Curriculum links and teaching ideas

These books and associated resources support and encourage inquiry-based student learning about frogs and wetlands ecology.

  • Australian Curriculum – Biological Sciences.
  • Australian Curriculum – Geography.
  • Australian Curriculum – Cross-curriculum priorities - Sustainability

The Frog Watch books have been designed as a springboard to leap into an exploration of South-West frogs and their habitats. Collectively they assist with exploring the following:

Biodiversity concepts, including:

  • Endemic species of the South-West of WA
  • Endemic species vs. invasive species
  • Threatened species
  • Human impact on the environment
  • Conservation action

Ecology concepts, including:

  • Food and energy chains in a wetlands ecosystem
  • Animal interactions with their environment
  • Interactions between plants, animals and non-living things in a wetlands ecosystem

Concepts about animal features and behaviours, including:

  • Adaptations that aid survival
  • Life cycles

Exploration of concepts such as these can be adapted according to the age and ability of your students.

Froglish for Beginners

Core concepts:

  • Frogs are better identified through their calls as they are unlikely to be seen.
  • External features of a frog
  • Concepts of biodiversity
  • Structural features and adaptations

Teaching ideas:

This book has been developed for early childhood classes, however some concepts can be explored with older students.

  • Identify which frog names are based on their appearance or the sound they make e.g. Slender Tree Frog (appearance); Moaning Frog (call). Students can use the Frog Fact Sheets to help them.
  • Encourage students to predict what each frog species’ call might sound like. Students can use the Frog Fact Sheets to give them some clues! Students form groups and make a recording of their frog calls. Students can compare their predictions to the frogs’ real calls at Frog Calls. Use the ‘Froglish’ interactive which can be displayed on an interactive whiteboard or a computer screen.
  • Look at the wetlands environment on the first page of the book. Discuss whether this would be a good environment for frogs, and why or why not.
  • Use the Frog Fact Sheets to find out the size of each frog species in the book. Use this information as the basis for graphing activities.
  • Have students look at the different patterns and colourings on the frogs in the book. Introduce ideas of camouflage and attracting a mate. Give students an outline of a frog, or have them create origami frogs. Students can decorate their frogs to demonstrate their understanding of these concepts. You might like to display the frogs with an appropriate background.
  • Explore other Western Australian frog species on the Frog Watch website. Have students choose a different frog species to those in the ‘Froglish’ book and have them create a frog fact sheet. You might like to use the Frog Fact Sheets for the species in ‘Froglish’ already created as a model.
  • Choose a frog species from the book. Have students research this frog, create an informational text or storybook and publish it to share with other students.
  • Have students work in groups to develop a game that explores different frog concepts e.g. frog calls, habitat, life cycle, ecosystems.

Through the Eyes of a Frog

Core concepts:

  • Frogs as part of a wetlands ecosystem
  • Predator/prey relationships
  • The life cycle of a frog
  • Frogs interactions with the environment
  • Adaptations of frogs and other wetland animals
  • Human impact on the environment (positive and negative aspects)
  • Impact of introduced species on frogs
  • Sustainability
  • Interdependence

Teaching ideas:

  • Consider the illustrations on pages two and three. Using the text as a springboard, have a class discussion about ‘this place through the eyes of a frog’. Use this discussion as a basis for developing texts from the frog’s perspective e.g. a diary entry, poetry, short stories.
  • During shared reading sessions, use the book to explore the impact of other living things (plants and animals), and non-living things (e.g. rocks) on the survival of frogs. You may use this information to develop food and energy chains.  Students might like to create a diorama of a wetlands environment including all of the different components that a frog needs to survive.
  • Explore how frogs interact with their habitat e.g. where they like to hide or bask. Use this as a basis for a class discussion about how certain environmental factors might impact their survival e.g. bushfires, decreasing rainfall or seasonal changes.
  • Have a class discussion about the ways that humans can have a positive or negative impact on wetlands environments. Have students create signage for the wetlands that promotes positive behaviours or warns of negative impacts.
  • This book depicts a range of species that live in the wetlands environment. Have students use the Species list (PDF Download | Online version) to identify as many animals and plants in the book as possible.
  • Look at examples of introduced species, such as feral cats. Working in groups, produce a short script for a play that explores the concept of how a frog is affected by introduced species.
  • Explore the life cycles of different species (plants and animals) within the book. Examine their similarities and differences e.g. all life cycles end in death; some have a metamorphosis stage while others don’t.
  • Have students write a book review of this book. In this way, they are demonstrating an understanding of the book’s main concepts and themes.

Time to… Explore Frog Habitats

This book and its associated videos are the result of a collaborative project between the Western Australian Museum and Beckenham Primary School.

The project delivery was inquiry-based and student-centred, and showed extremely positive outcomes in terms of science learning and environmental awareness. 

This book has been designed to model the science inquiry process within a classroom environment. It documents the learning journey of the Beckenham Primary School students and is relevant to their context.

We hope that it is used as a springboard to exploring wetlands ecosystems and creating frog habitats within your school or local area.

Please refer to the case studies for further classroom ideas.

Think about… Building a Frog-friendly Garden

This book is designed to guide an inquiry-based process for classes to design and build their own frog habitat at school. It poses many questions for students to consider, and intentionally does not provide answers as there is no ‘one size fits all’ plan for this, and consideration needs to be given to each school’s local environment.

This book can be used in tandem with the ‘Time to… Explore Frog Habitats’ book, and complements the ‘Time to Design’ section of that book.