Life Cycles Teaching Resources
Are you teaching the frog life cycle? The butterfly life cycle? Teaching primary students all the steps of the plant life cycle? Cut your science lesson planning in half with printable life cycle worksheets, activities, and digital teaching presentation templates created by teachers for teachers.
This curated collection of life cycle teaching resources covers a range of animal life, plus printable and digital versions of our most popular activities. Each resource has undergone rigorous review by a member of the Teach Starter teacher team to ensure it's ready to be used in your classroom. You'll find Australian curriculum-aligned resources, editable options and resources already differentiated for you to make science lesson planning easier!
Looking to get started on teaching about life cycles, or just need more ways to make this science topic more engaging in your classroom? Read on for a primer from our teacher team, including an explanation of what a life cycle is, some key terms and a look at different animals and how they develop!
What Is a Life Cycle? A Kid-Friendly Definition
Looking for a simple way to explain what a life cycle is to your students? Let's start off with a kid-friendly definition from our teacher team.
The animal life cycle is the different stages of growth and development that animals go through from birth to adulthood. Animals start as an egg and then go through different changes until they become an adult.
Why Is It Important to Learn the Life Cycle of Animals?
Teaching about the life cycles of animals — whether it's a frog, butterfly or chicken — can end up helping students better understand why they undergo physical changes along their own life cycle, just like other organisms.
Although it may be nestled under the science standards, there are elements of social and emotional learning at play, as students see change and growth as natural — opening them up to empathise with others who are changing and growing.
A life cycle unit helps prepare students to learn about living and non-living things and provides a chance to learn about different species.
Key Life Cycle Vocabulary
Like any science unit, a dive into the life cycle of an animal brings with it heaps of new vocabulary terms for kids to learn. Here are some you can't miss!
Egg
The first stage of the life cycle for many animals is the egg.
Larva
Larva is a term specific to the life cycle of an insect — mammals don't go through a larva stage. The word refers to the second stage of an insect's life cycle, where it hatches from an egg and looks very different from the adult form.
Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a big word for little people! It is the process of changing form and structure that some animals go through during their life cycle. For example, a caterpillar will go through metamorphosis on the way to becoming a butterfly!
Pupa
This is another vocabulary word that is specific to insects such as the butterfly. In this insect's life cycle stage, it undergoes metamorphosis and transforms into its adult form.
Adult
The final stage of an animal's life cycle is 'adult.' This is where it has reached its full size and can reproduce.
What Are the 4 Stages of the Butterfly Life Cycle?
Students typically learn about the butterfly life cycle in the early years, although some science classes may cover this winged creature when students are older as well.
During a study of the butterfly, students will learn the following four stages of its life cycle:
- Egg
- Larva or caterpillar stage
- Chrysalis or pupa stage
- Butterfly (adult!) stage
Why Is the Butterfly Life Cycle Important?
Studying the butterfly life cycle in primary school allows young students to learn how a living thing grows from an egg into an adult, maturing through various stages of life.
It helps kids develop their understanding of the broader world and how different creatures play a role in our ecosystem. Butterflies, for example, are important pollinators that help bees, bats and other creatures to pollinate over 75% of the world's flowering plants.
Learning About the Butterfly Life Cycle
With this collection of teacher-created butterfly life cycle resources, students will learn:
- Butterfly vocabulary such as pupa, egg, metamorphosis, caterpillar and chrysalis
- How to name the parts of the butterfly
- The stages a butterfly goes through in its life cycle from an egg to a full-formed butterfly
What Is the Life Cycle of a Frog?
Much like a butterfly, a frog's life cycle includes metamorphosis. But instead of larva and pupa, a frog will go through tadpole and froglet stages.
Egg
Just like other animals, the first stage of the frog life cycle is the egg stage. In this stage, a female frog lays her eggs in the water, and the male fertilizes them.
Frog eggs are covered in jelly-like substances that protect them from predators and parasites.
Tadpole
The second stage of a frog's life cycle is the tadpole cycle. When the eggs hatch, they become tadpoles — fish-like creatures with gills that help them breathe underwater. Tadpoles feed on algae and other small organisms in the water, growing quickly during this stage.
During the tadpole stage, frogs have small tails for swimming.
