topic_name_replace — Living Things

Subject: subject_replace • For learners in Kenya, age: age_replace

What are living things?

Living things are organisms that are alive. They grow, change, and carry out life processes such as taking in food and producing offspring. Examples in Kenya include maize plants, mango trees, elephants, giraffes, zebras and small classroom animals like chickens.

Main features of living things (MRS GREN)

• Movement — some move their whole body (animals), others move parts (plants turn leaves toward the sun). 🐘🌿
• Respiration — release of energy from food (breathing or cell respiration). 🫁
• Sensitivity — react to changes in the environment (plants bend to light; animals run from danger). 🌞➡️🌱
• Growth — getting bigger or developing (seed to maize plant; calf to cow). 🌱➡️🌾
• Reproduction — producing young (seeds, eggs, live young). 🐔🥚🌳
• Excretion — removing waste (animals urinate; plants get rid of gases). 🚽
• Nutrition — taking in food and energy (plants make food by photosynthesis; animals eat plants/other animals). ☀️+CO₂→🍃

Needs of living things

All living things need certain things to survive. Common needs:

• Water — rivers, water pans, rainfall (e.g., elephants visit waterholes).
• Food — plants (soil nutrients + sunlight), animals (plants or other animals).
• Air — for breathing or for plants, gas exchange.
• Shelter — nests, burrows, trees, or human houses.
• Suitable temperature / light — plants need sunlight for photosynthesis.

Habitats found in Kenya (examples)

• Savannah/Grassland — zebras, giraffes, acacia trees.
• Forest — birds, forest trees, insects (e.g., Kakamega forest species).
• Freshwater (rivers, lakes, marshes) — fish, frogs, papyrus.
• Mountains (e.g., Mt. Kenya) — specialized plants, small mammals.
• Coastal — mangroves, crabs, sea birds (along Indian Ocean coast).

Simple classification

We usually group living things to make them easier to study:

• Plants — make their own food (producers). Example: maize, mango, acacia.
• Animals — eat plants or other animals (consumers). Example: cattle, goats, lions.
• Decomposers — break down dead material, return nutrients to soil (fungi, bacteria, some insects).

Life cycles (simple diagrams)

Plant life cycle (seed example):

Seed ➜ Seedling ➜ Young plant ➜ Mature plant (flowers/fruit) ➜ Seeds

Chicken life cycle (common at home):

Egg ➜ Chick ➜ Juvenile ➜ Adult hen/rooster

Key words to remember

Living thing, non-living, habitat, needs, life cycle, MRS GREN, producer, consumer, decomposer.

Quick check (try these)

1. Name three living things you can find near your home in Kenya.
2. List two needs of plants and two needs of animals.
3. Give one example of a decomposer found in soil.

Notes prepared to match learning in Kenyan contexts for learners aged age_replace. Use local examples (native plants and animals) when studying in class or at home.