Lesson Plan 2: The Life Cycle of a Frog (continued)

Student Name: Shawna Shipe

I. General Information:
Grade Level: Kindergarten
Discipline: Science
Unit Topic: Life Cycles
Time Frame: 45 minutes during literacy, center time
Texts: The Trouble with Tadpoles: A First Look at the Life Cycle of a Frog by Sam
Goodwin (picture book), Frog Life Cycle Turtle Diary Video
Other Materials: tadpole (pre-ordered or caught), technology equipment ready to play a
video on youtube, Sample Frog Life Cycle Visual
II. Standards/Indicators
Life Science
3.C.1. Genetics: Observe, describe and compare the life cycles of different kinds of animals and plants.
3.C.1.a. Identify and draw pictures that show what an animal (egg to frog) and a plant (seed to tree)
looks like at each stage of its life cycle.
Reading Informational Text
RI2 With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
With prompting and support, listen to a wide variety of complex informational texts.
RI3 With prompting and support, describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of
information in a text.
With prompting and support, demonstrate an understanding of sequential order
RI4 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.
Activate prior knowledge and experiences to determine the meaning of unknown words
RI9 With prompting and support, identify basic similarities in and differences between two texts on the same
topic
Participate in discussions to identify the similarities and differences between two texts on the same
topic
Writing
W2 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/ explanatory texts in which
they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic.
W2 With prompting and support, express orally or via developmentally appropriate writing several
sentences using the facts that are all related to the topic.

III. Lesson Objectives

1. Students will listen to a variety of complex informational texts throughout the unit. This
lesson includes the second text. (RI2)

2. Students will activate prior knowledge and experiences to determine the meaning of
unknown words. (RI4)
3. Students will discuss similarities and differences between Fabulous Frogs and The
Trouble with Tadpoles: A First Look at the Life Cycle of a Frog. (RI9)
4. Students will make a visual that includes writing to show what a frog looks like at each
stage of its life cycle. (3.C.1.a, RI3, W2)
IV. Procedures:
Introduction- Remind students that we met a new class pet yesterday called a tadpole
and learned about the life cycle of a frog. Play the short Frog Life Cycle Turtle Diary
youtube video as a review.
Teaching/Activities1. Introduce the book The Trouble with Tadpoles: A First Look at the Life Cycle of a
Frog by Sam Goodwin. Tell students that before we read the story, we will play a
vocabulary game using science words that we heard yesterday and will hear again
during today's story.
2. The teacher will lead a Beach Ball Vocabulary game (Altieri, 2011) to help
students practice the words frog spawn, froglet, tadpole, gills, adult, and webbed.
The teacher will toss or roll the ball to a student and call out a word. The student
who catches the ball will repeat the word, then use it in a sentence about frogs. If a
student is unable to use the word in a sentence, he/she may choose a classmate to
help.
3. Read the story. After the story, ask the following text-dependent questions. Model
how to return to the story to find answers.
Where did the tadpole come from?
What special part helps a tadpole breathe in water like a fish?
Describe what happens to a tadpole's legs and tail as it changes into a frog.
How does the frog life cycle start over again?
4. Next, the teacher will divide students into small groups. The groups will be asked
to discuss the smiliarities and differences between Fabulous Frogs and Trouble with
Tadpoles and then share with the whole group.
5. As a final activity, students will be asked to create a visual that includes writing
and shows what a frog looks like at each stage of its life cycle. A link to a sample
visual is included in the Materials section above.
Closure- The teacher will remind students that they read Trouble with Tadpoles and
learned about the life cycle of the a frog. Students will share completed frog life cycle
visuals with the class at the end of the lesson.
VI. Evaluation/Assessment:
Assessment of Objectives-

The teacher will observe and record students' ability to demonstrate listening skills during the
lesson on an anecdotal note page or checklist. The teacher will observe and record students'
ability to activate prior knowledge and experiences to determine the meaning of unknown
words during and after the Beach Ball Vocabulary activity. The teacher will observe and record
students' participation in a discussion about similarities and differences between the two frog
life cycle texts. Students will also be assessed on their ability to demonstrate knowledge of the
sequence of a frog life cycle through the creation of a visual project.
Sources:
Godwin, S. (2005). The trouble with tadpoles: A first look at the life cycle of a frog. Minneapolis, Minn.: Picture
Window Books.
Glaser, L. (1999). Fabulous frogs. Brookfield, Conn.: Millbrook Press.
Learn all about a Frog Life Cycle at www.turtlediary.com. (2012, July 30). Retrieved April 26, 2015, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YCpfzl0B4M&feature=share
Science Fun. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2015, from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/385831893053004781/
Altieri, J. (2011). Meeting the Reading Comprehension Demands of Each Content Area. In S. Fortner (Ed.),
Content counts!: Developing disciplinary literacy skills, K-6 (pp. 115). Newark, DE: International Reading
Association.
Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2014). Addressing CCSS Anchor Standard 10: Text Complexity, 91 (4). Retrieved from
http://www.literacyinlearningexchange.org/sites/default/files/la0914addressing.pdf