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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 do both life cycles have in common?
  2. 2. What stage comes after the tadpole with legs?
  3. 3. What would you expect a beetle's cycle to include?
  4. 4. What claim does this record support?
2.How is a frog's life cycle different from a chicken's?
  • A.The chicken changes shape completely
  • B.The young frog lives in water and changes shape before it lives on land
  • C.The frog has no eggs
3.Why is a life cycle called a cycle?
  • A.Every stage is round
  • B.The adult makes young, and they go through the same stages again
  • C.It happens on a bicycle
4.What is the right order for a frog's life cycle?
  • A.Froglet, tadpole, frogspawn, adult frog
  • B.Tadpole, frogspawn, adult frog, froglet
  • C.Frogspawn, tadpole, froglet, adult frog
5.A tadpole grows back legs, then front legs, and loses its tail. What is happening?
  • A.It is dying
  • B.It is turning into a fish
  • C.It is changing into a frog
6.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.No, cats do not grow
  • C.Yes: birth, growth, reproduction and death
7.What do the life cycles of a chicken, a frog and a fish all have in common?
  • A.Each is born alive
  • B.Each begins as an egg, grows, and makes young of its own
  • C.Each has a chrysalis

LessonPrint · 3-LS1-1 · Set 5 · free to copy for classroom use

Answer key — Caterpillars and Frogspawn

Set 5. Prints on its own sheet.

  1. 1.1. Both begin as eggs, grow, produce eggs of their own, and end in death. 2. The froglet. 3. Birth, growth, reproduction and death, with its own stages between. 4. Life cycles are diverse, but all include birth, growth, reproduction and death.
  2. 2.The young frog lives in water and changes shape before it lives on land
  3. 3.The adult makes young, and they go through the same stages again
  4. 4.Frogspawn, tadpole, froglet, adult frog
  5. 5.It is changing into a frog
  6. 6.Yes: birth, growth, reproduction and death
  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.