Frog Life Cycle Activities for Kindergarten and 1st Grade

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If you want a science unit that is more than a cute craft, frogs are a perfect place to start. Kids are fascinated by how a tiny egg becomes a tadpole, then a froglet, then a frog that hops away.

Every year at least one student was sure tadpoles were baby fish, and I loved watching them figure out the truth.

How I teach the frog life cycle

1. Start with what they know. Fill in a KWL chart together. You will be surprised how many kids think tadpoles are fish.
2. Introduce the words. Put the 7 vocabulary cards on your word wall or a ring so you can review them every day.
3. Read and explore. A nonfiction read aloud like From Tadpole to Frog by Wendy Pfeffer is a great hook.
4. Make it hands on. Life cycle figurines let students put the stages in order with their own hands. You can find the science tools I love in my Amazon shop. If you can, raise tadpoles in a classroom habitat and watch it happen for real.
5. Write about it. Students finish with their own writing book to show what they learned.

What is in the frog unit

The Life Cycle of a Frog Activities unit has nearly 50 pages:

• 7 vocabulary cards
• A mini book and a student writing book with a writing rubric
• A 2 page life cycle poster
• A file folder game, memory game and vocabulary puzzle
• KWL chart and can, have, are chart with brainstorming clouds
• Life cycle cut and paste and labeling pages

Use it for science centers, small groups or a whole class project.

What teachers are saying

"Loved this! We caught a couple tadpoles and watched them grow into frogs and used this unit to keep track of growth!" (TPT review)

Teaching more than one life cycle this spring? The Life Cycle Activities Bundle adds butterflies, chickens and plants.

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Get the Frog Life Cycle Activities on TPT

Made by a teacher who's been right where you are.

Jessica Ann Stanford, Teachers Follow Teachers