Froglet
As the tadpole grows, it develops lungs to breathe air, and its tadpole tail begins to shrink. At this stage of life, the tadpole is called a froglet.
It still has a small tail, but it also has legs! The frog can now leave the water and move onto land.
Adult Frog
The final stage of the frog life cycle is the adult frog.
At this stage, the froglet grows and develops until it reaches its full size and matures into an adult frog. Adult frogs can live on land or in water — depending on the species — and eat insects and other small animals to survive.
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Baby Animals Reading Worksheets - Year 1-2
Learn about animals and their babies with a pack of printable Animal Babies Reading Worksheets for Years 1 & 2.
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Life Cycle of a Butterfly Concertina Activity
Re-create the life cycle of a butterfly with a printable butterfly life cycle concertina craft.
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Life Cycle of a Chicken Poster
Teach your students about the life cycle of a chicken with this colourful classroom poster perfect for early years science lessons.
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Life Cycle of a Frog – Poster Pack
Display information about the life cycle of a frog with this set of six posters.
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Life Cycle of a Frog – Mini-Book
Read and learn about the life cycle of a frog with this informational reader and activity booklet.
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Life Cycles – Teaching Presentation
Teach your students about life cycles of plants and animals with this 19-slide teaching presentation.
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Butterfly Life Cycle - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Identify the different phases of an insect’s life cycle through interactive slides or as a cut and paste butterfly life cycle worksheet.
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Numbat Life Cycle Poster & Worksheets
Explore the life cycle of a numbat with a printable poster and Numbat Life Cycle Worksheet Pack.
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Plant Life Cycle Sorting Activity
Help your students identify the stages in a plant’s life cycle with a sorting activity..
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Silkworm Life Cycle - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Help your students concrete their understanding of silkworm life cycles with this interactive game.
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Butterfly Life Cycle Poster
An educational poster displaying the stages of a butterfly's life cycle.
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Life Cycle of an Oak Tree Worksheet
Sequence the life cycle of an oak tree with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Tomato Plant Life Cycle - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Learn about the life cycle of a tomato with a cut-and-paste sequencing worksheet.
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Plant Growth Chart Worksheet
Record the growth and changes in a plant over time with one of our differentiated plant growth charts.
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Plant Life Cycle Anchor Chart
Display and discuss the life cycle of a flower with a printable anchor chart.
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Bean Growth Experiment
“Grow” your students’ knowledge of plant life cycles with a plant growth experiment.
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Plant Life Cycle Worksheet - Cut and Paste
Help your students cement their understanding of the plant life cycle with a cut and paste worksheet.
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Life Cycle of a Sunflower Accordion Book
Get crafty and teach your students the stages in the life cycle of a sunflower with a fun accordion book science craft.
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Life Cycle of a Tree – Worksheet
Piece together the life cycle of a tree with this cut and paste worksheet.
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Life Cycle of a Frog – Activity Templates
Organise, record and display information about the life cycle of a frog with these activity templates.
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My Life Stages 'Lift the Flap' Template
A template to use when learning about human life stages.
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Life Cycle of a Fly Poster
A poster explaining the life cycle of a fly.
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Silkworm Life Cycle Poster
An educational poster displaying the life cycle stages of a silkworm.
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Plant Life Cycle Passage and Graphic Organiser
Give your students an opportunity to sequence the life cycle of a plant with a reading passage and worksheet.
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Life Cycle of a Flower Worksheet
Model the stages in the flower life cycle with a cut-and-paste worksheet.
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How Do Beans Grow? — Mini Greenhouse Template
'Grow' students’ knowledge of plant life cycles with a printable greenhouse template and observation journal.
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Life Cycle of a Bean Activity Pack
Organise, record, and display information about the life cycle of a bean with these activity templates.
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Plant Words - Illustrated Word Wall
Discover the world of plant-related vocabulary with an illustrated plant word wall display.
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Life Cycle of a Pumpkin – Cut and Paste Worksheet
Learn about the life cycle of a pumpkin with a cut and paste sequencing worksheet.
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Comparing Life Stages Worksheet
An open-ended task for students to demonstrate their understanding of how animals grow and change.
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Eggs-ellent Dominoes
A set of dominoes to use in the classroom when investigating animals which lay eggs.
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Life Cycle of a Frog
A poster showing the life cycle of a frog.