Life Cycles: Plants and Animals Third Grade Science Stations

Growth & Cycles Plants & Animals Science Stations for Third Grade Next Generation Science Standards include 8 different science stations where students can deepen their understanding of plant life cycles and animal life cycles. The focus is on NGSS 3-LS1.B and includes concepts such as animal life cycles, plant life cycles, and parts of a plant.

Stations Include

► Vocabulary Cards in two formats with and without pictures.

► Watch – Students watch a video about the Life Cycle of a Dung Beetle or the Stages of a Plant Life Cycle and answer questions. Allow students to choose the video or have them do both.

► Play – Students interact with a video game about the plant and animal life cycles. There are four video game choices that are about parts of a flower, plant growth, and animal life cycles. Each video has it’s own set of questions and task cards.

► Investigate – Students investigate the similarities and differences between an ant and praying mantis life cycle and answer questions about the complete and incomplete metamorphosis.

► Diagram – Students diagram the life cycles of frogs, sea turtles, chicken, and salmon, and answer questions about the animals’ life cycles.

► Read a Passage – Students read a passage about Migrating Geese and answer questions about the life cycle of geese.

► Model – Students dissect a flower, label the parts, and answer questions about their dissection.

► Explore – Students explore the parts of common plants we eat and answer questions about the various parts.

► Sort – Students sort the life cycle of five different plants and explain their reasoning.

Differentiated Responses

Each station includes four different ways to respond to the experience at the station: short answer questions, fill-in-the-blank questions, task cards with short answers, task cards with multiple choice. All the variations are similar to one another. Choose the format that best fits your classroom and students. Students are encouraged to use their science journal, but worksheets are included as well.

Each station is designed to last about 15-20 minutes. Students may do one a day for 8 days, 2 a day for two days, or any format that works for your classroom. Because there are additional activities for the Watch and Play stations, you can offer those as a choice within that station or offer them as an early finisher station, as well.