Antarctic Animal Life Cycles

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What are the life cycles of Antarctic animals? Who are born live and who hatch from an egg?

This extended resource is designed for Year 4 Biology students who are learning about life cycles and reproduction. It covers the life cycles of Antarctic mammals, birds and marine life. You will find starter and plenary activities, recordings of penguins, story plans, suggested solutions and students worksheets, all mapped to the curriculum and themed around Antarctica.

Weddell seal pup suckling. Credit: Jordan Smith, 2019 / Australian Antarctic Division.

In this learning sequence, students investigate the life cycles of Antarctic animals. They will be introduced to a selection of Antarctic animals and will explore the life cycle of each animal. Students will compare the life cycle of two marine mammals and use a Venn diagram to compare them. Students will learn about the emperor penguins’ breeding cycle and will have the opportunity to write about the life of an Antarctic animal, incorporating fact about its life stages and development.

At the bottom of the page, you will find a downloadable teachers’ guide, student booklet and a booklet of the additional worksheets. You can view these all online or print them out for use. You will just have to be logged in to see them.

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This resource is supported by the Australian Antarctic Program.

The Royal Institution of Australia is the official education partner of the Australian Antarctic Division.

Years: 4

Topics:

Biological Sciences – Living Things

Additional: Literacy, Information and Communication, Critical and Creative Thinking.

Concepts (South Australia):

Biological Sciences – Diversity and Evolution

Years:

2 & 4