Grade 4Science and Technology

Plants & Animals

Parts of a plant, classification of animals, life cycles.

📖 7 min read · 3 worked examples · 7 practice questions

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The lesson

Let's get ready to explore the world around us. We will look at two main things. First, we will learn about the parts of a plant, like the roots and leaves, and we'll see what plants need to grow and stay healthy. Second, we will learn about different animals. We will find examples right from our country, like maize plants in a farm or eagles flying in the sky.

Welcome, class! This is a very important topic. For our example today, we are using a very important Kenyan plant. Can anyone tell me what this is? That's right, it's a maize plant! Maize, or corn, is a staple food for us. It is a perfect example because we can see all the parts clearly. Every plant has six main parts. The first part is the root. Where do you find roots? What is its function? The root absorbs water and holds the plant firmly in the soil. Think of it like the plant's drinking straw and anchor. Next, we have the stem. The stem is like the plant's body or its highway. Its function is to support the plant and transport water from the roots up to the leaves. It stands tall and strong. The leaves. Leaves are the plant's food factories. Their function is to make food using sunlight, in a process called photosynthesis. They are usually green and broad to catch as much sun as possible. Moving upwards, we see the flowers. Flowers are not just beautiful; they are very important. Their function is to make seeds for new plants. They attract insects like bees to help them with this job. After the flower, we get the fruit. In a maize plant, the cob is the fruit. Its function is to protect and carry the seeds. The maize cob protects the maize seeds inside it. Finally, we have the seeds. If you plant a maize seed, what will grow? A new maize plant! The seed's function is to grow into a new plant. It's like a tiny baby plant waiting for the right conditions to sprout. Let's quickly recap using our maize plant. We have the roots underground, the stem holding it up, the leaves making food, the flowers producing seeds, the fruit protecting them, and the seed itself which can grow into a new plant. Great work, everyone!

That we're wrapping up, let's take a moment to recap all the amazing things we've learned about living things. We found out there are six main plant parts. We have the root, stem, leaf, flower, fruit, and… the last one is the seed! We can remember all six. We also discovered five things every plant needs to grow well. Can anyone name them? Sunlight, water, air, soil with nutrients, and enough space. Just like a maize plant needs good sunlight in our Kenyan farms. Then we moved to animals. We sorted them into five big groups. I love mammals like dairy cows and goats, birds like eagles, fish like tilapia, reptiles like lizards, and… what was the last group? Exactly, amphibians like frogs! We also talked about life cycles. From a tiny bean seed to a big plant. From a chicken egg, to a chick, to a full-grown hen. Isn't it amazing how living things grow and change? The biggest idea is right here: All living things are connected! The plants need insects to spread pollen. Birds sometimes eat fruits and spread seeds. The air from plants helps animals breathe. Our environment is like a big family where everyone depends on each other. Here's your mission. On your way home, or when you play outside, look for plants and animals in your school compound or at home. See a flower? Think about its parts. See a bird? Think about which group it belongs to. You've all learned so much and asked such smart questions today. I'm really proud of your work.

Worked examples

What Plants Need to Grow

Have you ever tried to grow a plant at home or seen your family farm? Let's find out what makes them healthy. Take a look at this heading: 'The Five Needs'. All healthy plants, from a small bean in your garden to a big maize plant in a field, need five essential things. Here they are. Number one: Sunlight. Two: Water. Three: Air. Four: Nutrients, which come from the soil. Five: Space to grow. Let's talk about each one. Why do you think sunlight is first? This gives us a clue. Sunlight is for making food. Plants have a special process called photosynthesis — a big word, but it just means they use sunlight, water, and air to make their own food. Without sunlight, a plant is like a factory without power. Where do water and nutrients come from? From the soil. Think of soil as the plant's supermarket. It gets water to drink and nutrients, which are like vitamins, to stay strong. This is a Kenyan staple food. Here's how a farmer provides all five needs. The farmer plants the seeds in good soil for nutrients and space. They water the plants, especially during dry seasons. The maize gets plenty of sunlight and air in the open field. By providing all five, the farmer gets a healthy maize harvest. The key idea is simple: without these five things — sunlight, water, air, nutrients, and space — a plant cannot grow properly. It might become weak, turn yellow, or even die. If you remember these five needs, you can help any plant thrive!

