Teaching children about life cycles is a perfect way to help them understand the world around them and to connect them with nature – as well as obviously fulfilling the Year 2 and Year 4 Australian Curriculum Science content requirements.
Children love learning about life cycles and you will quickly discover that they will have loads of questions. So making sure you have the answers on hand will ensure you are able to satisfy their desire for information. Ensuring you also have the activities to support their questions is crucial. So what activities are best and where are they going to find the information?… Read on!
Life Cycle Fact Sheets
Facts Sheets are a great way of giving your students independence as they search for the answers themselves… and they are also a great way for developing comprehension skills! The other added bonus is that you avoid the dreaded wrestle with your school internet network as your little people all try to log in at the same time to find the answers to their questions – we all know how fun that can be?!
Real Life Cycle Images
Using real life images is a great way to help your students connect with what they are learning and broadens their understanding on the topic.
Life Cycle Hands-On Experiences
Learning through hands-on experiences should be foundational to any science program – and learning about life cycles shouldn’t be exempt from this. From life cycle wheels to mini books. Playdough mats to puzzles. Children should be given the opportunity to explore life cycle concepts through a variety of hands-on experiences.
Life Cycle Pets
Allowing your students to observe life cycles in action is probably the most important component to any successful unit on life cycles. Whether you watch Youtube videos on the cycles in time-lapse or establish a classroom pet for them to observe, seeing the cycles in action can not be surpassed as the most effective way of engaging and teaching children about life cycles.
It is always so fun to explore life cycles! You can get all of these activities, including detailed lesson plans and rubrics in our Year 2 Growth and Change Unit.
