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Biological ScienceOrganism DiversityYear 1 Science

Living things: plants, animals and fungi

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What this lesson covers

  • Every living thing is called an organism
  • The big groups: plants, animals, fungi and bacteria
  • Plants such as grasses, ferns and trees
  • Animal groups: fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, insects and mammals
  • Why fungi are not plants, and why we never touch them
  • Doing a survey and showing what we found
Key idea

What is an organism?

  • A living thing is called an organism.
  • Organisms grow, need food and water, and make more of their own kind.
  • A tūī is an organism. So is a pōhutukawa tree.
  • A rock is not alive. It does not grow or eat.
Key idea

Big groups of living things

  • There are many kinds of organisms.
  • Four big groups are plants, animals, fungi and bacteria.
  • Bacteria are so tiny that you need a microscope to see them.
Four boxes for the big groups of living things: plants (a fern), animals (a kiwi), fungi (a mushroom) and bacteria (tiny, seen with a microscope)
Key idea

Plants come in many shapes

  • Grasses are thin and grow close to the ground.
  • Ferns have long leaves called fronds. A new frond is curled up, and this curl is called a koru.
  • Trees are tall, with a hard woody trunk, like a kauri.
  • Most plants are green.
Key idea

Groups of animals

  • Animals can be put into groups by what their bodies are like.
GroupLook forNew Zealand example
FishFins and scales, lives in waterSnapper
AmphibiansSmooth, damp skinA native frog
ReptilesDry, scaly skinTuatara, gecko
BirdsFeathers and a beakKiwi, tūī
InsectsSix legsWētā, bee
MammalsHair or fur, babies drink milkNative bat, people
Key idea

Try it: which animal group?

Key idea

Fungi are not plants

  • Mushrooms and toadstools are fungi.
  • Fungi are not green, and they cannot make food from sunlight like plants do.
  • They feed on dead leaves and old wood, and help break them down.
  • Many fungi are poisonous. Never touch or eat a mushroom you find outside.
Worked example

Which group?

  • Put each one in a group: a kererū, a wētā, a mushroom and a fern.
  1. Kererū: feathers and a beak, so a birdlook for feathers
  2. Wētā: six legs, so an insectcount the legs
  3. Mushroom: not green, grows on dead wood, so a fungusnot a plant
  4. Fern: green fronds, so a plantgreen leaves
  5. Bird, insect, fungus, plant
Key idea

Try it: plant, animal or fungus?

Worked example

A survey in the school garden

  • Room 4 looked for living things in their school garden for 10 minutes.
  • They made a tally, then a picture graph.
  • You can also find out about living things from books, a school journal, or pūrākau (traditional Māori stories) shared by your whānau.
Living thingTallyTotal
Snails||||4
Worms|||3
Birds||2
Bees|||| |5
Mushrooms|1
A picture graph of Room 4's garden survey: 4 snails, 3 worms, 2 birds, 5 bees and 1 mushroom, one circle for each one seen
Key idea

Try it: turn the tally into a graph

Key idea

Drawing what you see

  • A science drawing uses clear lines and no colouring in.
  • Draw it big, and draw only what you can see.
  • Add labels, with a straight line from each word to its part.
A science drawing of a garden snail in clear outline with no colour, with straight label lines to the shell, the tentacles and the foot

Common mistakes

  • A mushroom is a plant because it grows in the ground.
    A mushroom is a fungus; it is not green and cannot make its own food from sunlight.
  • A bat is a bird because it flies.
    A bat has fur and feeds its babies milk, so it is a mammal.
  • A frog is a reptile.
    A frog has smooth, damp skin, so it is an amphibian; reptiles like geckos have dry, scaly skin.
Try it at home

A living things survey

You need: paper, a pencil, a clock or timer, a garden, park or school field

  1. Go outside with an adult and choose a small patch to look at.
  2. Look carefully for 10 minutes: on the ground, on plants and in the air.
  3. Make a tally mark each time you see a living thing.
  4. Count the tallies and draw a picture graph.
  5. Look for this: which living thing did you see most? Which group is it in?

Safety: Go with an adult, look but do not touch mushrooms, spiders, bees or wasps, and wash your hands when you come inside.

Your turn

1

Is a rock an organism?

2

A wētā has six legs. Which group is it in?

3

Which group is a mushroom in?

4

In Room 4's survey, which living thing did they see most?

5

A native bat has fur and feeds its babies milk. Which group is it in?

Show answer

1. No, because it is not alive. 2. Insects. 3. Fungi. 4. Bees, 5 of them. 5. Mammals.

Summary

Recap

  • Every living thing is an organism.
  • Plants, animals, fungi and bacteria are big groups of organisms.
  • Plants include grasses, ferns and trees.
  • Animals include fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, insects and mammals.
  • Mushrooms are fungi, not plants. Never touch them.
  • A survey, a tally and a picture graph show what lives near you.
Maths

The maths behind it

Year 1 MathsAsking Questions and Making Tally ChartsYear 1 MathsPicture Graphs: Showing What We Found
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