Big Idea 14: Organization and Development of Living Organisms

A. All plants and animals, including humans, are alike in some ways and different in others.

B. All plants and animals, including humans, have internal parts and external structures that function to keep them alive and help them grow and reproduce.

C. Humans can better understand the natural world through careful observation.

General Information
Number: SC.K.L.14
Title: Organization and Development of Living Organisms
Type: Big Idea
Subject: Science
Grade: K
Body of Knowledge: Life Science

Related Benchmarks

This cluster includes the following benchmarks.

Related Access Points

This cluster includes the following access points.

Independent

SC.K.L.14.In.1
Recognize the senses of sight, hearing, and smell and related body parts.
SC.K.L.14.In.2
Identify a behavior of an animal or plant in a book or other media that is not real.
SC.K.L.14.In.3
Identify differences in characteristics of plants and animals.

Supported

SC.K.L.14.Su.1
Recognize the senses of sight and hearing and related body parts.
SC.K.L.14.Su.2
Distinguish a real animal and an animal that is not a living thing, such as a toy animal.
SC.K.L.14.Su.3
Match identical animals and plants.

Participatory

SC.K.L.14.Pa.1
Recognize and respond to one type of sensory stimuli.
SC.K.L.14.Pa.2
Distinguish between a plant and animal.

Related Resources

Vetted resources educators can use to teach the concepts and skills in this topic.

Lesson Plans

Flora and Fauna in Florida:

Students will learn about the Florida state flag and understand that it represents the state of Florida. They will learn about the visual elements of the flag by observing representations of living organisms and discussing their similarities and differences in this integrated lesson plan.

Type: Lesson Plan

What Makes "Sense"? A Study of Rules and Laws:

Students will explore how the five senses help us make careful observations of rules, behaviors, and consequences to produce learning in this integrated lesson plan.

Type: Lesson Plan

National Bird Debate Part 2:

Students reflect on the Founders’ decision to name the bald eagle as our national bird and symbol. They form their own opinion about whether bald eagles or wild turkeys would make a better national symbol and express their opinion with supporting reasons or facts. Students consider their classmates’ arguments before voting as a group to make a decision whether bald eagles or wild turkeys would make a better symbol for a country in part 2 of this integrated lesson plan.

Type: Lesson Plan

National Bird Debate Part 1:

Students use information from the book, The Bald Eagle by Norman Pearl, to compare the look and behavior of bald eagles and wild turkeys.  They explore early debates over the bald eagle as our national symbol as a way to differentiate fact from opinion in part 1 of this integrated lesson plan.

Type: Lesson Plan

Signs, Signs, Everywhere a Sign:

  • Students will review the five senses and related body parts and then develop symbols that represent the senses. Students will then apply their understanding of symbols to study important US symbols in this integrated lesson plan.

Type: Lesson Plan

I SEE SUNSHINE:

Students will review the five senses and related body parts and then develop symbols that represent the senses. Students will then apply their understanding of symbols to study important symbols of the state of Florida in this integrated lesson plan.

Type: Lesson Plan

Gr. K Lesson 2-Everglades Animals :

Students will revisit the Everglades discussing the similarities and differences between some of the animals that were presented in lesson one. They will continue to color and build their Everglades class book. Students will draw and write the similarities and differences using a Comparing Everglades Animals worksheet. Everglades Animals is lesson 2 out of 3.

Type: Lesson Plan

Gr. K Lesson 1-What is the Everglades?:

Students will be introduced to the Everglades, learning about this special place for plants and animals that is unlike anywhere else on Earth. They will watch a presentation on some of the animals that live in the Everglades and start working on their Everglades Class Book.

 

 

Type: Lesson Plan

Make Believe Homes and Habitats:

In this lesson students will demonstrate an understanding of characteristics of real and make-believe animals, they will sort animals according to characteristics, and they will complete a drawing of a make-believe animal home in a real-world habitat.

