---
title: "Life Cycles of Organisms"
description: "Develop models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but all share the common stages of birth, growth, reproduction, and death"
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/life-cycles-of-organisms-mt_4IVWRAZoNC
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/life-cycles-of-organisms-mt_4IVWRAZoNC.md
retrieved: 2026-10-19
---

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# Life Cycles of Organisms

Develop models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but all share the common stages of birth, growth, reproduction, and death

Subject: Science · Area: Organisms & Life Processes · Ages 7 to 9
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/life-cycles-of-organisms-mt_4IVWRAZoNC

## Ready when they can

- Describe the life cycle of at least two different organisms (e.g. butterfly, frog, plant)
- Identify the common stages all life cycles share: birth, growth, reproduction, death
- Explain how life cycles can look very different (metamorphosis vs gradual growth) but follow the same pattern

## Lesson: Life cycles: born, grow, reproduce, die

Every living thing follows a life cycle. A life cycle has four big stages: being born, growing up, making new living things like itself (that is called reproduction), and dying. Every animal and plant goes through these same four stages, even though the details can look very different.

*(drawing: A butterfly's life cycle: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, adult butterfly, which lays new eggs.)*

**Example.** A frog starts as an egg laid in water. The egg hatches into a tadpole, which swims and breathes like a fish. The tadpole slowly grows legs and loses its tail, becoming a froglet, then a full grown frog. The adult frog lays new eggs, and the cycle starts again. Like the butterfly, a frog changes its whole body shape as it grows. That big change is called metamorphosis.

**Example.** A sunflower starts as a seed in the soil. The seed sprouts into a tiny seedling, then grows into a tall plant with leaves and a flower. After the flower is pollinated, it makes new seeds inside itself, and those seeds can grow into new sunflowers. A plant does not change its whole body shape like a butterfly or a frog. It just keeps growing bigger, bit by bit.

**Tip.** A butterfly and a frog go through metamorphosis, a dramatic change in body shape. A sunflower just grows steadily bigger without changing shape. But all three still follow the same four stages: birth, growth, reproduction, and death.

**Recap.** Every organism's life cycle looks different on the outside, but they all share the same four stages: birth, growth, reproduction, and death.

## Practice

8 questions on this page, each with its working shown.

## Needs first

- [Animal Classification Vocabulary](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/animal-classification-vocabulary-mt_1J5fwxNDxL)
- [Drawing Life Cycle Diagrams](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/drawing-life-cycle-diagrams-mt_7EqhgErJyU)
- [Animal Life Stages](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/animal-life-stages-mt_oR6dwRj2Ll)
- [Pollination & Seed Dispersal](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/pollination-and-seed-dispersal-mt_WNBHZ1d94L)

## Opens up

- [Animal Life Cycles](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/animal-life-cycles-mt_A1Xfu5p5KT)
- [Life Changed Over Time](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/life-changed-over-time-mt_gTDqxYkLs9)
- [Human Life Stages](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/human-life-stages-mt_OSfCeIeBak)