1. Science Focus Lesson Week 2
Elementary Science
Science
Focus Lesson
Week 2
Polk County Public Schools
Linda Vendur, Senior Coordinator

2. Week 2 – SC.F.1.2.3 How are living things alike and different?
Benchmark: The student knows that living things are different but share similar structures.
Essential Question:
How are living things alike and different?
Vocabulary:
mammal vertebrate
amphibian invertebrate
reptile photosynthesis

3. Plants Are Living Things
Parts of a Plant Basic Plant Needs
Water
Soil
Sunlight
Space to grow
Air
Photosynthesis
Plants use energy from the sun to make their own food.
Plants have leaves, stem, roots.
Plants reproduce with seeds (flowers, cones, fruits) or spores.
Plants Are Living Things

4. Photosynthesis Energy From sun Leaf Cell
Carbon Dioxide
Oxygen
Glucose
(Sugar)
Inside each leaf cell are tiny green structures called chloroplasts. The green color comes from a substance called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll captures the energy in sunlight.
The plant’s roots take in water from the soil. Water travels to the plant’s leaves. The leaves take in carbon dioxide from the air. The chloroplasts use the sun’s energy captured by chlorophyll to combine water and carbon dioxide. This produces a kind of sugar called glucose. Glucose is the plant’s food.
Make sure students understand that plants are unique in that they can make their own food as described above. Animals, including humans, are dependent upon plants for food.
Water
Photosynthesis is the process of using the energy in sunlight to produce food.

5. Summarizing In your Science notebook answer the question.
What are some ways plants
are alike and different?
Possible answers…
Alike – roots, stems, leaves, photosynthesis, need water, some sunlight, all reproduce, etc.
Differences – reproduce in different ways (cone, flowers, fruits, spores), different sizes, different size leaves, different colors, live in different climates, grow in different soils, some have thorns, etc.

6. Animals Vertebrates Invertebrates Animals that do not have a backbone.
Animals that have a backbone.
Mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and birds
Invertebrates
Animals that do not have a backbone.
Jellyfish, worms, starfish, crabs, insects , spiders

7. Can you name some… Mammals? Reptiles? Amphibians? Fish? Birds?
How do you know which
group an animal belongs to?

8. Characteristics of Vertebrates – Chart 1
Mammals
Reptiles
Amphibians
Fish
Birds
Hair or fur
Feathers
Scales
Smooth, moist skin X
Lungs
Gills
Most can fly

9. Characteristics of Vertebrates – Chart 2
Mammals
Reptiles
Amphibians
Fish
Birds
Live on land
Live in water
and in water X* X
Young in water
Adult on land
Live birth
Lay eggs
Nurse young with milk
Point out that while many mammals go in water, very few actually live in water.
You may want to pint out that while reptiles, amphibians, fish and birds all lay eggs, their eggs have very different kinds of shells.
* Some mammals live in water, such as whales and manatees.

10. Summarizing Answer the question in your Science notebook.
What are some ways animals
are alike and different?

11. Animal Classification
Bird?
Amphibian?
Mammal?
Animal Classification
Fish?
Classify these vertebrates into the correct group.
whale snake eagle
Frog elephant turtle
owl mouse catfish
shark rat vulture
penguin lizard stingray
alligator tuna blue jay
toad salamander manatee
Be able to explain how you decided
to classify each animal.
Reptile?

12. Animal Classification
Mammal Reptile Amphibian Bird Fish
whale snake frog eagle catfish
elephant turtle toad owl shark
mouse lizard salamander vulture stingray
rat alligator penguin tuna
manatee blue jay
Which group do you belong to?

13. Summary Question
Describe two ways in which plants and animals are different. Then describe two ways in which they are similar.

14. Animals or Plants? Animal Which cannot make their own food?
Which takes in carbon dioxide and gives off oxygen?
Plants
Both
Which can reproduce?
Which needs water to live?
Both
Which takes in oxygen and gives off carbon dioxide?
Animals
Which are made of many cells?
Both

15. 1. Which of the following describes a way plants are different from animals? A. Plants have structures for reproduction. B. Plants have structures for growth. C. Plants are made of cells D. Plants have structures for producing food.
Answer is D.
Students should understand both plants and animals have structures for reproducing and growth. They are both made of cells…plant cell have a cell wall and animal cells do not.
Only plants can make food. Animals depend on plants for food. The food chain starts with the sun’s energy and the producers (plants).

16. How are cats and owls alike? A. They are mammals.
2. Allison could hear animals in her backyard. When she looked out her window, she saw a cat and an owl.
How are cats and owls alike?
A. They are mammals.
B. Their eyes are blue.
C. They both breathe air with lungs.
D. Their fur keeps them warm.
Answer is C. Mammals, reptiles, and adult amphibians all have lungs to breathe with. Fish and young amphibians have gills to breathe with.
Cats and owls are both vertebrates, but only the cat is a mammal. Of course, mammals have hair or fur and a bird has feathers.

17. Summarizing Answer the Essential Question for this lesson in your
Science notebook.
Essential Question:
How are living things
alike and different?
Plants
Animals