explain to pupils
that they are to identify the
non-living things and cross
them out.

Unit 4 © 2010 Marshall Cavendish International (Singapore) Pte Ltd

 Before you carry out
the activity
How it can be done
• For part (B), read aloud the
helping words in the box.
Explain to pupils that they are
to fill in the blanks with the
helping words.

(B) Fill in the blanks.

air living things food water

1. People and animals are living things

2. Living things need air food

and water to stay alive.

People and animals 27

© 2010 Marshall Cavendish International (Singapore) Pte Ltd People and animals
Reinforcement for struggling learners
For part (A), have pupils cover the sentences and study the pictures. Guide them to describe each picture.
Ask:
• Does Sue look different from the photograph she is holding?
• What can Joe do when the ball comes towards him?
• Why does Dr Atom look sad?
• Does the baby elephant look like its mother?
Then, read out each sentence and guide pupils to match correctly.

Before you carry out

the activity Date:.
Pupils should have been taught
• Living things can grow and
change, have young, move,
respond to changes and die.
What can living things do?
How it can be done
• For part (A), explain to pupils
(A) Match.
that they are to infer what
each living thing can do in
each picture. The sentences in
the right column state what
living things can do. Then, ask
Living things die.
pupils to match each picture to
the correct sentence.

Living things grow

and change.

Living things can

have young.

Living things respond

to changes.

28 Unit 4

Unit 4
© 2010 Marshall Cavendish International (Singapore) Pte Ltd
 Before you carry out
the activity
How it can be done
(B) What will happen next? Tick (•). • For part (B), have pupils
observe the first picture in each
1. question. Have them predict
what will happen next and tick
the correct outcome.

Notes on answers
After pupils have completed
the activity, go through the
2.
answers with the class and ask
for volunteers to give reasons
for their answers.

3.

4.

People and animals 29

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