November / December 2022

From Frog to FROGSICLE!

Download this lesson

Academic Standards

 

 

Reading Objective:

Children will recognize that the wood frog freezes but stays alive during hibernation.

 

Reading Level:

Lexile: 470L; GRL: J

 

Next Generation Science Standards:

2-LS4-1 Diversity of life in habitats

2-ESS2-3 Water can be solid or liquid

 

Vocabulary:

hibernate, surface, liquid, flow, thaw

Use these questions to check students’ understanding and stimulate discussion:

 

1. What does hibernate mean?
(to sleep through the winter)

2. Does the wood frog hibernate in a cozy den?
(No. It hibernates in leaves on the forest floor.)

3. Why does the article call the wood frog a frogsicle?
(Its body freezes like a Popsicle.)

4. Describe the wood frog’s body when it is hibernating. (Answers will vary.)

Go online to print or project the Reading Checkpoint.

 

  • Wood frogs can live north of the Arctic Circle. This area is one of the coldest places on Earth.
  • These tiny frogs fight off predators in two ways: When attacked, the frogs release poison through their skin. They also shriek to scare predators.
  • Wood frogs have a slash of color across their eyes that looks like a mask.

Materials: freezer; bottle of pancake syrup; water; small plastic cups with lids; pencils; copies of the skill sheet

Overview: Let kids see how sugars in the wood frog’s body protect it in winter. Freeze pancake syrup and water and compare. The water freezes solid; the sugary syrup doesn’t. A sugary liquid in the frog’s body surrounds delicate body parts and won’t let them freeze.

Directions:

  1. Before the lesson, find a freezer that you can use. Prepare for a two-part experiment, with time for freezing in the middle.
  2. Divide kids into small groups. Give each kid a skill sheet. Give each group of kids two small plastic cups with lids.
  3. Let kids pour a small amount of pancake syrup into one cup and water into the other. Record observations on the skill sheet. Add lids. Freeze.
  4. When the water is frozen solid, remove all cups from the freezer. Let kids observe and compare.
  5. Record results on the skill sheet.