Tadpoles and Frogs

Materials

From Tadpole to Frog by Wendy Pfeffer

Instructions

1. Read From Tadpole to Frog to the children. Point out all the times the text
says, "Where are the (tadpoles, frogs)?" Then ask, "Where are the frogs in
winter? In spring? In summer? In the fall?" Talk about the word "hibernate."
2. Ask the children questions about the book. For example, "How are the frogs
and tadpoles different?" "Are the frog's eggs like bird's eggs?" "What animals
eat tadpoles?" "How do tadpoles/frogs swim?"
3. Talk about all the sounds that frogs make, such as "ribbet," "ba-ra-room,"
"croak," and so on. Then encourage the children to hop around like frogs,
making frog sounds.
4. With the children, paint a big pond on large paper placed on the floor. When
the pond is dry, let the children draw, paint, or paste frogs on the pond.
Decide which season it will be and draw appropriate flowers, animals, fish,
and so on.
5. If possible, set up an aquarium with a few tadpoles in it. Leopard or grass
tadpoles are good to have because they are large enough for the children to
see, but don't take too long to change into frogs. (Leopard tadpoles take a
few weeks; bullfrog tadpoles take two years!) Watch the metamorphosis take
place.
6. If you don't have frogs in your classroom, take the children to see frogs,
perhaps at a local pond, lake, or aquarium.