Turtle Life Cycle Worksheets & Printables

Young children can learn the life cycle of turtles by acting out each stage. They can begin as eggs, curled up into a ball. Next, they can break out of their shells and pretend to dig out of the sand. As juveniles, they can pretend to swim around, using their arms and legs. Lastly, children can swim around as adult turtles, pretending to eat or swim away from predators.

Read children books about turtles. “One Tiny Turtle” by Nicola Davies can also be found on YouTube, allowing children to hear the author read them her book.

Create a sea turtle sensory bin. Fill a container with sand and add a few rocks. Add turtle figurines for children to play with.Visit an aquarium to provide children with the opportunity to see real-life turtles.

Teaching Tips
Turtle Life Cycle

Teaching Tips

Plan field trips to botanical gardens, farms, or nature reserves where children can observe various life cycles in a real-world setting. Field trips make learning memorable and connect classroom knowledge with practical experience.

Foster open discussions about life cycles, encouraging children to ask questions and share their observations. Classroom discussions promote critical thinking and peer-to-peer learning.

Connect life cycle lessons with other subjects, such as math (measuring growth), language arts (writing about life cycles), and even physical education (exploring life cycles through movement).

Turtle Life Cycle

Turtles pass through four stages before they become adults and complete their life cycle: spawning, eggs, hatching, and juveniles. Their life cycle begins with spawning, which is when mother turtles leave the water to lay their eggs. The mother turtles dig holes in the sand or mud and bury 80 to 120 eggs. Burying them keeps them safe from predators.

The eggs are shaped like ovals and are a bit soft. They stay underground from spring to summer. During this time, the turtles inside are growing. The mother turtles do not check on their eggs.After about three months, the turtles begin to peck the eggshells so they can get out. This is the hatching stage. In warm temperatures, females come out of the eggs. In cooler temperatures, male turtles hatch. Once they come out of their eggs, the turtles have to dig themselves out of the mud or sand.

The next important step is to find water so they can survive. During this stage, the baby turtles are in danger of being eaten by predators. Their mothers are not around to protect them so the baby turtles must do everything by themselves.

Turtles are then in the juvenile stage, which lasts ten or more years. The juvenile stage is sometimes called “the lost years” because it’s not clear where the turtles are or what they’re doing during this time. We know that they are continuing to grow and eat foods like jellyfish and fish eggs. They live in the deep water.The last stage of the life cycle is adulthood. During this stage, turtles migrate to beaches to mate. The female turtles will swim to the shore to lay their eggs. The laying of eggs starts the life cycle all over again!

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Turtle Life Cycle Article

Students read the article and learn how turtle undergoes a complete metamorphosis. Students explore each stage of turtle life cycle and look at the pictures.

2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, Reading, Science

Worksheet

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Turtle Life Cycle

Teaching Tips

Turtle Life Cycle

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