Topic: Amphibians

Target group

4th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

Grade IV
VI. The natural environment of the immediate area. Pupil:
7) recognizes and names common organisms occurring in the immediate vicinity of the school.

General aim of education

Pupils describe the characteristics of amphibians.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• exchange the features of amphibian construction;

• distinguish features that help amphibians survive on land and in water;

• recognize some amphibians;

• describe the importance of amphibians in the environment.

Methods/techniques

• expository

  • talk.

• activating

  • discussion.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers;

• sheets of paper;

• stamps with subsequent stages of frog development and ink pads.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

• Students get acquainted with the content of the abstract. They prepare to work on the lesson in such a way to be able to summarize the material read in their own words and solve the tasks themselves.

Introduction

• The teacher explains the aim of the lesson and together with students determines the success criteria to be achieved.

Realization

• The teacher asks pupils to read the passage entitled „What makes amphibians stand out?” Students prepare a note that answers the question in the title of the passage..

• Students independently perform interactive exercise No. 1.

• The teacher distributes cards, stamps with individual stages of frog development and ink pads to the charges. Students use the stamps to show the development cycle of the frog and describe it accordingly.

• After completing the task, the students compare the effects of their work with the interactive illustration. Supplement possible gaps, correct mistakes.

• Students read the fragment Fri „What amphibians live in Poland?” The teacher presents photographs of selected species of amphibians („Gallery 1”). Students describe their characteristic traits.

Summary

• Students independently perform interactive exercise No. 2.

Homework

• Develop a lap book containing issues learned during the lesson and bring your work to the next class.

• Listen to the abstract recording at home. Pay attention to pronunciation, accent and intonation. Learn to pronounce the words learned during the lesson.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Amphibians

Amphibians are an animal which lives both on land and in water. They have two pairs of limbs, which make it possible for them to move around on land and in water. Certain amphibians rarely leave the water, others live on land in thick vegetation or on trees and only return to the water during reproduction. Amphibians' skin is covered in mucus, which reduces resistance in the water and on land and prevents them from drying out. The fingers of their limbs have a tight membrane, which makes it easier for them to swim. Their shellless eggs, called spawn, are laid in water. From the eggs, larvae called tadpoles hatch. They develop in the water and breathe using gills.

Adult amphibians are predators. They feed on insects and other tiny invertebrates; some of them are even able to hunt mice. They themselves are food for many aquatic animals (for example predatory fish) and land animals (birds, snakes and certain mammals). Among amphibians, newts and the spotted salamander, who are equipped with tails, are counted, along with the tailless frogs, common toads, fire‑bellied toads, and tree frogs.

Currently, only 18 species of amphibian occur in Poland. Because, for example, small ponds in which they can breed have been filled in and due to environmental pollution, there are less and less of them. This is why all species of amphibian are under protection in Poland.

Among tailed amphibians, the most common in the country are newts. This is a small animal which lives in overgrown ponds and lakes. With the end of the summer, they come out onto land and hide in damp places. They usually hunt at night. From autumn, they search for a winter hideout, most commonly burying themselves in the ground. Certain specimens winter at the bottom of reservoirs, buried in the mud.

The spotted salamander lives completely differently. It is a land animal, encountered in the South of Poland in damp leafy forests. Their fertilised eggs develop inside the females' bodies. When the larvae hatch, the female carries them straight to a slow flowing stream or puddle. Adult salamanders can't swim very well, and sink in fast flowing or deep water.

Frogs in Poland are divided into green and brown. Green frogs, for example, the pool frog, spend most of their time in water. Brown frogs, for example, the common frog, are happy to come out onto land, and mainly return to the water during the mating season.

Toads are amphibians which live on land. They defend themselves against predators with the help of venom, which is produced in glands in their skin. They feed on insects, but they are even able to hunt rodents, for example mice. Fire‑bellied toads are somewhat similar to small common toads, but they have vividly coloured bellies: yellow and black or orange and black. These colours are a warning, because fire‑bellied toads have glands in their skin which produce venom.

The tree frog is a small green amphibian, which is similar to the common frog, and spends most of its life on trees and other plants. It has discs on its fingers, which help it to climb trees. It hunts for insects there, which it often collects from leaves. It also eats beetles and spiders.

• Amphibians are an organism that live on both earth and land, they live in damp environments or in the vicinity of water.

• 18 species of amphibian live in Poland.