Curated OER
Introduction to Ecology
Eighth graders identify the living and nonliving components of an ecosystem. In this ecology lesson, 8th graders explain the role each organism plays. They participate in class discussion and answer a quiz at the end of the lesson.
BioEd Online
Bio Ed Online: Needs of Living Things: Pre Assessment
This is a pre-assessment to be done at the beginning of a unit on the needs of living things. Students draw themselves and what they need to survive. The lesson can be downloaded in PDF format.
BioEd Online
Bio Ed Online: Needs of Living Things: Post Assessment
A post-assessment at the end of a unit on the needs of living things. The lesson materials can be downloaded in PDF format.
BioEd Online
Bio Ed Online: Needs of Plants
Each student will make his/her own mini-garden and will observe the growth and development of radishes. To help students learn about requirements for plant growth, the teacher will make four experimental gardens and place them in...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: The Needs of Living Things
For this lesson, students watch video clips of animals and plants in their natural environment, to gather evidence that all living things have basic needs that must be met in order to survive. Then, to illustrate their understanding of...
Other
Nasa: The Case of the Prize Winning Plants [Pdf]
This program uses a scenario with fictional detective characters to present plant growth to students. While the unit focuses on the basic needs and parts of plants, the topics of plant classification and adaptations, soil formation and...
CPALMS
Florida State University Cpalms: Florida Students: Comparing Plants and Animals
A tutorial that compares and constrast plants and animals. Explore how living things their obtain basic needs, protect, support, and reproduce. A PDF file of the tutorial is available.
BioEd Online
Bio Ed Online: Living Things and Their Needs: We Need Water
This lesson focuses on living things' need for water. Students make lemonade and learn that water can be found in liquids other than a glass of water, and is also found in plants. The lesson can be downloaded in PDF format.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Animals and Plants Can Live in a City!
In this interactive activity, students learn that animals need air, food, water, and shelter, while plants need air, sunlight, and water. Students watch videos and engage with drawing and sorting activities to reinforce their learning....
Huntington Library
Huntington Library: What Plants Need in Order to Survive and Grow: Soil [Pdf]
A lesson unit where students conduct an experiment to test whether plants need soil in order to grow.
Huntington Library
Huntington Library: What Plants Need in Order to Survive and Grow: Water [Pdf]
A lesson unit where students work in small groups to conduct an experiment with two cacti to test whether plants need water.
Michigan Reach Out
Michigan Reach Out: Do Plants Need Sunlight?
Do plants need sunlight? What happens to plants if they do not get sunlight? Students will act like scientists in order to answer these questions. A scientist takes questions like this and then conducts an experiment to see what really...
Huntington Library
Huntington Library: Seeds, Soil, and Surprises
This site has excellent resources for teaching students about plants. It has a guide to scientific investigation and a glossary of plant terms. There are three lessons that each include a slideshow on the parts of a plant, the needs of...
Huntington Library
Huntington Library: What Plants Need in Order to Survive and Grow: Light [Pdf]
A lesson unit where students conduct an experiment in small groups to test whether plants need light or not.
Huntington Library
Huntington Library: What Plants Need in Order to Survive and Grow: Air [Pdf]
A lesson unit where students work in small groups to examine stomata on a leaf's upper and lower surfaces. They then conduct an experiment to test whether plants can survive without air, learning about transpiration in the process.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: What Do Plants Need?
In this lesson, students will understand that in order to grow healthy plants, soil, water, light, and air must be provided. Students will use math skills such as measurement and science process skills such as observation, comparing, and...
Utah Education Network
Uen: Water and Plants How Dry I Am
Activity helps students understand that plants need water to live.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Biodomes
Students explore the biosphere's environments and ecosystems, learning along the way about the plants, animals, resources and natural cycles of our planet. Over the course of lessons 2-6, students use their growing understanding of...
ClassFlow
Class Flow: Plant Life
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart explains what resources plants need to grow, the parts of a plant, a word search, and questions to use with the Activotes.
Huntington Library
Huntington Library: Garden Lesson Plans: Rooting Into the Soil [Pdf]
An experiment to investigate the capacity of different soils to retain water, and how this impacts on the survival, evolution, and adaptations of plants. Extension activities are included.
Huntington Library
Huntington Library: Garden Lesson Plans: Learning From Leaves [Pdf]
An investigation into how light levels affect leaf adaptations in plants.
BiologyWise
Biology Wise: An Overview of the Plant Growth Process
Discusses the basic needs of plants and the stages they go through in developing from a seed.
University of Illinois
University of Illinois Extension: The Great Plant Escape
Inspector LePlant and his friends look at the world of plants in this site for younger students. Features include the parts of plants and the seven basic requirements that plants need to survive as well as a short quiz.
eSchool Today
E School Today: Introduction to Photosynthesis
Find out about the needs of plants to grow and live.