FROGS AND TOADSADVENTURE IN LEARNING LESSON

Lesson DescriptionFrogs and toads are a common, and critical part of ecosystems. Participants will watch a video or read a description of how frogs fit into our environment, the process of metamorphosis, and things to keep in mind when searching for frogs. Participants will then complete a set of math problems focusing on number operations and probabilities.

Guiding QuestionHow can we analyze real-life environmental scenarios using mathematical representations?

Concepts1. Mathematical equations can help predict outcomes in real-life scenarios.2. Representing populations in mathematical terms can show patterns and relationships within nature.

OutcomesUpon completion of this lesson the individual will be able to:• Calculate fractions, percents, and ratios from real-life scenarios.• Simplify fractions.• Round decimals to the nearest tenth and hundredth.• Determine the probability of an event using examples from predator-prey relationships.

Minnesota Academic Standards in Appendix

6 2 8 2 C r a n b e r r y R o a d | F i n l a n d , M N 5 5 6 0 3 - 9 7 0 0 | 2 1 8 - 3 5 3 - 7 4 1 4 | w w w. w o l f - r i d g e . o r g

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Here is an example of the StoryMap. Students scroll through the screens.

Three ways to do this Frogs and Toads lessonRecommendedThe online Frog and Toads StoryMap presentation has everything you need! Click to start, then scroll through the pictures, questions, videos, and links. Do the suggested activities along the way. Follow this Frogs and Toads StoryMap link, or have students start from the Frogs and Toads Adventures in Learning web page on Wolf Ridge's website.

1. Read the following lesson plan for overview, activity information, and MN State Standards.

2. Share link to the lesson’s StoryMap, a virtual presentation with pictures, videos, questions, and links to activities.

3. Open the link and scroll through the StoryMap presentation and watch video.

4. Within the StoryMap, there are links to PDF’s containing activities.5. Additionally, the StoryMap contains links to worksheets with two

options for accessing:a. Link to PDF- Use this link if would like to print or respond to

questions in a journal.b. Link as a Google Doc (with force copy) - Use this link to create

a copy of the document in your Google Drive. We recommend saving the copied file as “student name – name of lesson”.

6. Once complete the student can be instructed to share the file with the teacher.

If Internet access is an issueThe teacher or parent reads through this lesson plan, then prints the handouts, to distribute. You are looking at the whole lesson plan right now, which includes all handouts. There are links to individual handout pages if you prefer. Frogs and Toads Story. Frog Population Word Problems. Frog and Toad Nature Journaling Extension Activity. Send printed materials to students for them to complete at home.

Only have 10 minutes?You can watch the video without using the accompanying educa-tional StoryMap or student activities.

Check back for more lessons and let us know if you have feedback!

StoryMap image

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Lesson Flow (for those who are NOT using the online StoryMap)

Frogs and Toads StoryRead the Frogs and Toads story found in the appendix.

Activity - Frog Populations Word ProblemsSee attached Frog Populations Word Problems worksheet.Students will complete word problems based on frog data.

Frog and Toad Nature Journaling ExtensionsSee attached Frog and Toad Nature Journaling worksheet.Visit a wetland area and make a sound map of frog calls.

AppendixMinnesota Academic Standards6th Grade Math• 6.1.1.6 Determine greatest common factors and least common multiples. Use common factors and common multiples to

calculate with fractions and find equivalent fractions. For example: Factor the numerator and denominator of a fraction to determine an equivalent fraction.

• 6.1.2.1 Identify and use ratios to compare quantities; understand that comparing quantities using ratios is not the same as comparing quantities using subtraction. For example: In a classroom with 15 boys and 10 girls, compare the numbers by subtracting (there are 5 more boys than girls) or by dividing (there are 1.5 times as many boys as girls). The comparison using division may be expressed as a ratio of boys to girls (3 to 2 or 3:2 or 1.5 to 1).

• 6.1.3.3 Calculate the percent of a number and determine what percent one number is of another number to solve prob-lems in various contexts.

• 6.1.3.4 Solve real-world and mathematical problems requiring arithmetic with decimals, fractions and mixed numbers.• 6.4.1.2 Determine the probability of an event using the ratio between the size of the event and the size of the sample

space; represent probabilities as percents, fractions and decimals between 0 and 1 inclusive. Understand that probabili-ties measure likelihood. For example: Each outcome for a balanced number cube has probability , and the probability of rolling an even number is 1/2.

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FROGS AND TOADS STORYWelcome to the ninth episode in the Wolf Ridge Adventures in Learning series! Today Wolf Ridge Naturalists Robby and Caroline are exploring the wet and muddy world of frogs and toads!

Amphibians are a class of animal that includes frogs, toads, newts, and salamanders. Minnesota is home to 50 species of amphibians. The name amphibian means “two lives” and refers to the fact that they live both on land and in water during parts of their lives.

Frog and Toad CharacteristicsThis is a Grey Tree Frog. Tree Frogs are amazing because they have sticky pads on their toes that allow them to climb vertical surfaces. They can also change their color, which is why their latin name is Hyla versicolor.

Most people are familiar with some frog characteristics like strong, long legs, webbed feet, and long tongues. But what people often aren’t familiar with are the characteristics of frogs’ skin. Frogs’ skin is often green, grey, or brown to serve as camouflage. There are also frogs that have very bright skin. Many of them are poisonous - and their bright skin serves as a warning to predators - while some are not poisonous, but want predators to think they are.

Frog skin is also very thin and permeable (meaning things can get through it). Since frogs spend a large part of their lives in water, this permeable skin means they are very sensitive to changes in the water like pollution or bacteria.

