School โบ Animal life cycles โบ Ages 6โ7
Eggs, caterpillars and tadpoles
Animals are born, grow, change and have young of their own. Follow a butterfly, a frog and a chicken through their lives, then make your own life cycle wheel.
Read
All animals grow and change. The way an animal grows from young to grown-up, and then has young of its own, is called its life cycle.[5][1]
A butterfly starts as a tiny egg on a leaf. A caterpillar hatches out and eats and eats and grows and grows.[1]
Then the caterpillar makes a chrysalis. Inside, its body changes completely. After a few weeks a butterfly comes out![1]
A frog starts as an egg in jelly in a pond: lots of eggs together are called frogspawn. A tadpole hatches out. It lives in water and has a long tail.[2]
The tadpole grows legs and arms, and its tail gets smaller and smaller. It becomes a little froglet that can leave the pond.[2]
A chick grows inside an egg for about three weeks, then hatches. Many baby mammals, like kittens and puppies, are born alive and drink milk from their mother.[6][7]
Try it: Make a life cycle wheel
You need
- Two paper plates per child
- A split pin (paper fastener)
- Crayons or felt-tip pens
- A pencil and a ruler
- Scissors with round ends
Safety
An adult helps with the split pin, which has sharp ends; fold the legs flat. Use scissors with round ends.
What to do
- Use the pencil and ruler to divide one plate into four parts, like a pizza.
- Draw the four stages of a butterfly, one in each part, in order: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly.
- Cut a window out of the second plate, the size of one part (ask for help).
- Put the window plate on top and push the split pin through the middle of both plates (an adult helps).
- Turn the top plate. Say each stage as it appears. What comes after the butterfly? It lays eggs, and the cycle starts again!
What happens, and why?
A butterfly's life goes round in a circle: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly, and then the butterfly lays eggs. That is why we call it a life cycle.[1]
Play: Butterfly or frog?
Is this part of a butterfly's life or a frog's life? Tap the right group.
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Quiz
Other ages: Ages 10โ11 ยท Ages 15โ16