What every living thing needs
Every living thing has basic needs. These are the things it must have to stay alive and healthy. You have basic needs too!
What animals need
| Need | Why | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Food | Gives energy to move and grow | A squirrel eats nuts. |
| Water | Keeps the body working | A deer drinks from a stream. |
| Air | Animals breathe in oxygen | A whale comes up to breathe. |
| Shelter | Keeps them safe and warm | A bird builds a nest. |
| Space | Room to move and find food | A horse needs a field to run in. |
Animals can’t make their own food, so they must find it. Some eat plants, some eat other animals and some eat both.
What plants need
Plants have needs too, but they get them in different ways.
| Need | How the plant gets it |
|---|---|
| Sunlight | Leaves catch the light. |
| Water | Roots soak it up from the soil. |
| Air | Leaves take in a gas called carbon dioxide. |
| Nutrients | Roots take in minerals from the soil. |
| Space | Roots and leaves need room to spread. |
Plants are special because they make their own food. They use sunlight, water and air to do it. That’s why a plant in a dark closet turns yellow and droops.
Shelter
Animals find shelter in many places:
- Bears sleep in dens.
- Rabbits dig burrows underground.
- Beavers build lodges from sticks and mud.
- Bats hang in caves.
Shelter protects animals from rain, snow, heat and animals that might eat them.
Getting what they need
Living things live in places where they can meet their needs. A fish lives in water. A cactus lives in the desert, where it stores water in its thick stem. A polar bear lives where it can catch seals to eat.
If a living thing can’t get one of its needs, it can get sick or die. That’s why it’s important to take care of pets and plants.
People have needs too
You need food, water, air, shelter and space, just like animals. You also need love and care from the people around you!
In the real world
When you get a pet fish, you give it a tank with clean water, food and space to swim. Farmers give their crops water and make sure they get sunlight. Zoos build habitats so each animal has the food, water, shelter and space it needs.
Common mistakes
- Thinking plants eat soil. Plants make their own food from sunlight, water and air. Soil gives them water and nutrients.
- Forgetting air. All living things need air, even fish and plants.
Try it yourself
- Plant two bean seeds in cups of soil.
- Put one cup on a sunny windowsill and one in a dark closet. Water both the same.
- Check them every two days for two weeks and draw what you see.
- Which plant is healthier? What need was missing?
Quick recap
- All living things have basic needs.
- Animals need food, water, air, shelter and space.
- Plants need sunlight, water, air, nutrients and space.
- Plants make their own food; animals must find food.
- Without their needs, living things can’t survive.