How we share the

planet

6th Unit of Inquiry

Living things and non-living things

• There are living things and non-living things around us.

• Living things are born, they grow, they reproduce and they die.

• They need oxygen, food and water to live

• Non-living things can be natural or man-made.

Classifying living things

• We classify living things into different groups.

Animals•Feed on other living things.•Can move.•Can be oviparous or viviparous.•Have senses.

Plants•Produce their own food.•Can´t move from one place to another but can move towards light or water.•Plants are born from seeds or spores.

Fungi•Feed on other living things that are decomposing.•Can´t move.

Other organisms•Algae: produce their own food.•Bacteria: are very small organisms.

Life processes

• Nutrition: living things obtain nutrients from food. Nutrients help them to grow and function properly.

• Reproduction: means making new living things.

• Interaction: living things interact, they move, touch, communicate and react.

Living things adapt

• The first living things appeared on our planet over 2 000 million years ago.

• Over time, living things have changed and evolved.

Helping each other

• You already know how important it is for us to help each other and to look after the environment, but did you know that other living things help each other too?

Classifying animals: vertebrates and invertebrates

Vertebrates: mammals• Mammals are viviparous except for

monotremes which are oviparous.

• Mammals can be carnivores, herbivores or omnivores. They have different teeth depending on the food they eat.

• All mammals breathe through lungs.

• Most mammals have fur or hair.

• Most mammals have four legs and move on land but some have flippers to move in water.

Vertebrates: birds

• Birds are oviparous.

• Birds can be carnivores, herbivores or omnivores.

• Birds have beaks with different shapes depending on the food they eat.

• Birds breathe with their lungs.

• Birds have waterproof feathers and wings, but not all birds can fly, some swim or run.

Vertebrates: fish

• Most fish are oviparous. Some like the sharks are viviparous and some ovoviviparous.

• Fish can be carnivores, herbivores or omnivores.

• They breathe with their gills.

• They have fins and a tail which help them to move around.

• Their skin is covered in scales.

Vertebrates: reptiles

• Most reptiles are oviparous.

• Most reptiles are carnivores, some are omnivores.

• They breathe with lungs.

• Most have four limbs, but some have no limbs.

• They have scales that cover and protect their body.

Vertebrates: amphibians• Amphibians are oviparous.

• Baby amphibians change through metamorphosis.

• Most amphibians are carnivores.

• Babies breathe with gills and adults breathe with their lungs and through their skin.

• Most amphibians have four limbs and have moist skin.

Invertebrates

• Invertebrates are the largest group of animals on Earth.

• They live on land and in water.

• They can walk, swim, crawl or fly.

• They come in all colours, shapes and sizes.

• Some have an exoeskeleton or a shell to protect their body but most just a soft body.

Invertebrates: arthropods

• Arthropods are the biggest group of invertebrates.

• This group includes four subgroups:Insects

Arachnids

Myriapods

Crustaceans

Invertebrates: molluscs

• Molluscs are another large group of invertebrates.

• There are three main subgroups:Gastropods

Bivalves

Cephalopods

Invertebrates: other groups

• There other groups of invertebrates:

Cnidarians

Annelids

Echinoderms

• Natural Science ByMe• Ediciones Bilingües S.L. • MACMILLAN EDELVIVES

• Primary 3 Activity Book