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1st Grade Life Cycle Resources

10 1st grade life cycle resources: 5 activities and 4 worksheets. How teachers use these

1st Grade Life Cycle Resources

10 1st grade life cycle resources: 5 activities and 4 worksheets. How teachers use these

Worksheet
Worksheet1st GradeSeeds Plants Fill in the Blanks Worksheet

This Seeds Plants Fill in the Blanks Worksheet lets 1st graders use a word bank to complete eight sentences about how to plant a seed and help it grow. An answer key is included for quick, no-prep science practice.

1st GradeScienceLife CycleWorksheets
Worksheet
Worksheet1st GradePlanting A Carrot Seed Sequencing Worksheet

The Planting A Carrot Seed Sequencing Worksheet gives first grade students four carrot pictures to put in order and four sentences to finish from a word box. Answer key included, so it marks in seconds.

1st GradeReadingLife CycleWorksheets
Worksheet
Worksheet1st GradeLabeling Life Cycles Worksheet

This Labeling Life Cycles Worksheet has 1st grade students name each stage of a frog and a chicken life cycle. An answer key is included, so checking the work is quick and easy.

1st GradeScienceLife CycleWorksheets
Activity
Activity1st GradeWhat Does a Plant Need Activity

This what does a plant need activity has kindergarten and 1st grade children sing, sort picture cards and write about sunlight, water, air and soil. Answer key included.

1st GradeScienceLife CycleActivities
Activity
Activity1st GradeEarth Day Writing Activity

UsingEarth Day Writing Activity, students brainstorm the sequence of events of a growing seed, then publish using them Earth Day themed writing.

1st GradeHolidaysEarth DayActivities
Activity
Activity1st GradeParts of a Flower Activity

Explore this parts of a flower activity with kindergarten to 2nd grade students. Kids order life cycle cards, spin and color flower parts, and an answer key is included.

1st GradeScienceLife CycleActivities
Activity
Activity1st GradeThings That Grow Activity

Using Things That Grow Activity, students play UNO to practice classifying things that grow into four categories.

1st GradeScienceAnimalsActivities
Activity
Activity1st GradeLife Cycle Three Pack Science Life Cycles Activity

Try this life cycle three pack science life cycles activity with kindergarten to 2nd grade students. Kids sequence chicken, frog and butterfly picture cards; an answer key is included.

1st GradeScienceAnimalsActivities
Worksheet
Worksheet1st GradeSeeds Plants Label a Plant Worksheet

A label a plant worksheet for 1st grade: students name the branch, leaf, stem, flower, and fruit on an apple branch, then write a sentence. Answer key included for quick checking.

1st GradeScienceLife CycleWorksheets
1st GradeButterfly Clip Art

This Butterfly Clip Art is a perfect addition to any bulletin board, flyer, or other printable that you use in your classroom while learning about butterflies.

1st GradeScienceInsects
From our teachers' playbook

Seed, sprout, bloom, repeat!

What do 1st graders learn about life cycles?

First graders discover that living things change as they grow, and that the changes come in order. They follow a plant from seed to sprout to seedling to flowering plant, and often meet animal cycles too, like egg → caterpillar → chrysalis → butterfly. They learn what a plant needs to grow (water, light, air and soil) and name its parts. The click moment? When kids realize the cycle loops: the new plant makes seeds, and it all starts again!

Our favorite ways to teach life cycles

Little scientists learn best when they can watch, sort and label. These moves keep the whole cycle in order.

Cut, sort, glue the cycle

Hand out the picture cards for three different life cycles all mixed up. Kids sort them into groups first, then put each group in order and glue it in a circle. Ask "What comes next after the flower?" and watch them point back to the seed.

Why it works: kids understand an idea best when they touch it, then draw it, then write it, the order the U.S. Department of Education recommends for elementary math.

Life Cycle Three Pack Science Life Cycles ActivityTry it withLife Cycle Three Pack Science Life Cycles ActivityActivitiesOpen it →

Label it like a scientist

After a read-aloud, kids label each stage with a word bank. We say each word together and add a tiny sketch. Pictures plus words beat words alone every time, especially for our early readers.

Why it works: pairing a picture with each word gives kids two ways to remember it, a well-tested principle of how people learn (Mayer, 2009).

Labeling Life Cycles WorksheetTry it withLabeling Life Cycles WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →

Plant it and come back

Plant a carrot or bean seed in a clear cup on Monday and check it every few days. Each visit, kids order the sequencing pictures and point to where our real plant is now. Short, repeated visits make the stages stick.

Why it works: spreading practice out over days is one of the two most effective study methods in a major research review (Dunlosky and colleagues, 2013).

Planting A Carrot Seed Sequencing WorksheetTry it withPlanting A Carrot Seed Sequencing WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →

Make it feel like play

Growing things is pure magic to six-year-olds. Lean into it!

What Does a Plant Need ActivityActivities

Plant detectives

Kids decide what a plant needs and what it does not. Sunshine, yes! Candy, no! Lots of giggles and great talk.

Open What Does a Plant Need Activity →Parts of a Flower ActivityActivities

Flower builders

Kids put together a flower from its parts, then name each one: roots, stem, leaves, petals.

Open Parts of a Flower Activity →Things That Grow ActivityActivities

Grow it or not?

Sort pictures into things that grow and things that don't. A rock? A puppy? A tree? Great for the first day of the unit.

Open Things That Grow Activity →

What's on this page

5 Activities4 Worksheets

Teacher favorites right now: Seeds Plants Fill in the Blanks Worksheet, Planting A Carrot Seed Sequencing Worksheet and Labeling Life Cycles Worksheet.

Questions parents and teachers ask

What life cycles do 1st graders learn?

Most first grade classes study the plant life cycle and at least one animal, often the butterfly, frog or chicken. Kids learn the stages in order and see that the cycle repeats.

How do I teach the plant life cycle to 1st graders?

Start with a real seed. Plant it, watch it, and talk about each change as it happens. Then use picture cards so kids can order the stages from memory.

What are the 4 stages of a plant life cycle for kids?

Seed, sprout (or seedling), adult plant, and flower that makes new seeds. Some classes add fruit as its own stage. Keep it to four for most first graders.

What is an easy life cycle experiment at home?

Put a bean in a wet paper towel inside a zip bag and tape it to a sunny window. In a few days you'll see roots, then a sprout. Kids can draw it each day.

Keep exploring

1st Grade Science ResourcesLife Cycle Resources2nd Grade Life Cycle Resources

Written by the Have Fun Teaching team of elementary teachers and homeschoolers. Research: U.S. Department of Education, What Works Clearinghouse (2021). Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: Intervention in the Elementary Grades. Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia Learning (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving Students' Learning With Effective Learning Techniques. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1).