1. Big Idea 16: Heredity & Reproduction
Life Cycles of Insects:
Complete & Incomplete Metamorphosis
Life Cycles of Plants:
Flowering and Nonflowering
Ahead of time open Discovery Education

2. Benchmarks
SC.4.L Compare and contrast the major stages in the life cycles of Florida plants and animals, such as those that undergo incomplete and complete metamorphosis, and flowering and nonflowering seed-bearing plants. (Cognitive Complexity Rating: Moderate)
SC.4.N.1.1 Raise questions about the natural world, investigate them in teams through free explorations, and generate appropriate explanations based on those explorations. Cognitive Complexity: High

3. Characteristics of Insects
Insects are small animals with a head, a
thorax, an abdomen, and six legs.
All insects start their lives as eggs.
These eggs can be different colors, shapes, and sizes.
All insects go through metamorphosis after birth.
Engage/Explain: Ask students to write down the names of as many insects they can name in 30 Seconds. Have students share their lists. Ask what they have in common.Say lets watch a video clip to learn more about what insects have in common. Have students take notes.

4. Insects and Metamorphosis
Life Cycles of Insects
Animals that change their appearance during growth undergo metamorphosis. That's just a long word meaning "to change shape.“ The change that occurs when an insect egg hatches and grows into an adult is called metamorphosis, meaning to change in form.
Insects and Metamorphosis
Explore/Explain: Play the Discovery Ed. hyperlink Life Cycles . Discuss. Ask what we call the stages animals go through when they change their appearances during growth. metamorphosis
Click and share additional links: metamorphosis and Insects and Metamorphosis Discuss.
Extend/Elaborate: Create a foldable:
Making a Pasta Lifecycle:
Use pasta to show the
lifecycle of a butterfly. Use cavatelli or a similar pasta for
the caterpillar, small circles for the eggs,
shells for the chrysalis and bow ties for
the butterfly. Glue them onto a piece of
construction paper folded into 4 parts.
Draw arrows to define the stages of the
lifecycle. Have students label each phase

5. What are two types of metamorphosis?
1. Incomplete
Complete
Explore/explain: Ask the question. Then play each type and discuss how they are alike and how they are different.
How are these two types alike?
How are they different?

6. Insect Metamorphosis Review
Incomplete
three phases
egg
nymph
Adult
Example: grasshopper
Complete four phases egg larva pupa Adult Example: bee
Explain/Evaluate: Play the hyperlinks and review.
Have students create a foldable.

7. Insect Metamorphosis Complete Metamorphosis Incomplete Metamorphosis
Extend/Elaborate: students create models of metamorphosis.

8. Compare and Contrast Insects to Amphibians
Extend/elaborate: use a VENN diagram to Compare and Contrast Insects to Amphibians

9. Insect Resources Growth and Metamorphosis reading
Life Cycle of Bees video clip:
Growth and Metamorphosis reading
Metamorphosis Achieved(butterfly):

10. Comparing Plant Life Cycles
Some plants produce flowers
Other plants produce cones
Engage: Ask students to explain what they have learned about how flowering plants reproduce. Then have them watch the three video clips
Explore/Explain: Then have them look at the illustration of a pine tree a nonflowering plant. What is the difference between these two plants. How are they similar?
Department of Science

11. Conifer Plants
Explore/explain: Let’s take a closer look at how non flowering plants reproduce. Click on the hyperlink Conifer Plants. Discuss.

12. Comparing Nonflowering Plants
Moss and ferns produce spores.
Conifers such as a Pine tree produce cones
Explain
Department of Science

13. Ferns produce spores
Explore/Explain: Play the hyperlink Ferns produce spores. Read and discuss the passage on ferns.