Teaching plant and animal life cycles is one of my favorite science units because students can actually see how living things grow and change over time.
When teaching life cycles, I like to teach a number of them (butterfly, frog, chicken, plant) one at a time and then compare and contrast them at the end.
If you’re planning a life cycle unit, this post will give you simple, engaging ways to teach butterfly, frog, chicken, and plant life cycles, along with hands-on activities, real-life connections, and a free download to get you started.
When introducing our life cycle unit, I like this song & video from YouTube. It’s catchy, fun, and gets students excited about what is to come.
Hands-On Life Cycle Crafts
These hands-on life cycle crafts are one of the most effective ways to help students understand that life cycles repeat over and over.
Each craft is created using real photographs placed within realistic habitat scenes, helping students visualize where each stage occurs in nature.
Students:
- color and assemble the habitat life cycle scene
- label each stage of the life cycle
- attach the rotating pointer to review the stages and see that the cycle repeats
This gives them a visual and interactive way to review the life cycle while connecting it to real-world environments.
We make one for each life cycle we study. By the time we do a few, students look forward to creating them and they can complete them independently and quickly because they are familiar with how to do it.
Real-Life Observations & Videos
Whenever possible, I love giving children the opportunity to make real-life observations.
There is no better way for students to learn than to watch and interact with what they are studying.
When teaching the life cycles, I have only been able to do real-life examples of the butterfly and plant life cycles with students; but, there are places where you can get frog eggs and chicken eggs for students to observe (listed below).
Luckily, there are plenty of videos available that show real-life examples of the life cycles that students can watch and observe when the real thing is not possible.
Butterfly Life Cycle
If you would like to order caterpillars for your classroom and observe them changing into butterflies, Insect Lore has a number of options as well as accessories.
This time-lapse video from NatGeoTV is great for showing the stages of a butterfly.
Frog Life Cycle
I don’t have first-hand experience with growing frogs from tadpoles in the classroom, but Home Science Tools has some options that other teachers have used.
This video by the Dodo shows the stages of the frog life cycle. It is great to use if you can’t grow frogs on your own.
Chicken Life Cycle
I was lucky enough to have an incubator and chicken eggs donated to our classroom a few years. It was a wonderful and exciting experience to watch them hatch and take care of the chicks! If you would like to order hatching kits, Murray McMurray Hatchery offers classroom kits.
This video by NG Science explains and shows the chicken life cycle in a simple, easy to understand way.
Plant Life Cycle
The easiest life cycle for students to experience is the plant life cycle.
I like to plant beans in both a clear jar and in plastic baggies on the window because students can see the seed sprouting and growing.
This time-lapse video of a bean seed can speed things up for your students (lol), and this video by SciShow Kids is a little more informative about how a seed becomes a plant.
Real-Life Photos
Since real-life observation isn’t always possible, I use real photographs in all of my teaching materials.
This helps students:
- visualize how life cycles actually happen
- make connections to the real world
- better understand each stage
I display life cycle posters in the classroom to introduce each stage and give students a visual reference as we learn.
We use these posters throughout the unit to discuss each stage in more detail and revisit the life cycle as students build their understanding.
As we move through the unit, I like to pair the posters with interactive Boom Cards so students can see the stages, hear simple explanations, and actively participate in reviewing the life cycle.
Teaching Life Cycle Vocabulary & Stages
I have found that using real-photo vocabulary cards and puzzles helps students build a deeper understanding of life cycle stages.
This helps students:
- make connections to the real world
- better understand each stage
- visualize how life cycles actually happen
I use the word wall cards as visual aids and as a sequencing activity with our pocket chart.
The puzzles not only reinforce what is being taught, but they also help students with associations and are a fun way to expand students’ vocabularies.
We use printable, hands-on puzzles as well as self-checking digital ones.
👉 If you’re looking for life cycle materials with real photographs (both print and digital), you can find them here.
Sequencing Activities
My young students love sequencing activities! Putting the life cycle stages in the correct sequence helps them learn that the life cycles happen in a particular order.
We do sequencing activities that require students to put the vocabulary (life cycle stage name) in the correct sequence.
We also do activities where students put the pictures in the correct sequence.
Life Cycle Books
My favorite, “go to” books for teaching the life cycles are the National Geographic Kids Readers and Scholastic Books because they have wonderful, full-color photographs and simple text for young students. Here are the titles and Amazon links:
National Geographic Readers: Caterpillar to Butterfly
National Geographic Readers: Tadpole to Frog
National Geographic Readers: Seed to Plant
Get Free Butterfly Life Cycle Teaching Materials
If you would like butterfly life cycle teaching materials with real photographs (both print and digital) CLICK HERE for the free download. You will receive:
- 4 vocabulary cards (one for each stage)
- poster of the butterfly life cycle
- interactive, self-checking digital Boom Cards
Need Additional Life Cycle Teaching Materials?
If you’re teaching multiple life cycles, these resources include real photographs, hands-on crafts, and digital activities to make your unit easy to plan and engaging for students. Click the cover photos or links below:
Best Value: Life Cycles Bundle
If you plan to teach more than one life cycle, the Life Cycles Bundle includes all four:
• Butterfly
• Frog
• Chicken
• Plant
Each unit includes:
- Boom Cards with audio
- hands-on habitat life cycle crafts
- printable vocabulary cards & posters
- printable self-checking puzzle activities
This bundle saves time and money while giving you everything you need to teach plant and animal life cycles.
👉 Click here to see the Life Cycles Bundle
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