Life Cycles: What Is a Life Cycle?

Upon viewing the Life Cycles video series, students will be able to do the following: Understand that living things go through changes in the course of their lives referred to as a life cycle. State that most living things follow a pattern of birth, growth, reproduction, and death. Create a diagram illustrating the major life stages of a flowering plant. Life stages include seed germination; growth of roots, stems, and leaves; flower development and reproduction; and seed development. Define pollination as the transfer of pollen from the male part of a flower to the female part of a flower. Understand that some animals, including insects and mammals, go through the process of changing forms, referred to as metamorphosis. Identify the basic differences between complete metamorphosis and incomplete metamorphosis. Create a labeled diagram of the various stages of complete metamorphosis for a butterfly. A butterfly goes through four primary stages - as an egg, a larva (caterpillar), a pupa (cocoon), and an adult. Describe the life cycle changes of a frog from eggs, to tadpole, and adult. Highlight the major differences between the life cycles of mammals and those of other animals. Major differences include: mammal young are nourished by milk from the mother, born live, and generally take longer to mature into adults.