Grade 1 · Science

Grade 1 science

Grade 1 science is about noticing: what is alive and what isn't, what things are made of, and the patterns of day, night and the seasons. Here is what it covers, where kids usually get stuck, and one way to help.

What your child learns this year

Topics differ a little by province and state, but most grade 1 classes cover several of these:

  • Living things. What plants and animals need to stay alive, and how they grow and change.
  • Our bodies and senses. The five senses, and the body parts we use for each.
  • Materials and objects. What things are made of (wood, metal, plastic, fabric) and why each is chosen for its job.
  • Light and sound. That we need light to see, and that sounds come from things vibrating.
  • Day, night and the seasons. Patterns in the sky and the weather, and how living things change with the seasons.

Where kids usually get stuck

  1. 1Thinking anything that moves is alive. A car, the wind or a river moves; a tree stays put. Moving isn't what makes something living.
  2. 2Thinking you can see in total darkness if you wait. Your eyes get used to dim light, but with no light at all there is nothing to see.
  3. 3Thinking the Sun travels across the sky. It looks that way, but it is the Earth that turns, which is why the Sun seems to rise and set.

One of Pip's tricks

The alive checklist

Use it when deciding whether something is a living thing, like a tree, a robot, a seed or a cloud.

  1. Does it grow and change?
  2. Does it need food, water and air? (A plant makes its own food using sunlight.)
  3. Do things like it make more of their own kind, like babies or seeds?
  4. Yes to all three means it is living. Moving is not on the list.

Watch it work. A toy robot rolls around and beeps. Does it grow? No, it stays the same size. Does it need food, water and air? No, it runs on batteries. Do robots make baby robots? No. So it is not alive, even though it moves.

Why it works: living things grow, need food (or make it, like plants), water and air, and make young like themselves. Something that isn't alive may move or make noise, but it can't do all of these.

Try three

Tap a choice to see if it is right, with the reason.

  1. 1.A tree stays in one place all its life. Is it a living thing?

  2. 2.A toy car can zoom across the floor. Is it a living thing?

  3. 3.Can you see a red ball in a room with no light at all?

How Sparkpip fits in

Pip, Sparkpip's tutor, works through questions like these with your child one small step at a time, using ways of thinking like the one above.

Start freeSee how it works

Your curriculum

Sparkpip is built on the grade 1 science curriculum for your province or state. The official pages:

Also: Grade 2 science · Grade 1 math · Grade 1 English