Toads are also technically frogs! The broad category “frog” is divided into three groups: tree frogs, toads, and true frogs. Toads have some different characteristics than tree frogs and true frogs.

Instead of smooth skin toads have a very bumpy, dry skin. Toads also have much shorter legs than frogs and look more stout or sturdily built than frogs. Frogs also have teeth while toads do not. Frogs lay their eggs in large clumps and toads lay their eggs in long noodley strands.

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MetamorphosisAll frogs go through a fascinating transformation as they mature called metamorphosis. After frogs mate, they lay a large cluster of jelly-like eggs.

After the eggs hatch, the baby frogs are called tadpoles. These tadpoles live fully in the water and breathe through their gills. They mainly eat dead and decaying plants from the bottom of the pond they live in.

As they age, they begin to change. Slowly they start growing back legs, then front legs and lungs. At this stage, they are called froglets and they look like tiny frogs, except they still have a tail!

The froglets can begin living on land now but they spend a lot of time in the water. As more time passes they begin to “lose” their tail and gills. Actually, they absorb both into their body. Once this is complete they are fully developed frogs and are considered land animals.

Nature JournalingPonds that are home to frogs and toads provide great opportunities for nature journaling. You can’t always see the frogs, but you can definitely hear them! One cool way to explore the many sounds you hear in a frog pond is to make a sound map. Check out this week’s lesson to learn how to make a sound map.

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Frog Research & Stewardship with Lisa TracyTo learn more about frogs and toads, we reached out to Lisa Tracy. Lisa is a wildlife biologist and she joined us along with her daughter Naomi.

There are over 6,000 described species of frogs in the world, but over one third of them are considered endangered or threatened. Warmer water due to climate change, pesticides and other pollution in the water as well as habitat loss are all threats to frogs today. Frogs and toads are considered indicator species. An indicator species is an organism that is sensitive to changes in the environment. Therefore, looking at indicator species populations allows us to assess the overall health of an environment.

Frogs around the world are also being impacted by a fungus called Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd for short). Bd causes a frog’s skin to thicken which makes it hard for them to breathe. In order to detect Bd in frogs, researchers like Lisa will swab the frogs legs and send the sample into a lab for testing.

If you want to catch a frog or toad to look at up close, you’ll need to keep a few things in mind. First, you want to make sure you don’t have any sunscreen, hand sanitizer or lotion on your hands so as not to harm the frog’s sensitive skin. Next you’ll want to be very gentle when handling frogs and toads. Finally, don’t keep the frogs and toads for more than a few hours.

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ACTIVITY: FROG POPULATION WORD PROBLEMSFrogs are a common and critical part of ecosystems. As you learned in the video or story, frogs are particularly sensitive to environmental changes. They are known as “indicator species” because changes in their populations signal potentially harmful changes in environmental conditions. For this reason, research is done to monitor their populations.

Answer the following questions about frog populations using the data set and example problem.

Many different species of frog live in the Wolf Ridge wetlands. A survey was done to record which species were most common. The results showed that there were Spring Peepers, Chorus, Wood, and Leopard frogs in the wetlands. The table below shows how many of each species were found as well as how many total eggs were laid by that species.

Spring PeeperChorusWoodLeopard

241396

18,00039,0009,00030,000

Number of each species found in Wolf Ridge wetland

Total number of eggs laid by each species

Frog species found in Wolf Ridge wetland

Use the following example problems to model your answers.

1. Write a fraction comparing the number of Spring Peepers to the total number of frogs. Answer = 24/52 Now write the fraction in its simplest form. Answer = 6/13 Now write the answer as a decimal rounded to the nearest hundredth. Answer = .462. What is the percent of wood frog eggs compared to total eggs? Round your answer to the nearest whole number. Answer = 8%3. What is the ratio of Spring Peeper eggs to Wood Frog eggs? Write your answer in simplest form. Answer = 2:1

EXAMPLE

QUESTIONS1. Write a fraction comparing the number of Chorus Frog eggs to the total number of eggs.

Now write the answer as a decimal rounded to the nearest hundredth.

Now write the answer as a percent rounded to the nearest whole number.

2. Write a fraction comparing the number of Leopard Frogs to the total number of frogs. Write the fraction in simplest form.

(next page)

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3. Write a fraction for each frog species comparing the number of eggs laid to the number of frogs. i.e. eggs/frogs

Now simplify each fraction as a number rounded to the nearest whole number.

Which frog species lays the most eggs per frog?

4. How many more Spring Peepers are there than Leopard Frogs?

5. How many times more Spring Peepers are there than Leopard Frogs?

6. What is the ratio of Leopard Frogs to Spring Peepers? Write your answer in simplest form.

7. Many different animals eat frog eggs and tadpoles, including toads, water birds, and raccoons, so they lay thousands of eggs to increase the probability that some will survive. Five hundred of the Wood Frog eggs survive. What percent of the wood frog eggs survived? Write your answer as a percent rounded to the nearest tenth.

8. If the probability of survival for Chorus Frog eggs is 10%, how many eggs will survive?

9. If you saw a frog in the Wolf Ridge wetlands, what is the probability that it would be a Spring Peeper?

Now write your answer as a fraction.

Now write your answer as a decimal rounded to the nearest hundredth.

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FROG AND TOAD NATURE JOURNALING EXTENSIONS

Nature Journal Sound MapTry searching for frogs at a body of water near you. You can search for frogs by looking, but you can also simply listen! Different frogs have distinct calls, and these calls can be a great way of identifying individuals.

Make a sound map of all the different calls you hear. First, sketch the area you are in. next, listen quietly for several minutes, then mark the location on your map of each sound you hear. You can get creative with symbols or drawings to represent different sounds. See if you notice any patterns in your observations!