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2.  Water
3.  Ecology
4.  Amphibians
5.  Environmental Issues
6.  Keystone species
7.  Get Wet!-
     Field Study Ideas

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Wetland Curriculum Resource
Unit 4. Amphibians - Background for Educators
 

4.6. ONE OF THESE THINGS BELONGS WITH THE OTHER
(Level: 2 : 11 acad : 12 acad :: Life Cycles)

Purpose: To recognize the changes in appearance of various aquatic organisms throughout their life cycles.

What You Need: Illustrations of the larval, nymph, hatchling, newborn, juvenile, and adult forms of various aquatic organisms (provided)

What You Do:

Before this activity, students should have a basic understanding of organisms that undergo metamorphosis. This should include why they undergo metamorphosis and the difference between incomplete and complete metamorphosis. Students should realize that there can be extreme differences in appearance for some organisms.

Part A

  1. Have the students bring in photos of themselves as a child, and as they are now.
  2. Divide the students into groups and allot each group several of the scrambled photo pairs.
  3. The students in the groups must attempt to match the pairs.
  4. Discuss with the students the difficulty in matching the photo pairs. Many animals change their appearance throughout their life cycle

Part B

  1. Divide the class in half. Pass out the adult life form pictures to one half of the class, and the early life form pictures to the other half of the class.
  2. Have the students then search between each other for the corresponding match of their particular life form.
  3. After a time limit, check the matching pairs to see if they are correct, and allow students who have not made a match to locate each other.
  4. Repeat activity for as long as interest is maintained.

Suggested Organisms:

mayfly

Whirligig Beetle

stonefly

Northern Harrier (Marsh Hawk)

caddisfly

Snapping Turtle

dragonfly

Beaver

damselfly

Water Strider

cranefly

Predacious Diving Beetle

butterfly

newt/eft

crayfish

salamander

Common Loon

mosquito

duck

Garter Snake

Pied-billed Grebe

leech

Leopard Frog

blackfly

Extension: (Additional Curriculum Links: A13, L15, M23)

  1. Select one of the following animals and describe its life cycle as it relates to a wetland.

    mosquito

    toad

    dragonfly

    salamander

    snail

    turtle

    frog

    Diving Beetle


  2. Include a labelled diagram of each stage in the animal's life cycle.
  3. Display your research in the classroom so other students can learn about other life cycles.

Click here to see the list of activities for this unit.

 



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