Search form

Lesson Plan: Life Cycle (Science - Grade 1)

Subject:  Science

Grade: 1

Lesson Objective: To learn about the life cycle of a chick and the life cycle of a dog and compare the life cycles.

Common Core Standard:  CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.1.1- Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

Materials:

Starter:

Say:

  • Are chickens and dogs the same or different?  How?  (Allow the students to answer.)

Main:

Say:

  • Chickens are birds that hatch from eggs.  Dogs are mammals, which means they come out of their mother’s body. 
  • Chickens and dogs are different, but they are both animals and they both have a life cycle. 
  • A life cycle shows the changes that happen to a living thing as it moves through its life.
  • Some living things, like chickens and butterflies, go through many changes during their life cycle that change the way that they look.  Other living things, like dogs and people, only get bigger.
  • The life cycle of a person starts when you are a baby.  You are born as a baby, then you grow into a child and then an adult.  As an adult, you are able to have a baby and the life cycle starts again.
  • You are going to be looking at pictures of the life cycle of a dog and the life cycle of a chicken.  (Hand out the worksheet and have the students look at them.)
  • What do you notice about the life cycle of the dog?  (Allow the students to answer.)
  • The life cycle of the dog has four parts.  The dog starts as a puppy and it grows to an adolescent, which means young dog.  Then, it grows into an adult dog.  Last, it has puppies and the life cycle starts all over. 
  • The dog grows bigger during its life cycle.
  • What do you notice about the life cycle of a chicken?  (Allow the students to answer.)
  • The chicken hatches from an egg and is very small.  As it grows, it changes from a hatchling to a chick.  The chick then grows into a hen or rooster and grows different feathers.  Last, the hen lays eggs and the life cycle starts all over.
  • You are now going to answer questions about the different life cycles.
  • Does anyone have any questions?

Feedback:

Say:

  • Who would like to share your answers?  (Allow the students to share)

Related lessons:

Emergency Sub Plan: Life-cycle - Writing

Emergency Sub Plan: Life-cycle - Science

Emergency Sub Plan: Life-cycle - Reading

Emergency Sub Plan: Life-cycle - Math

Check out our complete Emergency Sub Plans Library!

Written by Kimberly Greacen, Education World® Contributing Writer

Kimberly is an educator with extensive experience in curriculum writing and developing instructional materials to align with Common Core State Standards and Bloom's Taxonomy.

Copyright© 2021 Education World

Image by congerdesign