Animal Life Cycles Unit Plan

Grade 3
Copperfield School
Amelia Wills
 Classes:30-40 mins

Day Activity Description SLO’s Assessment

1 Nature Walk

Students will create a KWL chart as a class by brainstorming what

they know about the environment and what they would like to
know about the environment.

The class will go on a nature walk around the school and get
students to become aware of all the birds and bugs around them,
and things such as a trees and plants.

We will find a spot and students will be instructed to each find

something in nature to journal about and sketch (or maybe figure
out a way for them to take a photo of it?)

2 Living or Non-Living?

Students will present what their chosen thing in nature is to the

class. They must identify what it is, where it lives, if it is living or
non-living and why they think it is a part of the environment

Have a class discussion about what makes something living and

what living things need. Using the pictures/sketches, we create a
list classifying the students chosen items into living or non-living.
Have students brainstorm a few more examples.

3 Classifying Animals SLE 1 Formative:

- Classification chart
Using pictures of different animals, ask students to brainstorm - Participation in
different ways we can classify animals. On the board create charts discussion
of the 6 features we can use to classify animals and have students
write them down in their notebooks. (Backbone, body coverings,
number of legs, wings and teeth.)

After doing an example with the class, get students to work in

partners to cut out and glue pictures of animals correctly in each of
the six charts.

Once they have finished gluing, they may fill out the information
they have gathered into the animal classification worksheet.
4 Classifying Animals II SLE 1 Formative:
 Have students pull out their animal classification worksheet from - Observe student’s
last class and get in their partner groups. Get students to listen to participation in game
descriptions of each grouping of animal and have them deduce
which grouping of animals each section is. Students will then
decide which feature is most important to classify each group of
animals. (Example: no backbone for insects)

Play “Who’s Who in the Zoo?” – Students wear headbands with

animal pictures on their head. Students must ask each other yes or
no questions to try and figure out what kind of animal they are.
Students are encouraged to ask about the different features of
their animal to help figure it out. Once they feel like they’ve got
enough information, they can make a guess about which animal
they are. They then must journal about what animal grouping they
fall into and why.

5 What’s a Habitat? SLE 6 Formative:

- Participation in
Ask students if they know what a habitat is. Come up with a discussion
definition as a class.

Have class brainstorm things a habitat should include (ex. Food

shelter, water, etc.) and some possible examples of habitats.

Create a habitat web as a class for a rabbit, students should copy it

down in their notebooks as well, so they know how to create a
habitat web in the future.

Have students come up with an animal that they would like to

research and start a web with everything they know about the web
right now.

6 What’s a Habitat? SLE 6 Formative:

- Habitat Webs
We will begin the class by reviewing what a habitat is and what
information should be included in a habitat web. Formative
- Participation in
Students will have the opportunity to pick out books from the discussions
learning commons and use ipads to help complete their habitat
webs. Once finished, students will display habitat webs on wall.
Students will do a gallery walk of webs.

We will regroup as a class and discuss some of the similarities and

differences in the habitat webs created.
 Differentiation- Struggling writers can draw pictures to represent
habitat information
7 Frogs SLE 2: Formative:
- Frog Life Cycle
Start the class off by having students brainstorm what a baby frog SLE 3 worksheet
looks like. Explain that frogs go through metamorphosis, a series of - Participation in
physical changes, so baby frogs do not look like adult frogs. Get discussions
students to copy key term in their notebooks.

Students will be given a frog life cycle worksheet in front of them

with pictures at the bottom that they will cut out and glue in the
proper place of the cycle. Using pictures that stick on the board,
teacher will model the frog life cycle for students, explaining each
of the four stages. Students will follow along will with their
worksheet gluing the pictures as we talk about each stage and
labeling them. Asking students throughout what the next stage
would be.

Give students a chance to colour their frog life cycle. Play frog life
cycle song videos for kids from YouTube while they are colouring. If
students are finished early, encourage them to look at some of the
frog books from class library

Conclusion: Ask students to brainstorm some other animals that go

through metamorphosis and what they know about their changes
and how it compares to the frog.

8 Frog Activity Stations I SLE 2 Summative:

SLE 3 - Sketch and write up
Start class reviewing what we learned yesterday and have students SLE 4 of frog stage habitat
SLE 6
20 mins at each station SLE 7 Formative:
SLE 10 - Lily Pad Craft
Station 1: Sensory Bin - Answers to questions
- Students will be given a bin of frog life cycle manipulatives,
leaves (or big paper lily pads), sticks, rocks, and a container of
water. Students must identify where frogs would go at each
stage of their life cycle. Get students to sketch the physical
diagram they have created in their learning journal
Station 2: Videos
- Students will get the chance to use iPad to watch videos of real
frog transformations.
 - Students will answer questions based on the video they
watched, such as what the frogs consume for food at each
stage of life and how they adapt.
Station 3: Lily Pad Craft
- Students colour two paper plates. The bottom plate is divided
into 4 quarter represents a stage of the frog. Students will draw
and colour each stage.
- The top paper plate will be the lily pad. A quarter of the lily pad
will be cut out to reveal the stages below. Top should be able to
spin to show each stage.
Station 4: Board Game
- Students will play a board game based on the life cycle of a
frog. The first person who can make it to an adult frog (the end
of the board) wins!

