Animal Babies
(Image)
Growing Up, Growing Old
(Image)
Hatchlings and Newborns
(Video)
Life Cycles of Frogs, Dragonflies, and Butterflies
(Lesson Plan)
Plant Life Cycles
(Lesson Plan)
In this lesson, students come to understand that all living things have a life cycle that includes being born, developing into an adult, reproducing, and eventually dying. The goal of this introductory lesson is to engage students in the study of the developmental stages of animals. By watching the births of a variety of animals, they discover that different species begin life in different ways. Next, students study photographs of humans at different developmental stages, then measure their own height and compare it to their height at birth. These exercises help them understand that living things grow and change -- albeit at different rates -- during their life cycle. Finally, students examine images that highlight the development of different kinds of animal young and learn that many animals develop much faster than humans. This helps students begin to understand that the developmental stages of life vary from one species to another -- a concept that is further developed in Life Cycles of Frogs, Dragonflies, and Butterflies and Plant Life Cycles.
If you choose to have students bring in their baby pictures, keep in mind the issues this might raise for foster or adopted children. You may want to have students bring in pictures of themselves at a slightly older age. We have included three baby pictures for you to use in this lesson.
1. Tell students that all living things produce offspring (reproduce), but life begins in different ways for different animals. Show them the Hatchlings and Newborns video and encourage them to pay close attention to how the birth process varies from species to species. If possible, have them to watch the clip more than once. Then discuss the following questions:
2. To help students understand that living things grow and change during their life cycle, have them work with a partner to study the pictures of the three human infants and the ten-year-old girl in the Baby Faces stills collection. Ask them to make observations and discuss the following with their partner:
3. Ask students to try to figure out which of the three babies grew into the ten-year-old girl. Students should collect evidence to support their choice. Have them look for similarities in head, jaw, and eye shape, as well as other physical characteristics. Discuss some of their evidence and ask:
4. Tell students that most newborn human babies are between 19 and 21 inches long. To find out how much students have grown since birth, use the tape measure on the wall to measure their height. Then have students record their height on the bar graph. (Show them how.) Be sure to point out to students that at any given age there is a range of heights that is considered normal.
5. Discuss the following:
6. Explain that humans go through specific stages of growth and development: newborn infant, toddler, child, adolescent (teenager), young adult, middle-aged adult, and elderly adult. Write the names of the stages in a row on the board. As you mention the different stages, show students the Growing Up, Growing Old stills and ask them to point out the physical changes that occur at each stage. Explain that these stages of development make up the human life cycle.
7. Write the following age ranges under the names of the stages of development: infant: 0-1; toddler: 1-3; child: 4-10, adolescent (teenager): 11-18, young adult: 19-39; middle-aged adult: 40-65; elderly adult: 66 and older. Take a class poll. How many newborns do students have in their families? toddlers? children? teenagers? and so on.
8. Divide the class into small groups and have them discuss the following questions:
Now give each group a Post-it Note. Have them write the developmental milestone they discussed on the note, and stick it under the stage of life where they think it belongs. Encourage them to guess if they're not sure. Discuss and correct students' conclusions.
9. To help students understand that animals develop at different rates and that most have a much shorter life cycle than humans do, show students the Animal Babies stills. Ask them:
10. For homework, have students draw a picture of their family and include each person's name and stage of development (newborn, toddler, child, teenager, adult).