All lessons › Waiting for rain › Lesson 2
Australian primary science · Year 3 · Lesson 2 of 3
Counting frog calls
Inquiry question: Do frogs call more after rain, and how do scientists find out?
Marked no materials needed
Pattern seeking
What students learn
People can collect data to help scientists explain things. Recordings of frog calls, sent in by people all over Australia, show when frogs breed, and the data shows frogs call most after rain.
Success criteria
- I can read the number of frog calls recorded each week.
- I can describe the pattern between rain and frog calls.
- I can explain why lots of people collecting data helps scientists.
Preparation and materials
Before this lesson: Students know that male frogs call to attract females before eggs are laid (lesson 1).
- One screen or projector to show this lesson’s student view (the frog call table) (or print one student view per pair) — 1
- Workbooks or scrap paper, and pencils — 26
Teacher setup
- Open this lesson’s student view (the frog call table) on your screen, or print the student view if the internet is unreliable.
- No other preparation is needed.
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.
- Pairs read the frog call table in the student view.
- Find the weeks with the most rain and the weeks with the most calls.
- Write a pattern sentence about rain and frog calls.
- Look closely: do the calls go up in the same week as the rain, or after?
- Write one new question you would like to ask about frogs and rain.
Teacher modelling prompt
Point to weeks 1 to 3. Think aloud: “Little or no rain, and only 2, 3, 2 calls recorded. Week 4: 45 millimetres of rain, and calls jump to 60. Week 5, still lots. Then fewer as it dries. So the pattern is: after rain, many more calls.” Write the pattern sentence.
Record and explain evidence
Recording question: Do frogs call more after rain?
| Week | Rain (mm) | Frog calls recorded | More, fewer or about the same as last week? |
|---|---|---|---|
| ________________ | ________________ | ________________ | ________________ |
Example recording headings; record actual observations, including inconclusive results.
Discussion prompt
Which explanation uses what we know about frog life cycles?
Provided example or reference data
Example data: frog calls recorded on phones in one country town over 10 weeks in summer (made up for this lesson, like data collected by the FrogID project)
| Week | Rain that week (mm) | Frog calls recorded |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | 45 | 60 |
| 5 | 10 | 48 |
| 6 | 0 | 20 |
| 7 | 0 | 8 |
| 8 | 30 | 41 |
| 9 | 0 | 25 |
| 10 | 0 | 6 |
Check the data source in the teacher lesson. Illustrative or fictional data are not measurements collected by your class.
Check understanding
What should pupils know? Why do male frogs call?
Explain with evidence: Week 7 had 8 calls and week 8 had 41 calls. What changed? Use the data.
Apply the idea: Why is it useful for scientists to get frog recordings from thousands of people all over Australia? Stretch (older students): what could go wrong with the data, and how does the museum check it?
Teacher answer guidance and saved classroom work are available through the main lesson experience where supported.