Grade 1
Life Science
12 lessons · Lesson plan · Printables · Interactive Activity
Animal Structures
Animal Body Parts & Functions
Observe external animal parts, connect each structure to a useful function, gather simple evidence, and use one animal idea in a simple design.
35 min · ~8 min prep · 6 materials
Families & Traits
Young Plants & Animals: Like Their Parents
Look closely at animal and plant families. Young living things can share traits with their parents and still be different in some ways.
38 min · ~8 min prep · 4 materials
Plant Structures
Plant Parts & Their Jobs: Roots, Stems, Leaves & Flowers
Look closely at a whole plant, connect roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits to useful jobs, then use observations from a simple stem-water investigation as evidence.
38 min · ~10 min prep · 6 materials
Plant Responses
Plants Respond to Light: Which Way Will a Plant Grow?
Use a sequence of plant observations to notice that a growing plant can bend toward a light source, then plan a simple fair test that changes only the direction of light.
37 min · ~10 min prep · 5 materials
Animal Survival
Camouflage & Animal Survival: How Colors and Patterns Help Animals Hide
Compare animals with their surroundings, look for color and pattern matches, and use evidence from a simple spotting test to explain how camouflage can make an animal harder to see.
38 min · ~10 min prep · 5 materials
Animal Activity Patterns
Nocturnal & Diurnal Animals: Who Is Active When?
Use repeated picture observations to compare animals active mostly in daylight with animals active mostly at night, then use time-of-day evidence to identify an activity pattern.
37 min · ~8 min prep · 4 materials
Plants and Patterns
Seed to Seedling: How Germination Begins
Observe bean seeds over several days, compare damp and dry setups, and use visible changes to explain what helps germination begin.
40 min · ~12 min prep · 7 materials
Animals and Evidence
Animal Tracks & Signs: What Clues Show an Animal Was Here?
Study safe prepared clues such as tracks, feathers, feeding marks, and nests to make careful claims about animal activity without needing to see the animal.
40 min · ~10 min prep · 5 materials
Families & Traits
How Parents and Young Help Each Other
Use picture and text media to find patterns in observable behaviors between animal parents and young.
35 min · ~8 min prep · 3 materials
Animal Structures
The Five Senses: How We Observe the World
Use sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste as safe sources of information, and practice telling an observation from a guess.
35 min · ~8 min prep · 5 materials
Living Things
Living vs. Nonliving Things
Compare familiar examples and use patterns of needs, growth, and reproduction to tell living things from nonliving things without relying on movement alone.
35 min · ~8 min prep · 5 materials
Nature-Inspired Design
Biomimicry: Design Like Plants & Animals
Notice how plant and animal structures do useful jobs. Then use one useful job to build and test a simple solution.
38 min · ~10 min prep · 7 materials