The following activity is a great way to demonstrate the life cycle of frogs. The Life Cycle Wheel can be used to teach students a frog’s stages of development or as an ongoing assessment tool. To help students gather the information they need to complete the Wheel, provide a copy of one of the suggested leveled books for them to read. Information gathered can then be solidified through the viewing of the Life Cycle of a Frog Video.
Materials Needed for Cycle Wheel:
1 salad plate-sized circle traced on tag board
1 coffee cup plate-sized circle traced on tag board
1 rubber band
glue stick
scissors
hole punch
fine point marker or colored pencil
ruler
Cycle Wheel Worksheet (see our Modified Cycle Wheel Worksheet)
Directions for Making the Life Cycle Wheel:
*This is a multi-step project. Refer to example as needed. For younger students, students requiring assistance due to decreased fine motor ability or with multi-step directions, modify by decreasing the number of steps needed to complete the wheel. Have samples already prepared or offer one-to-one assistance.
- Complete the Cycle Wheel Worksheet.
- Cut out the squares from the Cycle Wheel Worksheet.
- Cut out both the large and small circles from tag board.
- Color and cut out the frog images.
- Place the small circle on top of the large circle.
- Punch a hole through the middle of the two circles.
- Place a rubber band through the two circles and tie a knot on each end to hold the circles together.
- With circles together, use a ruler to draw 6 lines equally spaced apart (this will create 6 sections) on the front of each and the back of the large circle.
- On the front of the small wheel, add numbers 1-6.
- Glue frog images to front of large circle (*They should not be in order.)
- Glue matching description to back of large circle (*They should be in the same section as the corresponding frog image on front.)
To Use the Wheel:
Once completed, the wheel is used by selecting the image that occurs first in the life cycle of a frog. The 1 is placed on that image and the child is to describe that stage of development. The child will then flip over the wheel to read if she/he is correct by reading the description that matches the picture. The wheel is flipped over and the students will continue until stage 6.
Information to complete the Life Cycle Wheel can be gathered through several leveled “Tadpole to Frog” books:
From Tadpole to Frog (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science 1)
Price: $5.99
(13 customer reviews)
91 used & new available from $0.78
From Tadpole to Frog (Lifecycles)
Price: $6.95
(2 customer reviews)
51 used & new available from $2.99
From Tadpole to Frog (Start to Finish (Lerner Hardcover))
Price: $19.93
(1 customer reviews)
23 used & new available from $0.19
From Tadpole to Frog (How Things Grow)
Price: $4.95
( customer reviews)
18 used & new available from $3.00
