A gust of wind has blown the stage labels around at the Science Museum's new exhibit, and students put them back. Sixteen labels, from "Puppy is born" to "Flower dries up," go into four groups: birth, growth, reproduction, and death. Two follow-up questions ask which label was hardest to place and for one new example per stage. The sort matches NGSS 3-LS1-1, and the key has model answers for both questions.
3-LS1-1
“Develop models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death.”
The four-column sort itself, which mixes plants, a puppy, a beetle, and a tadpole to show that every organism passes through the same four stages.
Students read 16 labels such as "Tadpole gets legs," "Making seeds," "Old tree falls," and "Breaking out of shell," then sort them into Birth, Growth, Reproduction, and Death.
Question 1 asks which label was hardest to place and why. Question 2 asks students to pick another plant or animal and add one example to each stage.
Pair debate
Cut the labels into cards for pairs. "Building a nest" and "Shedding old skin" cause the most argument, and the key explains why they go in reproduction and growth.
Check for mixing
Watch for students who sort by plant or animal instead of by stage. Each column needs both kinds, which is the point of the sort.
Homework follow-up
Send question 2 home. Students can use a family pet or a garden plant for their four new examples.
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