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Did you know female sea turtles return to the same beach where they were born to lay their own eggs? They do! Learn more about their nest building and what happens to hatchlings once they’re born with these fun sea turtle life cycle activities for kindergarten and first grade!
Read About It
These two books are great anchor texts to read about the sea turtle life cycle.
From Egg to Sea Turtle by Lisa Owings walks students step by step through the sea turtle life cycle. Real photos and just the right amount of text make this a perfect book for young learners.
Nicola Davies is an amazing children’s author. In her book One Tiny Turtle, she does a fantastic job of incorporating facts into a lovely story about a baby sea turtle growing into an adult.
Want an absolute treat? Watch and listen to author Nicola Davies read the story aloud in the video below. She begins by sharing what inspired her to write the book. The way she reads and shares her book is such a delight!
After reading about the sea turtle life cycle, it’s helpful to actually see part of it in action. This short two minute video shows a female sea turtle crawl ashore, dig a nest, lay her eggs and then cover them up before crawling back out to sea. It then shows sea turtle hatchlings push up out of the sand and make their way across the beach to the water. It’s awesome to watch!
Act It Out
Help students remember the different stages of the sea turtle life cycle by having them act out each step. Come up with movements on your own or follow the ones below:
Egg – Sit on the floor. Pull your knees up to your chest and wrap your arms around them to curl up into an egg shape.
Hatchling – Pretend to break out of your egg. Then move your flippers (arms) to dig out of the sand. Next, crawl on your belly towards the ocean!
Juvenile – Move your flippers (arms and legs) to swim in the ocean.
Adult – Continue to move your flippers (arms and legs) to swim in the ocean. Pretend to catch a yummy jellyfish snack or crawl on your belly onto the sand to build a nest.
Finally, students might make their own sea turtle life cycle craft. Just turn the wheel to show a sea turtle grow from an egg, to a hatchling, to a juvenile and finally to an adult. I love for students to take these home so they can share with their family what they’ve learned in the classroom.
For a less coloring option, just print the sea turtle templates on green paper. I think they turn out just as cute! All that’s left to color are the small circles on the limbs, but you could leave them as is.
The templates for making this cute sea turtle life cycle craft are available in my TPT store.
I hope these sea turtle life cycle activities make learning meaningful and fun for your students!