Fluency U4L1

If we did not have green plants, there would be no life

on Earth. There could be no fish, no birds, no animals,

and no people. All living creatures need plants. Even

plants need other plants to survive.

There are many kinds of plants. Some are so tiny that

you can’t see them without some kind of magnifying

glass. Others like trees are huge, rising hundreds of

feet into the sky.

Plants make their food from sunlight, air, and water.

They also use some of the things in the soil to survive.

Plants provide food for many other living things. Many

animals eat plants. Some creatures eat other creatures,

but all food eventually leads back to plants. This is called

the “food chain.” A small insect eats a plant. A larger

animal eats the insect. And so the food chain continues

all the way up to the biggest animals.

People are at the top of the food chain because we eat

many different plants and animals. The food chain ends

with the animal that will not be eaten by other animals

for food.

Besides providing food, plants are vital because they

make the oxygen that we breathe. Plants take in the gas

that we breathe out. This gas is called carbon dioxide.

Then they change it to oxygen, the gas on which all

animals depend.

In addition to food and air, plants give us wood to build

our homes. They also provide homes for other animals,

especially birds. They help keep us cool with their shade.

Plants give us medicine and are pretty to look at, too.

Life would not be good at all if we did not have plants.