Classifying Animals

That means putting animals into different groups. You see, scientists, just like detectives, look for clues. They look at the similar characteristics animals have, like body coverings or how they have their babies. That helps them put animals into neat groups. There are five main groups of animals that scientists often talk about. Let me point them out for you: mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and insects. You can see examples right here, like the dairy cow we might see on a farm in Nyeri, or the beautiful African fish eagle. This table is a wonderful tool. It compares the groups based on three things: their body covering, how they breathe, and how their babies are born or hatched. First, look at mammals. For example, our dairy cow. Its body is covered in fur or hair. It breathes with lungs, just like you and me. Its babies are born live—they don't hatch from eggs. Birds, like our eagle. Their bodies are covered in feathers—these are amazing for flying. They also breathe with lungs, but they lay eggs. Let's compare that to a fish, like a tilapia from Lake Victoria. It has scales, it breathes with gills underwater, and it lays eggs too.

Life Cycles

Next, let's look at a very important idea in science: Life Cycles. This is something we see all around us. What is a life cycle? A life cycle simply shows how a living thing grows and changes over its whole life, from the very beginning to the very end. This is the life cycle of a maize plant, which we call corn. First, we have a seed. The seed is planted in the soil. Then, with water and sunshine, it sprouts into a seedling. That's the young plant just starting out. It grows into an adult plant, which then produces more seeds. Those seeds start the whole cycle again! The maize plant's life cycle goes: Seed, to Seedling, to Adult Plant, to New Seeds. Animals also have life cycles. The butterfly starts as a tiny egg, laid on a leaf. The egg hatches into a caterpillar, which scientists also call a larva. The caterpillar eats leaves and grows a lot. Then, it forms a hard case called a pupa or chrysalis. Inside this case, a big change happens. Finally, a beautiful adult butterfly emerges! The butterfly's life cycle is: Egg, to Caterpillar, to Pupa, to Adult Butterfly. Finally, let's look at a mammal. This is the life cycle of a dairy cow, a very important animal here in Kenya. A dairy cow starts life as a baby calf, born from its mother. The calf grows into a young heifer, and then into a mature adult cow. The adult cow can then have its own calves, continuing the cycle. The life cycle is: Baby Calf, to Growing Heifer, to Adult Cow. Remember, a life cycle tracks all the stages a living thing goes through. Plants, insects, and mammals all have their own unique cycles. Think about your own life cycle! Thinking about what we just saw, can you find any similarities between these three life cycles?

Practice questions

The first question has a picture of a maize plant. This is a very important crop here in Kenya.
The second question asks what a plant like a bean plant needs to grow well. We just learned that plants aren't like people; they don't need a cow nearby.
Great work everyone. Let's wrap up this quick check.
For the first question, matching plant parts to functions, the correct matches are: Roots hold the plant in the soil and take up water, and the Stem carries water from the roots to the leaves. The leaves actually make food using sunlight, not seeds, and the flower makes seeds, not food.
In question two, if a maize plant in Kenya has good soil and sun but has weak, yellow leaves, the most important missing thing is water. Without water, it cannot move nutrients or make food, even with sunlight.
For the short answer question, if an animal has fur, gives birth to live babies, and feeds its young with milk, it belongs to the mammal group. To explain, you can use any two features, like the fur and the milk.
Finally, the correct order for a butterfly's life cycle is: egg, larva (that's the caterpillar), pupa (the chrysalis), and then the adult butterfly. Remember, it all starts from the tiny egg.

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Plants & Animals

📖 The lesson

✏️ Worked examples