The Jeff Corwin Experience
Amphibians
Teacher’s Guide
Grade Level: K–8
Curriculum Focus: Life Science
Lesson Duration: Three class periods
Program Description
What allows these cold-blooded vertebrates to live at least part of their lives on water and on land?
Examine many different species of amphibians, including salamanders in Florida, the Bufo marinus toad
in Guyana, the monkey frog in the Amazon, and the red-eyed tree frog and blue jean frog in Costa Rica.
Video Index
Segment 1: Amazon River Basin (3 min.)
Description
Check out the monkey frog in an Amazon River Basin ecosystem. Observe how it blends in with the
leaves and how it can jump and walk.
Pre-viewing question
Q: What is the advantage of the monkey frog’s ability to blend into its surroundings?
A: Students may figure out that by blending in, the frog more successfully hides from its predators.
Post-viewing question
Q: What is unique about a frog that walks and jumps?
A: Most frogs just jump; only a few species can walk as well.
Segment 2: Costa Rica (3 min.)
Description
Travel to Costa Rica and take a close look at the markings on the blue jean frog and learn about the
red-eyed tree frog.
Pre-viewing question
Q: What might be distinctive markings of the blue jean frog?
A: This frog has blue legs.
Post-viewing question
Q: Where does the red-eyed tree frog live?
A: The red-eyed tree frog makes its home in the forest canopy.
The Jeff Corwin Experience
Amphibians
Teacher’s Guide
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Segment 3: Panama (3 min.)
Description
Meet Leptodactylus pentadactylus, Panama’s cave-dwelling frog. Then observe the male poison dart
frog, which cares for the tadpoles by carrying them on his back.
Pre-viewing question
Q: Do you think a cave is a suitable environment for a frog?
A: Answers may include that a cave’s moist environment makes it suitable for a frog.
Post-viewing question
Q: What is one unique characteristic of the poison dart frog?
A: The male poison dart frog cares for the young.
Segment 4: Ecuador (3 min.)
Description
Observe Hyla boans, a frog that lives in the canopy of the forest. Then check out the smoky forest
frog, which has no webbing on its feet.
Pre-viewing question
Q: Do frogs that live in the forest climb trees?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: How does the Hyla boans move around in the trees?
A: The Hyla boans has suction disks on its feet that allow it to climb.
Segment 5: Florida (1 min.)
Description
Check out the siren salamander of Florida. See what it looks like and find out what it eats.
Pre-viewing question
Q: What do you know about the siren salamander?
A: Answers will vary.
Post-viewing question
Q: What does the siren salamander eat?
A: The siren salamander eats crayfish.
Segment 6: Louisiana (2 min.)
Description
Observe the green tree frog in Louisiana to see it use its suction disks to climb trees. Find out when
the frog hunts and the insects it likes to eat.
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The Jeff Corwin Experience
Amphibians
Teacher’s Guide
Pre-viewing question
Q: What does the term “nocturnal hunter” mean?
A: Students may know that the term “nocturnal hunter” means an animal that hunts for food at
night.
Post-viewing question
Q: What does the green tree frog eat?
A: The green tree frog eats crickets, moths, and flies.
Segment 7: Arizona (2 min.)
Description
Travel to an airfield in Arizona and uncover the spadefoot toad, an unusual amphibian. Find out
where this animal lives and the origin of its name.
Pre-viewing question
Q: Where do you think the name “spadefoot toad” comes from?
A: Students may figure out that the toad’s foot is shaped like a spade, which helps it dig.
Post-viewing question
Q: Where does the spadefoot toad live, and how long can this animal live there?
A: The spadefoot toad can stay underground for as long as two years.
Segment 8: Madagascar (3 min.)
Description
Meet the unique tomato frog, which is red, plump, and fleshy like a tomato. Find out why this frog
is considered an indicator species, and learn how it protects itself from predators.
Pre-viewing question
Q: What does the term “indicator species” mean?
A: Answers may include that an indicator species can provide information about the health of an
ecosystem because it is sensitive to changes in the environment.
Post-viewing question
Q: What one defense does the tomato frog have against predators?
A: The tomato frog secretes a gummy substance that puts a bad taste in the mouth of its predator,
who spits out its prey.
Segment 9: Nepal (1 min.)
Description
Check out the medium-size obviously named sand toad in Nepal. And take a look at a rhinoceros
nearby.
Pre-viewing question
Q: Have you ever heard of a sand toad?
A: Answers will vary.
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The Jeff Corwin Experience
Amphibians
Teacher’s Guide
Post-viewing question
Q: Where does the sand toad live? Why might this be an unusual environment?
A: The sand toad lives in the sand, which is how it got its name. Most frogs live in moist
environments.
Segment 10: Guayana (7 min.)
Description
Explore two amphibians in Guyana: the golden frog that lives in bromeliads and Bufo marinas, the
world’s largest toad.
Pre-viewing question
Q: What is an endemic species?
A: An endemic species is one found only in a specific environment.
Post-viewing question
Q: How does the golden frog make the poison it secretes?
A: The golden frog eats poisonous spiders, which helps it make its own poison. It secretes the
poison to defend against predators.
