Activity

Frogs for the future?

Frogs for the future? is a ready-to-use cross curricular teaching resource. It uses the Ministry of Education’s 2019 Connected article Kimihia Kermit by Philippa Werry.

Frog facts poster.

Frog facts

Find out a few fascinating facts about frogs in this diagram from the 2019 Connected article Kimihia Kermit.

Illustrations by Giselle Clarkson

Rights: Crown 2019

Curriculum information

‘Kimihia Kermit’ is a non-fiction article suitable for students working at NZC level 2 and above. Students working at level 2 may require support with literacy. The article and accompanying activities support learning in multiple curriculum areas.

Literacy:

  • Engage with a range of texts to make meaning.

  • Use visual language features to create meaning.

Social sciences – social studies:

  • People’s use of environments can have long term impacts.

Science – Nature of Science – understanding about science:

  • Scientists collect data to understand what is happening.

Science – Living World – ecology:

  • Living things are suited to their particular habitat, and there are impacts if the habitat changes.

Cover page of Connected article: Kimihia Kermit, 2019

Connected article: Kimihia Kermit

An article in the 2019 level 2 Connected journal Wild Discoveries published by the Ministry of Education, New Zealand.

Photograph of Archey’s frog by Neil Fitgerald.

Rights: Crown 2019

Customising the resources

The worksheet Frogs for the future? – learning activities is available in a Word file here and also in the link at the bottom of this page. Feel free to edit the Word document to meet the needs of your programme and your learners.

A reminder – the journal article is accompanied by teacher support material (TSM). It provides instructional strategies, highlights key science ideas and has activity ideas.

Follow-up for teachers

  • This activity supports students to consider the conservation of native frogs from a number of different perspectives. Having directed discussions supports students to consider multiple perspectives on issues and supports deeper thinking and that very important scientific skill of critique. Explore this further in the article Ethics in conservation science.

  • Students who have really engaged with the frogs might like to take part in this citizen science project FrogID. This project collects recordings of frog calls in to identify where frog species are present in Australia and New Zealand.

  • Citizen science is another strong thread in this article. The Science Learning Hub has a number of citizen science activities that students can get involved in, and the benefits to learning are also highlighted.

Related content

These activity ideas are based on the Connected article Kimihia Kermit.

Find out more about our native New Zealand frogs in this article.

Useful links

Watch these videos about Archey’s frog:

The book Archey’s frog: The discovery of New Zealand’s tiniest native frog introduces the discovery of this frog alongside facts about it.

Download New Zealand frogs – Pepeketua by Rachael Goddard from the National Library. This free book aims to educate children in a fun and engaging way about conservation, using our four native, rare and endangered frog species.

The Connected journals can be ordered from the Down the Back of the Chair website. Access to these resources is restricted to Ministry-approved education providers. To find out if you are eligible for a login or if you have forgotten your login details, contact their customer services team on 0800 660 662 or email orders@thechair.education.govt.nz..

Acknowledgement

The Connected is published annually by the Ministry of Education, New Zealand.

Published:06 May 2020