Big Changes for Tiny Tadpoles Lesson Plan

What We Are Learning

Science Focus:

frog life cycle

Theme Vocabulary:

tadpoles, hatch, shrink

Skills We’re Practicing:

group discussion, critical thinking, vocabulary, fine-motor skills

The Wide-Mouthed Frog by Keith Faulkner is a funny tale about a frog that hops along, meeting a variety of animals. During each encounter, the frog learns what the different animals eat. When the frog meets an alligator, it learns that the alligator eats wide-mouthed frogs! As you read, ask students if they’ve ever seen any of the animals in the story and whether they would try any of the foods the animals eat.

Materials: water-filled tub, plastic baggies, masking tape

Combine sensory play and science into one fun activity!
Tell your students that frogs that live near water have webbed feet. Having webbed feet helps frogs to move quickly move through water.
Have students take turns spreading their fingers wide and moving their hand through a large tub of water. Ask them to share what they notice. Is the water slipping through their fingers?
Then place a baggie over each child’s hand and have them spread their fingers again. Pull the plastic tight enough to stretch over the child’s fingers. Secure the baggie around the wrist with masking tape.
Have children move their hands through the water again. Ask them to share what they notice this time. They’ll see that their “webbed” hands moved through the water better. That’s because none of the water slipped through their fingers! experiment/sensory play

Materials: sidewalk chalk (preferably green)

Get students moving outdoors with this fun activity!
Find a space outside with pavement that is level and large enough for all your students to move about freely.
Draw lily pads on the pavement. Make enough to equal the number of students in your class, plus one more. For example, if you have 12 students, draw 13 lily pads. Be sure to space them about 2 feet apart.
Have students pretend to be frogs, bending down low and then leaping from lily pad to lily pad.
For a literacy twist, add a letter of the alphabet to each lily pad, and ask students to say the letter their standing on. gross-motor skills