Energy | Substitute Teacher
This 75-minute substitute lesson introduces students to the idea that living things need energy to survive, grow, move, and respond to their environment. Students will explore where energy comes from and how it moves through simple examples using discussion, sorting, and a short class activity.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| energy | the ability to do work or cause change |
| living thing | something that grows, needs energy, and can respond to its environment |
| plant | a living thing that makes its own food using sunlight |
| animal | a living thing that gets energy by eating plants or other animals |
| food chain | a simple way to show how energy moves from one living thing to another |
Write on the board: 'What do living things need energy for?' Give students 2 minutes to write ideas, then ask for a few responses.
Write answers quietly, then share ideas with the class.
Explain that energy helps living things grow, move, stay warm, and carry out life processes. Give simple examples such as a plant growing toward sunlight, a bird flying, and a person walking.
Listen, repeat key ideas, and answer simple questions.
Read or show example cards one at a time. Have students decide whether each example shows how a plant, an animal, or both use energy. Record answers on the board.
Help sort examples and explain their choices using simple sentences.
Ask: 'Where does a plant get energy?' and 'Where do animals get energy?' Support answers with prompts if needed.
Turn and talk with a partner, then share out.
Ask students to copy and complete three sentence starters: 1) Energy is..., 2) Plants get energy from..., 3) Animals get energy from.... Circulate and support.
Write short responses independently.
Review the main points orally: living things need energy, plants use sunlight to make food, and animals get energy from food.
Repeat the key ideas and ask final questions.
Ask the class to finish the sentence: 'Today I learned that living things need energy to ____. ' Collect a few responses aloud and restate the big idea one last time.
Write or draw three living things at home or outside. For each one, describe how it uses energy or where it gets energy from. Bring it back tomorrow.