Type: Lesson Plan

Kindergarten 5 Senses with Pumpkins:

This unit opens with a field trip to the pumpkin patch. In this project-based learning experience students will use their five senses to discover the world around them. Students will complete a KWL chart, pumpkin chart, and have group discussions. Individually students will use their five senses to describe the taste, touch, smell, look, and sound of different objects. As teams, students will create a poster to present their findings.

Type: Lesson Plan

A Home for All:

This unit opens with a walking field trip to a local community pond. In this Project-Based Learning experience students explore their local environment and describe the different habitats for plants and animals. The class will create a KWL Chart and Word Web for habitats. Individually, students will write an informative report about a chosen animal and its habitat. As teams, students will sort and present animal/plant cards according to their given habitat/environment. Students will individually create and present a habitat using a diorama for a chosen plant/animal.

Type: Lesson Plan

Spring Festival Flower:

In this MEA, students will help pick a flower that will be the focus of the Spring Festival.  They will practice counting pictures and representing the number of pictures with a written numeral.

Type: Lesson Plan

Zoo-rrific!:

Students will be asked to choose a new animal for a zoo. They will be asked to rank four animals from best to worst, based on popularity, food needs, danger to zookeepers, etc.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

Calling All Authors!:

In this lesson, students are engaged in a science project where the local library is hosting a book writing contest. Students will brainstorm ideas, work in rotating center stations, complete checklists and create a nonfiction book about how plant and animals are alike and different featuring what they learned about plants and animals during the lesson.

Type: Lesson Plan

The Five Senses:

The five senses are essential to understanding the world around us. What body parts relate to each of the five senses? How do we use the five senses to discover new information? Students will encounter these questions and more as they explore the five senses and their corresponding body parts through observation and conversation.

Type: Lesson Plan

Real or Make-Believe?:

How do you know if an animal is real or make-believe? What characteristics and behaviors do real animals possess? How does the media portray animals with characteristics they do not have in real life? Students will encounter these questions as they explore the differences between real and make-believe animals. This lesson will help you to identify what characteristics and behaviors classify an animal as being real or make-believe.

Type: Lesson Plan

Clown Fish:

Students will compare and contrast traits of real clown fish and Nemo, from the cartoon movie "Finding Nemo".

Type: Lesson Plan

Whose Baby is That?:

This inquiry-based 5E lesson provides an initial look at categorizing items into 2 categories. Visuals of animals are used to begin the classifying/categorizing of animals and their babies. Students will practice categorizing in pairs and will be given the categories to use. They will then explain the placement of each item in the category. The teacher will ask guiding questions and facilitate the lesson to ensure comprehension of the material.

Type: Lesson Plan

Vegetables…in Cupcakes?!:

In teams, students will make decisions about how to select the best bakery based on various cupcake characteristics (e.g., taste, smell).

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

Did You Hear That?:

This lesson focuses on different sound qualities and being able to distinguish the different qualities. This lesson explains how vibrations cause sound to be produced. How sound travels is also explored during this lesson. These concepts are explored while children solve an engineering design challenge through guided inquiry.

Type: Lesson Plan

Investigating Local Ecosystems:

This lesson provides students with opportunities to investigate the habitats of local plants and animals and explore some of the ways animals depend on plants and each other.

Type: Lesson Plan

Hatching Chickens:

This lesson will help students understand the importance of carefully observing and caring for eggs and chickens in the classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

My Senses Tell Me...:

In this lesson, students learn about their five senses. This lesson encourages students to explore their environment using their senses, first in an open-ended way, and then in a more reflective way. Using student sheets to record their observations, students work in small groups at five "Sense Stations," where they document what they smell, taste, see, hear, and feel. Next, students are asked to be "sense detectives" at the sense stations and to document their clues on their student sheets. Students use these clues to write a "Sense Mystery."

Type: Lesson Plan

Using Book Orders for Real and Make Believe:

Students will use Scholastic book order forms (or magazines) to sort animal pictures into two categories, real and make believe.

