The Life Cycle of a Frog

By: Caitlin Adams

Female frog lays her eggs in the water

while the male frog fertilizes them.

After anywhere from 6 to 21 days,

the eggs hatch and leg-less tadpoles emerge.
They use gills to breathe underwater.

4 weeks after hatching

the tadpoles gills are covered by skin
and they begin to develop lungs.
They also begin to grow hind legs.

9 weeks after hatching,

the tadpole begins to have more frog-like qualities.
It grows front legs,
its tail begins to shrink

and its lungs are fully functioning.

12 weeks after hatching the tadpole

is now considered a young frog.

It continues to increase in size, as its tail shrinks.

About 16 weeks after hatching,

the little egg has become an adult frog

It now has four legs and no tail.

It must remain near the water to maintain
its skins moisture, but it breathes air using its
lungs.

MST Standard
Standard 4 - Science: The Living Environment
4.4.1- The continuity of life is sustained through
reproduction and development. Students describe
the major stages in the life cycles of selected
plants and animals.

Rationale
I chose the topic of the frog's life cycle because so
frequently the life cycle of the butterfly is the only one
that is taught in school. I think that its important for
students to understand that butterflies are not the only
species that undergo a cyclical span of events in the
course of their life. Not to say that a butterfly isn't an
excellent example of a life cycle and how an animal can
take many different forms during the course of its life,
because it is. However, I think that the more examples a
child has on a specific topic the easier that it will be for
them to recall the topic itself.

Works Cited
http://allaboutfrogs.org/weird/general/cyc
le.html
Sciencesaurus: A Students Handbook
Section 106: Life Science
Under Amphibians