The Story of How Things Grow
Every living thing has a special way it grows. This is called a life cycle.
A life cycle is a path that happens over and over again.
Let's look at how a plant grows first. It starts as a tiny seed in the ground.
The seed gets water and warm sun. Soon, a little sprout comes out of the dirt.
The sprout grows big leaves and a strong stem. Then, it grows a bright flower.
The flower makes new seeds. Those seeds fall and start the cycle all over again.
Animals have life cycles too. A frog starts its life as a tiny egg in a pond.
The egg hatches into a small tadpole. A tadpole has a long tail and lives in the water.
Slowly, the tadpole grows back legs and front legs. Its tail gets smaller until it is gone.
Now, it is a big frog that can hop on land. The frog will lay eggs, and the cycle starts again.
Butterflies have a very cool life cycle. A mother butterfly lays a small egg on a green leaf.
A hungry caterpillar crawls out of the egg. It eats many leaves to grow big and strong.
Next, the caterpillar makes a hard shell. This shell is called a chrysalis.
- Life Cycle:
- A path of growth that happens over and over again for a living thing.
- Sprout:
- A very young plant that has just come out of a seed.
- Tadpole:
- The stage of a frog's life when it has a tail and lives in the water.
- Chrysalis:
- The hard shell where a caterpillar stays while it changes into a butterfly.
- Cycle:
- A set of events that happens again and again in the same order.
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- 1What is the definition of a life cycle according to the passage?
- 2What two things does a seed need to grow into a sprout?
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About this report passage for Lower Elementary
“The Story of How Things Grow” is a report reading passage about Life Cycles, written for Lower Elementary. It takes about 2 minutes to read (272 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.