All lessons › Living things and life cycles › Lesson 3
Australian primary science · Year 3 · Lesson 3 of 4
Animal life cycles
Inquiry question: How does a frog change from egg to adult?
Check practical materials
Research using sources
What students learn
Animals have life cycles: they are born or hatch, grow, become adults and reproduce. Some change a lot as they grow.
Success criteria
- I can put the stages of a life cycle in order.
- I can find information in a source.
- I can describe one big change in a life cycle.
Preparation and materials
Before this lesson: Students know living things grow and reproduce.
- Life cycle picture cards: frog, butterfly, chicken — 13 sets
- Source sheet (printed from the lesson) — 13
Teacher setup
- Print card sets and the source sheet.
Safety and adaptations
Follow school science and equipment risk assessment procedures for the materials used.
Review your school policies and curriculum requirements before teaching.
How to investigate
The lesson sequence should leave pupils with evidence to interpret, not only an activity to finish.
- Order the frog cards using the source.
- Order the butterfly and chicken cards.
- Record each cycle’s stages.
- Circle the animal that changes the most.
Teacher modelling prompt
Model reading the source: find one fact, say where it is, and use it to place a card. “The source says back legs grow, then front legs, then the tail shrinks and it becomes a froglet. So the ‘legs’ card goes before the ‘froglet’ card.”
Record and explain evidence
Recording question: What are the stages in these animals’ life cycles?
| Animal | Stages in order | Biggest change |
|---|---|---|
| ________________ | ________________ | ________________ |
Example recording headings; record actual observations, including inconclusive results.
Discussion prompt
Why do we draw life cycles as circles?
Check understanding
What should pupils know? Put these frog stages in order: frog, egg, tadpole, froglet.
Explain with evidence: Where in the source did you find out that tadpoles grow back legs first?
Apply the idea: A mosquito lays eggs in water and its young swim. Is its life cycle more like a frog’s or a chicken’s? Why?
Teacher answer guidance and saved classroom work are available through the main lesson experience where supported.