Lesson Plan
Student Objectives
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Create a class mural showing amphibian habitats.
•
Draw and cut out pictures of featured toads and frogs.
•
Write a caption for each picture.
•
Place each animal species in the correct habitat.
Materials
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The Jeff Corwin Experience: Amphibians
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Computer with Internet access
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Newsprint and markers
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Large piece of butcher block paper
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Crayons, colored pencils, and pastels
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Scissors and glue
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Paper and pencils
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The Jeff Corwin Experience
Amphibians
Teacher’s Guide
5
Procedures
1. Show The Jeff Corwin Experience: Amphibians and explain that students should note the kind
of habitat for each frog and toad.
2. As a class, list on newsprint the featured frogs and toads and their habitats. For your reference,
the frogs and toads mentioned in the program and their habitats are listed below:
• Monkey frog—on the ground, near leaves and moist places
• Blue jean frog—on the ground, near puddles and other moist places
• Red-eyed tree frog—in the trees
• Leptodactylus pendactylus—in caves
• Poison dart frog—on the ground, near moist places
• Hyla boans—in the trees
• Smoky forest frog—on the forest floor, in piles of leaves
• Green tree frog—in the trees
• Spadefoot toad—underground
• Sand toad—in the sand
• Tomato frog—on and under the ground, often in burrows
• Golden frog—in bromeliads
• Bufo marinas—on the ground, near trees
3. Divide students into groups of two or three. Have one group create a mural that includes the
variety of frogs and toads habitats. Assign each of the remaining groups one species featured in
the program. Explain that they are going to draw the animal, cut it out, write a brief caption,
and place the animal and caption in the correct habitat.
4. The program provides the information students need, but they can visit the following Web sites
for additional facts.
• http://www.worldalmanacforkids.com/explore/animals/frog.html
• http://www.nashvillezoo.org/redeye.htm
• http://www-astro.physics.ox.ac.uk/~erik/toad/toad_world.html#bm
• http://www.exploratorium.edu/frogs/mainstory/index.html
5. Allow enough time in class to complete the project, or assign as homework, if necessary.
6. During the next class, have the mural group to hang its artwork on the bulletin board. Then ask
each group to locate their pictures and captions in the appropriate habitat.
7. Conclude by discussing the variety of amphibian habitats. In which habitat do most of these
species live? What adaptations do they exhibit that help them survive in a particular habitat?
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The Jeff Corwin Experience
Amphibians
Teacher’s Guide
6
Assessment
Use the following three-point rubric to evaluate students’ work during this lesson.
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3 points: Students were highly engaged in class and small-group discussions; developed
a creative, accurate animal image and caption (or an attractive mural of frog habitats, if that
was their group’s assignment).
•
2 points: Students participated in class and small-group discussions; developed
a satisfactory animal image and caption (or a satisfactory mural, if that was their group’s
assignment).
•
1 point: Students participated minimally in class and small-group discussions; did not
complete an animal image and caption (or the mural, if that was their group’s assignment).
Vocabulary
amphibian
Definition: A group of cold-blooded animals with backbones that spend their early life in the
water and most of their adult life on land
Context: About 2,600 amphibians live on Earth, and frogs are among the most prominent in
this group.
frog
Definition: An amphibian with smooth wet skin and long, powerful hind legs; lives in moist
places
Context: Frogs live in many parts of the world because they have developed adaptations to
survive in different types of habitats.
habitat
Definition: The place animals naturally live
Context: From trees to caves to underground burrows, frogs and toads live in a variety of
habitats.
poison frog
Definition: A group of frogs that secrete a poison as a defense against predators
Context: The toxin in poison frogs comes from the animals they eat.
toad
Definition: An amphibian closely related to frogs; has dry, bumpy skin and lives in fairly dry
environments
Context: Some kinds of toads live in the sand or underground.
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The Jeff Corwin Experience
Amphibians
Teacher’s Guide
7
tree frogs
Definition: A group of frogs that live in trees and usually have suction disks on their feet
Context: Most tree frogs have suction disks that help them climb trees.
Academic Standards
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences provides guidelines for teaching science in grades K–12 to
promote scientific literacy. To view the standards, visit this Web site:
http://books.nap.edu/html/nses/html/overview.html#content.
This discussion guide addresses the following science standards:
•
Life Science
o K-4—The characteristics of organisms; Organisms and environments
o 5-8—Populations and ecosystems; Diversity and adaptations of organisms
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL)
McREL’s Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education
addresses 14 content areas. To view the standards and benchmarks, visit
http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/browse.asp.
This lesson plan addresses the following national standards:
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Science: Life Sciences—Understands relationships among organisms and their physical
environment
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Language Arts
o Viewing—Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media
o Writing—Gathers and uses information for research purposes
Support Materials
Develop custom worksheets, educational puzzles, online quizzes, and more with the free teaching tools
offered on the Discoveryschool.com Web site. Create and print support materials, or save them to a
Custom Classroom account for future use. To learn more, visit
•
http://school.discovery.com/teachingtools/teachingtools.html
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.