Life Cycles

What students will do

Students sort a container of living, once-living and non-living specimens, then use plastic plant and frog models to sequence life cycle stages for different organisms. Working as a group, they simulate flower pollination by dusting pipe-cleaner bee models with turmeric and transferring it to paper-plate flowers. Students examine a diverse seed collection and discuss how different seeds disperse, then each set up a mini-greenhouse by planting seeds in cotton wool in a sandwich container with water to take back to class and observe over the following weeks. The session closes with live mealworms in small containers, where students observe the insects at their current life stage, and students using four pasta shapes to create a butterfly life cycle chart.

Learning outcomes

• Sort a collection of specimens into living, once-living and non-living and give reasons for each choice
• Identify the flowers and fruit of a plant as features that help it survive and reproduce, using a pollination simulation
• Predict and observe how different seeds are dispersed, for example by wind, by attaching to fur, or inside fruit
• Identify the basic needs of a plant, including water, and set up a mini-greenhouse to meet those needs
• Observe live mealworms and identify their current life stage
• Sequence the four stages of the butterfly life cycle, egg, caterpillar, pupa and adult, using a hands-on model

Curriculum links

• VC2S2U03·Core

  Living things have external features, including flowers and fruit in plants, that help them survive in their environment. View on VCAA ↗

• VC2S2U02·Core

  Plants and animals have basic needs, including food, water and shelter, and habitats meet these needs in different ways. View on VCAA ↗

• VC2S2I01·Core

  Experiences and observations can be used as a basis for posing questions and making predictions about familiar objects and events. View on VCAA ↗

• VC2S4U02·Enrichment

  Different living things have different life cycles, and offspring are similar to but not identical to their parents. View on VCAA ↗