Subject: Science, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)
Lesson Length: 1 - 2 hours
Topic: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
Brief Description: Students will be able to explain the life cycle of one animal or organism.
Know Before You Start: Students should be familiar with the six basic types of animals such as amphibians, invertebrates, mammals, fish, birds, and reptiles.
Hook:
- Ask students:
- “What is the lifecycle of a human?”
- “How do life cycles differ between the six basic types of animals?”
- “Which animal are you most curious to learn more about today?”
Activity:
- As a class, review the six types of animals by recording key traits on an anchor chart. Discuss that each organism has a life cycle and ask students to share any they may already know. (Some students may be familiar with common life cycles such as butterflies, dogs, or cats)
- Have students read non-fiction texts about animal life cycles and take notes about the key details. (Consider bringing your students to the school library to check out books on the animals they are interested in. Your Librarian might be able to curate a collection of reading-level appropriate texts to select from prior to this lesson.)
- Have students create a comic that illustrates the life cycle of the organism they selected to research.
Closure:
- Have students share their comics with a partner or in small groups.
- Have students sort the comics into the six types of animals to display on a bulletin board.
- Have students discuss similarities and differences that can be seen from viewing the comics.
Differentiation:
- Allow students to use the speech-to-text feature.
- Allow students to work in pairs or groups as needed.
- Allow students to use the voiceover feature to read their comics aloud.
- Consider reading a life cycle text with a small group of students in a teacher-led group to learn about the organism’s life cycle stages.
- Provide students with pre-selected books that cater to their reading levels.
- Provide students with a graphic organizer, such as Draw/Plan Then Write, to map out their comic before creating.
Resources:
- Comic to print or display: Comic.
- Draw/Plan Then Write
- Website: Animal Life Cycle: Study Jams by Scholastic
- Article: 6 Basic Animal Groups by Bob Strauss (Thoughtco.com)
- Video: Animal Life Cycles by Inspire Education
- Books:
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
- Small Wonders: Jean-Henri Fabre and His World of Insects by Matthew Clark Smith
- Guess What Is Growing Inside This Egg by Mia Posada
- Life Cycles: Everything from Start to Finish by DK
Suggested Content Packs:
Make a comic about the Rainforest
The Ocean
Make a comic about the Farm
