Animals and Plants Around Us
FoundationCats, birds, big trees and little grass are living things — they grow and need food and water; stones and toys are not.
- Living things grow, need food and water, and produce young.
- Animals and plants are living; stones and toys are non-living.
- Plants cannot walk, but they still respond to the world.
文體小知識：說明文帶我們觀察身邊的動物和植物，學會分辨有生命的東西。
§Text Passage
1The cat at home, the big tree in the park and the grass in the flowerpot are all living things: they grow, they need food and water, and they produce young. Stones, tables and toys do not grow and do not need food — they are non-living.
2Animals eat just as we do: cats and dogs eat pet food, birds eat grains, butterflies drink nectar. Animals move and respond to the world around them: when you walk close to the fish tank the fish swim away; when you call a cat's name, it turns to look at you.
3Plants cannot walk, but they are alive too. They take in water from the soil, grow taller towards the sunlight, and flower and fruit. Touch a mimosa leaf gently and it folds up — proof that plants also respond to the world.
4Observing living things is fun: watch how ants queue to carry food, count the petals on a sunflower, measure how thick a tree trunk is. Remember to care for living things: do not pick flowers or catch little animals; record their beauty with your eyes and a notebook.
1Summary 重點摘要
Cats, birds, big trees and little grass are living things — they grow and need food and water; stones and toys are not.
2Vocabulary cards Vocabulary
Something alive that grows and needs food and water.
Something without life, such as stones and toys.
A living thing that moves and eats, such as cats and birds.
A living thing that stays rooted in soil, such as trees and grass.
To look carefully and notice how things change.
To react to changes around, such as a mimosa folding its leaves.
To get bigger and taller over time; all living things grow.
To treat living things kindly and protect them from harm.
3Step by step Steps
- Step 1: Tell living from non-livingThings that grow, have young and need food and water are living things, like kittens, birds and big trees. A toy bear does not grow, does not eat or drink, and never has babies, so it is non-living. To judge, ask three questions: does it grow? does it need food and water? does it have young? If all three answers are yes, it is living. Telling them apart helps us understand the plants and animals around us and become little observers.
- Step 2: Watch what animals eatDifferent animals like different foods, and careful watching is the way to find out. Rabbits love carrots and fresh leaves, sparrows peck at grains on the ground, cats love fish best, and butterflies reach their long mouthparts into flowers to sip nectar. By watching what animals eat and how they eat, we learn about their habits and know better how to feed and care for them, never giving the wrong food.
- Step 3: Watch how animals respondAnimals react to sounds, light and touch in many different ways. Walk softly to a fish tank and the little fish swim away at once; shine a small light on a snail and it pulls its body into its shell; stroke a cat under the chin and it closes its eyes with a contented sound. These reactions tell us that animals can feel changes around them — they are alive, so we should treat them gently and never frighten them with loud noises.
- Step 4: Know that plants are alivePlants cannot move around or make sounds, but they are quietly alive too. Put a bean in wet cotton and give it a little water every day; in a few days it sprouts and then grows taller day by day. Touch a mimosa leaf gently and the leaflets fold up — another sign of life. Watching a seed sprout and grow with our own eyes helps us see that plants grow just like us and need water, air and sunlight, and deserve our care just the same.
- Step 5: Record what you seeGood observations should be written down at once, or we soon forget them. Draw the ants carrying breadcrumbs, write the date and the weather, and add one or two things you noticed — that is a nature diary. Records may be drawings, photos or words; the form matters little, but the truth of what you saw matters much. Keeping records often lets us see how things change day by day and compare different days, making us better and better at observing.
- Step 6: Care for living thingsFlowers, big trees and little animals are all living things, and we must take good care of them. When you see a beautiful butterfly in the park, enjoy it with your eyes only — do not catch it, pick the flowers or trample the grass; if you find an injured bird, tell an adult or ask a vet, and never feed it randomly yourself. When everyone cares for living things, nature stays beautiful and animals can live and grow in peace, and we keep the scenery of all four seasons to enjoy.
4Diagrams Diagrams
5Worked example Example
Example: Ming sees moss growing on a big rock in the park. Which of the two is living, and why?
- Check the rock first: it does not grow, needs no food or water, and never produces young, so the rock is non-living.
- Then check the moss: a tiny green plant that takes in water and sunlight and slowly spreads over the stone — the marks of a living thing.
- The moss is alive, growing and spreading, so it is living; the rock is only the place where it grows.
- Always examine the two things separately; do not class them together just because they sit side by side.
- Answer: The moss is living, for it grows, needs water and sunlight, and spreads; the rock does not grow and needs no food or water, so it is non-living. The two must be judged separately.
6Common mistakes Mistakes
7Quick check Quick check
Q1Is a toy bear living or non-living?
Q2How do we know a cat is alive?
Q3What do plants need to grow?
Q4What happens when a mimosa is touched?
Q5What should we do with small animals in the park?
8Recap Recap
- Living things grow, need food and water, and produce young.
- Animals and plants are living; stones and toys are non-living.
- Plants cannot walk, but they still respond to the world.
- Use your eyes and a notebook to observe living things.
- Care for life: do not pick flowers or catch small animals.