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Caterpillars and Frogspawn is a free printable Grade 3 science worksheet on using eight weeks of observations to compare two animal life cycles, aligned to NGSS performance expectation 3-LS1-1. It prints 7 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.

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Caterpillars and Frogspawn

3-LS1-1

NameDate

Read the record, then answer the questions.

1.Read the record, then answer the questions.

Two Life Cycles Watched

Observations the class kept of caterpillars and frogspawn over eight weeks. WHAT WE WATCHED Butterfly: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, adult, eggs again Frog: egg, tadpole, tadpole with legs, froglet, adult, eggs again Both started as eggs. Both grew, then produced eggs of their own. Neither adult lived past the end of the year.

  1. 1. What does this record not tell you?
  2. 2. What do both life cycles have in common?
  3. 3. What would you expect a beetle's cycle to include?
  4. 4. Why are the two cycles different in the middle?
2.A kitten is born alive rather than hatching from an egg. Does it still have a life cycle?
  • A.No, only animals from eggs have one
  • B.Yes: birth, growth, reproduction and death
  • C.No, cats do not grow
3.How is a frog's life cycle different from a chicken's?
  • A.The frog has no eggs
  • B.The chicken changes shape completely
  • C.The young frog lives in water and changes shape before it lives on land
4.What is the right order for a chicken's life cycle?
  • A.Egg, chick, young hen, adult hen
  • B.Chick, egg, adult hen, young hen
  • C.Adult hen, chick, egg, young hen
5.Which four things do all life cycles share?
  • A.Birth, growth, reproduction and death
  • B.Flowers, seeds, fruit and leaves
  • C.Eggs, wings, legs and tails
6.A tadpole grows back legs, then front legs, and loses its tail. What is happening?
  • A.It is turning into a fish
  • B.It is dying
  • C.It is changing into a frog
7.What do the life cycles of a chicken, a frog and a fish all have in common?
  • A.Each has a chrysalis
  • B.Each is born alive
  • C.Each begins as an egg, grows, and makes young of its own

LessonPrint · 3-LS1-1 · Set 15 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Caterpillars and Frogspawn

Set 15. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. It does not tell you how long each stage lasted. 2. Both begin as eggs, grow, produce eggs of their own, and end in death. 3. Birth, growth, reproduction and death, with its own stages between. 4. Different organisms have different stages between birth and adult.
  2. 2.Yes: birth, growth, reproduction and death
  3. 3.The young frog lives in water and changes shape before it lives on land
  4. 4.Egg, chick, young hen, adult hen
  5. 5.Birth, growth, reproduction and death
  6. 6.It is changing into a frog
  7. 7.Each begins as an egg, grows, and makes young of its own

Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to 3-LS1-1 of the Next Generation Science Standards.