9 Frog Activity Stations II SLE 2 Summative:

SLE 3 - Sketch and write up
Students will continue where they left off last class. SLE 4 of frog stage habitat
SLE 6
Station 1: Sensory Bin SLE 7 Formative:
- Students will be given a bin of frog life cycle manipulatives, SLE 10 - Lily Pad Craft
leaves (or big paper lily pads), sticks, rocks, and a container of - Answers to questions
water. Students must identify where frogs would go at each
stage of their life cycle. Get students to sketch the physical
diagram they have created in their learning journal
Station 2: Videos
- Students will get the chance to use iPad to watch videos of real
frog transformations.
- Students will answer questions based on the video they
watched, such as what the frogs consume for food at each
stage of life and how they adapt.
Station 3: Lily Pad Craft
- Students colour two paper plates. The bottom plate is divided
into 4 quarter represents a stage of the frog. Students will draw
and colour each stage.
- The top paper plate will be the lily pad. A quarter of the lily pad
will be cut out to reveal the stages below. Top should be able to
spin to show each stage.
Station 4: Board Game
- Students will play a board game based on the life cycle of a
frog. The first person who can make it to an adult frog (the end
of the board) wins!
10 Butterflies- Metamorphosis SLE 2 Formative:
SLE 3
 Start class off with a brainstorm about what we know about SLE 4 - Participation in
caterpillars right now. Have students turn to a partner and talk dramatization and
about it and then bring it back to full class discussion. discussion
- Life cycle sketch
Do read aloud of book The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Have students
identify the four stages we witnessed the caterpillar go through.
Have big pictures of each stage to show the class and pass around
while explaining stage.

Get students to act out the metamorphosis of a butterfly guided by

teacher. Start crouched up in a ball to represent larva. The students
act out crawling out of their “egg” and becoming caterpillars.
Students can take a second to try wiggling on floor like caterpillars.
Students stand and find a good spot to build themselves a chrysalis,
starting at their feet and going all the way up to their heads.
Students become very still once their chrysalis is built. Then
students break out to become butterflies.

Cut out image sand glue them in order of stages

11 Butterflies II SLE 2 Formative:

SLE 3 - Butterfly life cycle
Begin class by asking students to identify the four stages of SLE 4 craft
butterfly metamorphosis, draw and label on board as suggestions SLE 5
are given. SLE 6

Show time lapse video of caterpillar becoming butterfly. Ask

students what they noticed about each stage of the butterfly
metamorphosis. What similarities are there to the frog
metamorphosis?

Create edible butterfly life cycle on paper plate using various candy
items.
12 Butterflies- How do we look after butterflies? SLE 4 Formative:
SLE 5 - Student brainstorms
Watch a video on taking care of butterflies. SLE 6
SLE 10
Do read aloud of the book Where Butterflies Grow.

Have students brainstorm what in their journal describing the types

of things that students feel would be needed in an environment
that is good for butterflies.

13 Butterflies- Creating a butterfly garden? SLE 4 Summative:

 SLE 5 - Butterfly gardens
Go over what students have written in their journals that they think SLE 6
butterflies need. Make a list on the board, under habitat, food, SLE 10
where they get water and other items for a butterfly garden.
Would a home for a caterpillar be different than a home for a
butterfly?

Have students design a butterfly garden in their visual journal,

using some collage items, magazines artifacts from outdoors.
Students should label each.

14 Fish SLE 2 Formative:

SLE 3 - Participation in
Watch video on YouTube about the life cycle of a salmon. Ask SLE 5 discussion
students what they found remarkable about the video. Review the SLE 6 - Explanation of cycle
main stages of the salmon covered in video. SLE 7 with puppets
SLE 8
Have students think pair share about what dangers the salmon
might face jumping upstream back to where they were born.

Have students colour pictures of the 5 main stages of the salmon

(egg, alevin, parr, adult and spawning adult), cut them out and glue
them on popsicle sticks. Students will use “puppets” to tell the
story of the life cycle of a salmon to a partner.

15 Penguins SLE 2 Formative:

SLE 3 - Penguin restaurant
Do read aloud of book The Little Penguin SLE 4 - Brainstorms
Class Discussion- How do penguins differ in gender roles from other SLE 5
animals? What adaptations did Little Penguin go through when he SLE 6
became an adult penguin? Review the importance of penguin SLE 7
feathers

Review life cycle stages they witnessed in the book for the
penguins.

Have students create the perfect restaurant for a penguin. What

theme would it have? What would they serve? Who else might be
there? Who would the penguins not want there?

