New
New
Year 5

Amphibian life cycles

I can describe the stages in the life cycle of different amphibians.

New
New
Year 5

Amphibian life cycles

I can describe the stages in the life cycle of different amphibians.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Amphibians are animals, they are living things that grow and reproduce
  2. Amphibians are usually hatched from eggs, then live under water before moving onto land
  3. Most amphibians go through big changes (metamorphosis), but not all amphibians go through the same process
  4. Scientific diagrams are used to show the stages in an amphibian’s life cycle
  5. Scientists use simple language and images to help different audiences understand their results

Common misconception

Pupils may think that only birds lay eggs.

Use the lesson resources to make it clear that other animals, including amphibians, lay eggs and these can look different to bird eggs.

Keywords

  • Amphibian - An amphibian is a cold-blooded animal that has moist skin, lays eggs and can live on land and in water.

  • Life cycle - A life cycle is the way in which a living thing changes as it ages.

  • Larva - A larva is a life cycle stage that some animals go through before metamorphosis into their next form.

  • Reproduce - When living things reproduce they create their offspring.

  • Metamorphosis - Metamorphosis is a major change from one form to another.

Children would benefit from being able to observe amphibian life cycles first-hand, either by bringing frogspawn into the classroom in a suitable habitat, or by observing animals over time at a local pond or other similar area.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Access to the internet or non-fiction texts about amphibian life cycles.

Content guidance

  • Risk assessment required - equipment

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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6 Questions

Q1.
What do we call the stages that an animal goes through as it ages?
An image in a quiz
A life circle
Correct answer: A life cycle
A life story
Q2.
Which life process means 'an animal making more animals'?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: Reproduction
Nutrition
Growth
Recovery
Repetition
Q3.
Which of these statements about amphibians is not true?
An image in a quiz
Amphibians have moist skin.
Amphibians live on land and in water.
Amphibians lay eggs.
Correct answer: Amphibians are warm-blooded.
Q4.
Eggs are roundish objects with what inside?
An image in a quiz
Nothing living
Correct answer: A devloping animal
Lots of tiny animals
Q5.
Which of these animals is not an amphibian?
Newt
Frog
Correct answer: Turtle
Toad
Q6.
Amphibians belong to a group of animals called vertebrates. This means they have a .
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: spine, back bone, backbone, spinal column

6 Questions

Q1.
Amphibians hatch from jelly-like eggs called .
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: spawn
Q2.
Starting with the youngest, order the stages of the life cycle for most amphibians.
An image in a quiz
1 - spawn (eggs)
2 - larva
3 - larva with hind legs
4 - larva with four legs
5 - adult
Q3.
What is the name for this type of image which shows the stages that an animal goes through as it ages?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: Life cycle diagram
Venn diagram
Table
Illustration
Food chain
Q4.
At which life cycle stage are amphibians able to reproduce?
An image in a quiz
Larva
Larva with hind legs
Larva with four legs
Correct answer: Adult
Q5.
The big change in form that most amphibians go through is called .
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: metamorphosis, Metamorphosis
Q6.
Why do scientists present information in different ways for different audiences?
An image in a quiz
So that the information takes a long time to share.
So that the scientists sound intelligent.
Correct answer: So that different audiences can understand the information.
So that the information is more complicated.