DISCUSS:
What's your favorite thing you can do now that you couldn't do when you were a baby?
DISCUSS:
How could you draw a picture that shows how you’ve changed since you were born?
DISCUSS:
If all animals eventually die, will animals exist in the future?
How do you know?
The following readings are free with registration at Readworks.
These readings about frogs and bees, and hummingbirds will keep your third graders thinking about animal life cycles.
For students who are reading below grade level, here are readings about the life cycles of kangaroos (grade1), moths (grade 2), and sea turtles (Grade 2).
For students reading above grade level, check out these readings about the life cycles of butterflies (grade 5), cicadas (grade 5),
Make a Growing Caterpillar Card — This Mystery Science mini-lesson includes an activity that explores the world through the eyes of a hungry caterpillar. Students make a card that contains a caterpillar that grows! The accompanying video discusses the question: “Are butterflies the only animals that start out as caterpillars?"
Make a Poster — Have students research two different animals and then make a poster comparing and contrasting the life cycles of those animals. For students who need help getting started, check out these free printable coloring pages showing the life cycles of Birds (chicken, penguin), Fish, Reptiles (turtle), Amphibians (frog, salamander), and Insects (ladybug, mealworm, butterfly, ant, mosquito, dragonfly).
Close-up videos let students observe the stages of the Monarch butterfly’s life cycle – from the caterpillar chewing its way out of the egg to the butterfly taking flight.
A nine-year-old describes the frog life cycle and shows us tadpoles at different stages. These tadpoles are from a type of frog that develops much more quickly than the bullfrog from this lesson, going from tadpole to frog in just a few weeks.
Grade 3
Life Cycles
Animal Life Cycles
3-LS1-1
In this lesson, students explore animal life cycles by thinking about their birthday buddies—all the animals that were born on the exact same day as they were born—and what happens to those birthday buddies over the course of their lives. In the activity, Birthday Buddies Timeline, students develop a model to compare the life stories of different animals. Using this model, students discover that although the lives of animals can be very different, they all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death.
Preview activityBirthday Buddies Animal Cards worksheet | 15 copies |
Birthday Buddies Timeline worksheet | 30 copies |
Glue Sticks
Tape will also work.
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Details
30 glue sticks
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Scissors
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30 pairs |
Scrap Paper (8.5 x 11")
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30 sheets |
We suggest students work in pairs. Homeschool students can work on their own.
For animals that give birth to live young, their birthday is straightforward. For those animals that lay eggs, we use the day that they hatch from their egg as their birthday. Many science standards state that all animals are born, equating hatching with birth.
Grade 3
Life Cycles
Animal Life Cycles
3-LS1-1
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