16 Reptiles SLE 2 Formative:

SLE 3 - Research on reptiles
Students will work with a partner and have the choice to pick a SLE 4
reptile to research the life cycle and habitat. We will spend period SLE 5
 in the learning commons where students will have access to SLE 6
technology and library books. SLE 7

At the end of the period we will come back together as a class to

discuss which reptile each pair chose and what they found out
about the stages of their life.

17 A Day in The Life SLE 1 Formative:

SLE 2 - Rough draft of diary
Students will write a diary entry from the perspective of one of the SLE 3
animals we learned about. Journal entry must include information SLE 4
on day to day life of animal, habitat information, information on SLE 5
their life cycle, and classification of animal. Students must draw SLE 6
picture to go with it. SLE 7
SLE 8
Students will write a rough draft and once okay’d by the teacher, SLE 10
may begin working on good copy.

18 A Day in The Life SLE 1 Summative:

SLE 2 - Good copy of diary
Students will continue working on animal diary entries. Students at SLE 3
this point should be working on their good cop version. SLE 4
SLE 5
SLE 6
SLE 7
SLE 8
SLE 10
19 Oil Spills SLE 8 Formative:
SLE 9 - Participation in
Introduce the idea that human activity can sometimes negatively discussion
disrupt animal’s habitats. Our big hips and machines can - Sketches
contaminate oil into our ocean causing harm to plants and animals.
Get students to brainstorm what some of the consequences might
be.

Students will each receive a feather that they will sketch in their
visual journals. Once completed students will dip their feather in
water and examine it with a magnifying glass. Students will sketch
what the wet feather looks like

Come together to discuss the differences between the wet feather

and the regular feather. Have students observe feather at the end
of the day.
20 Oil spills II SLE 8 Formative:
SLE 9 - Participation in
Have students observe their feather, it should be completely dry. discussion
Discuss with elbow partners if there is any difference in their - Sketches
feather.

Now students will dip their feather in oil and get them to observe it
with a magnifying glass. Have students sketch the oil covered
feather in visual journal

Have students predict whether or not the oil will dry out or
evaporate off of the feather.
21 Oil Spill III SLE 8 Formative:
SLE 9 - Participation in
Have students examine feather once more. Get students to discussion
brainstorm what the consequences are for birds being coated in oil - Brainstorms
from spills. How can we get the oil out of the feathers?

Show video of volunteers washing oil off of ducks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0XvAdwFW8Q
Get students to wash the feathers with soap and water and
examine the difference.

Get students to brainstorm other ways humans are disrupting

animal habitat.

22 Extinct Animals SLE 8 Formative:

SLE 9 - Participation in
Ask students if they know what an extinct animal is. Have students discussion
try and come up with a list of extinct animals. - Research

Once students have exhausted the list, show pictures of some

extinct animals and see if students can identify where they lived
and when they died out.

In partners have students choose one of the animals shown to

research and find out why they became extinct and sketch a picture
of their chosen animal.

23 Extinct Animals SLE 8 Formative:

SLE 9 - Participation in
Have partners share what they found about their animal discussion
Group organisms according to the reason for extinction including - Research on extinct
human hunting, change in climate, new predators (introduced by animal
humans) and destruction of habitat.

Review again that humans are the cause for many animals’
extinction and others are endangered. Have students brainstorm
ways that we can help preserve the survival of endangered species.

Have students journal about changes they can make in their own
lives and how they can encourage others to make those changes.

Final Project and other lessons for this unit are located in cross-curricular LA Unit Plan for One
and Only Ivan
 Frog Butterfly Butterfly
Classification Habitat Lily Pad Frog Video
Title Frog Cycle Habitat cycle Garden
Learning Chart Web Craft Questions
Sketch sketch Brainstorm
Outcomes Type Formative Formative Formative Formative Formative Summative Formative Formative

Weighting

SLO 1- Classifying
X X X
Animals
SLO 2- Describe
X X X X X X
growth of animal

SLO 3- Predict stages X

X X X X
of growth
SLO 4- Identify food
X X X X
needs

SLO 5- Parental Care X X X

SLO 6- Habitats X X X X

SLO 7- Adaptations X X

SLO 8- Environmental
threats
SLO 9- Habitat
Preservation
SLO 10- Knowledge of
X X X
needs
 Assessments
Extinct Animal
Salmon Penguin Reptile Draft Animal
Title Oil Spills Animal Research
Learning Puppets Restaurant Research Diary Diary
Sketch Research Project
Outcomes Type Formative Formative Formative Formative Summative Formative Formative Summative

Weighting

SLO 1- Classifying Animals X X X X X X

SLO 2- Describe growth of

X X X X X X
animal

SLO 3- Predict stages of

X X X X X X
growth

SLO 4- Identify food needs X X X X X

SLO 5- Parental Care X X X X X X

SLO 6- Habitats X X X X X X

SLO 7- Adaptations X X X X X X

SLO 8- Environmental
X X X X X X
threats

SLO 9- Habitat Preservation X X X

SLO 10- Knowledge of needs X X X