Type: Lesson Plan

Original Student Tutorials

Real and Make-Believe with Rhymes: Plants:

Learn that some books portray plants with characteristics and behaviors they do not have in real life, in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Real and Make-Believe with Rhymes: Animals:

Learn how some books portray animals with characteristics and behaviors they do not have in real life with this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

5 Senses: Smell:

Learn about the sense of smell and be able to name the nose as the main part of the body that collects smells, in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

5 Senses: Taste:

Learn about the sense of taste and be able to name the tongue as the main part of the body that collects tastes in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

5 Senses: Hearing:

Learn about the sense of hearing and be able to name the ear as the main part of the body that collects sounds, in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

5 Senses: Sight:

Learn about the sense of sight and be able to name the eyes as the main part of the body that collects sights and images, in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

5 Senses: Touch:

Learn about the sense of touch and be able to name the skin as the main part of the body that collects touch in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Presentation/Slideshow

Our Senses:

This is an accessible, easy-to-read book about our senses. It can be downloaded in Power Point, Impress, and Flash formats. For struggling or non-readers, it can be read aloud in a variety of voices. All of the books on the Tar Heel Reader site can be used with the Intellikeys keyboard and a custom overlay, a touch screen, and/or 1-3 switches. The text and background colors can be modified for students with visual impairments.

Type: Presentation/Slideshow

Professional Development

Environmental Education for Kids:

Website explaining when and how to start environmental education for kids. There are practical suggestions for teachers to incorporate environmental education into their curriculum.

Type: Professional Development

Resource Collection

BioEd Online K-2 Educational Resources for Educators, Students, and Parents:

Biology lesson plans for a Living Things Unit of study.

Type: Resource Collection

Teaching Ideas

Why do animals look the way they do?:

This teaching idea describes a project for kindergarten students to create a nonfiction book. After studying animal adaptations, students learned about the adaptations of different local animals and created a nonfiction book with illustrations.

Type: Teaching Idea

Where Plants and Animals Live:

This site features activity ideas on comparing plants and animals in different habitats. It also includes a virtual manipulative, black line masters for activity ideas, and a family newsletter to encourage family involvement.

Type: Teaching Idea

The Incredible Invertebrate Counting Book-SeaWorld Classroom Activity:

In this activity, the students will define invertebrate. The student will answer various questions about invertebrates that result in numeric answers and place the answers in numerical order.

Type: Teaching Idea

Animal Sing Along-SeaWorld Classroom Activity:

In this activity, students will be able to name warm- and cold-blooded animals through role play and song and demonstrate the behaviors used to dissipate excess body heat.

Type: Teaching Idea

Birdie on my Finger-SeaWorld Classroom Activity:

In this activity, students will identify bird body parts and adaptations (feathers, wings, bill, tail) while creating paper finger puppets.

Type: Teaching Idea

Baby Shamu Suit-SeaWorld Classroom Activity:

In this activity, students will be able to name whale body parts (flipper, flukes, fins) and describe the function of each. In addition, they will role-play whale behavior.

Type: Teaching Idea

Birds' Bills:

Students will compare and contrast different kinds of birds' bills and categorize pictures. After drawing the bills in each category, they will then compare the bill types with common household items.

Type: Teaching Idea

Color Me Ape~ish-SeaWorld Classroom Activity:

In this activity, the students will distinguish the differences between apes and monkeys by listening to different characteristics and coloring the corresponding animal.

Type: Teaching Idea

Fingerprint Fish-SeaWorld Classroom Activity:

In this activity, students explore how schooling behavior is an adaptation for avoiding predators.

Type: Teaching Idea

Harbor Seal Visor-SeaWorld Classroom Activity:

In this activity, students will be able to describe the senses used by a harbor seal.

Type: Teaching Idea

Sharing What We Know About Organisms:

Students discuss living and nonliving organisms, including plants and animals.

Type: Teaching Idea

Sort it Out-SeaWorld Classroom Activity:

In this activity, students develop logic skills by investigating various ways to sort by attribute. At the same time, they are exposed to principles of scientific classification.

Type: Teaching Idea

Webcams: Animal Inquiry and Observation:

Observe animal habits and habitats using one of the many webcams broadcasting from zoos and aquariums around the United States and the world in this inquiry-based activity that focuses on observation logs, class discussion, questioning, and research.

Type: Teaching Idea

What Is a Bird?:

In this activity students will compare characteristics of birds with characteristics of animals from other classifications. They will list the characteristics that are unique to birds.

Type: Teaching Idea

Unit/Lesson Sequences

Exploring the Five Senses:

This unit explores the five senses and their respective related body parts. It shows how observations of the natural world are made using our senses.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

Ladybugs:

These lessons explore the characteristics and behavior of ladybugs, and to create their own paper model of a ladybug.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

Touching and Fair Tests with Pill Bugs and Earthworms:

This unit shows students how to humanely handle pill bugs ("roly polies") and earthworms while observing their characteristics. Students will explore the types of conditions that each bug prefers to live in (eg., wet or dry, dark or light).

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

Comparing Plants, Animals, and Seeds:

These lessons compare and contrast plants versus animals and seeds versus plants in regards to both appearance and behavior/function.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

Plants and Animals in Media:

These lessons show children how the media portrays plants and animals with characteristics that they do not truly possess in reality.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

Student Resources

Vetted resources students can use to learn the concepts and skills in this topic.

Original Student Tutorials

Real and Make-Believe with Rhymes: Plants:

Learn that some books portray plants with characteristics and behaviors they do not have in real life, in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Real and Make-Believe with Rhymes: Animals:

Learn how some books portray animals with characteristics and behaviors they do not have in real life with this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

5 Senses: Smell:

Learn about the sense of smell and be able to name the nose as the main part of the body that collects smells, in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

5 Senses: Taste:

Learn about the sense of taste and be able to name the tongue as the main part of the body that collects tastes in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

5 Senses: Hearing:

Learn about the sense of hearing and be able to name the ear as the main part of the body that collects sounds, in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

5 Senses: Sight:

Learn about the sense of sight and be able to name the eyes as the main part of the body that collects sights and images, in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

5 Senses: Touch:

Learn about the sense of touch and be able to name the skin as the main part of the body that collects touch in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Presentation/Slideshow

Our Senses:

This is an accessible, easy-to-read book about our senses. It can be downloaded in Power Point, Impress, and Flash formats. For struggling or non-readers, it can be read aloud in a variety of voices. All of the books on the Tar Heel Reader site can be used with the Intellikeys keyboard and a custom overlay, a touch screen, and/or 1-3 switches. The text and background colors can be modified for students with visual impairments.

Type: Presentation/Slideshow

Parent Resources

Vetted resources caregivers can use to help students learn the concepts and skills in this topic.

Presentation/Slideshow

Our Senses:

This is an accessible, easy-to-read book about our senses. It can be downloaded in Power Point, Impress, and Flash formats. For struggling or non-readers, it can be read aloud in a variety of voices. All of the books on the Tar Heel Reader site can be used with the Intellikeys keyboard and a custom overlay, a touch screen, and/or 1-3 switches. The text and background colors can be modified for students with visual impairments.

Type: Presentation/Slideshow

Resource Collection

BioEd Online K-2 Educational Resources for Educators, Students, and Parents:

Biology lesson plans for a Living Things Unit of study.

Type: Resource Collection

Teaching Ideas

Where Plants and Animals Live:

This site features activity ideas on comparing plants and animals in different habitats. It also includes a virtual manipulative, black line masters for activity ideas, and a family newsletter to encourage family involvement.

Type: Teaching Idea

Color Me Ape~ish-SeaWorld Classroom Activity:

In this activity, the students will distinguish the differences between apes and monkeys by listening to different characteristics and coloring the corresponding animal.

Type: Teaching Idea