Hoppy spring!
It's spring! As the days grow longer, and the weather gets warmer, many frogs come out of their winter resting places. They hop their way to the nearest pond to lay their eggs. These eggs hatch into tadpoles. The tadpoles eat and grow as they swim in the pond. Some frogs lead very different lives. Frogs that live in really warm places may spend the hottest times of year staying underground to keep cool. And some frogs spend their entire lives in trees! Like all frogs, tree frogs need to keep their skin moist. They wet their skin in pools of water that form on the branches or leaves of trees. Why do frogs need moist skin? Frogs don't drink water like people do. Frogs take in water through their skin. In this way, frogs get oxygen from the water. One special tree frog is the glass frog of Costa Rica. This frog has see-through skin on its belly. If you look at the frog from underneath, you will be able to see its heart and other body parts.
THIS WAS THE QUESTION...
Describe (in seven sentences or less): Not everybody can find a real frog to look at and some frogs are dangerous to touch, so try this activity with a picture of a frog. Look carefully. Can you see the frog's nostrils? The nostrils are two little holes above the frog's mouth. The frog breathes in oxygen through its nostrils. (Remember, frogs also get oxygen from water, which they take in through their skin.) Can you find the frog's eardrums? The eardrums look like two flat circles just behind the frog's eyes. Hearing is very important to frogs. Frogs croak and sing to send messages to one another. Have you ever heard a frog? What did it sound like? Did you hear it in daytime or at night? What message do you think it was sending?
HERE ARE SOME OF YOUR RESPONSES:
I think frogs are saying "I love you" when they are croaking to each
other.
Name: Dustin
Age: 7
Location: Layton, Utah (USA)
When frogs are croaking, they are saying, "We are frogs."
Name: Kelsey
Age: 5
Location: Layton, Utah (USA)
The BLANCHARD TREE FROG lives in woodlands and overgrown meadows. It
makes a clicking sound. We think he makes this sound to communicate
with other frogs.
The PACIFIC TREE FROG makes a high pitched musical sound. It lives in
the Pacific Coast. It makes this sound to communicate with other
Pacific Tree Frogs.
Names: Colin and Kurtis
Ages: 8 and 9
Location: Burlington, Ontario (Canada)
When I went to the youth expo I saw bullfrog tadpoles and bullfrogs. I
got to pick them up and here is what I saw. Some of them had two feet,
and some of them still had a long tail. And some had four feet and a
stubby tail. They felt like jelly and they were kind of green and
brown. Some of their heads looked like tadpoles and some already
looked like frogs.
Name: Jasmin
Age: 6 1/2
Location: Mission Viejo, CA (USA)
I found the frog in "Your Big Backyard". I can see the nostrils. I can
see the eardrums. I have heard a frog, it was at night. It sounded like,
"kreck-ek". I think it was sending a marrying message.
Name: Taylor
Age: 6
Location: Indiana (USA)
Late on a warm summer night, I have heard frogs croaking to each other
behind my home in the ponds in the park that borders our property.
Frogs have vocal sacs which swell up when the frog is calling or
croaking. It sounds very deep and quick. I think the male frog was
croaking, "Here I am, come find me" -- to another female frog.
Name: Taylor
Age: 6
Location: New York (USA)
We have a green tree frog in our class. When it croaks it sounds like a dog barking. I like the way it sticks to the sides of the tank it's in.
Name: Kyle
Age: 6
I learned that the male green Tree frog sounds like a cow bell. I
think it makes this sound so other frogs can hear it.
Name: Jason
Age: 9
Location: Burlington, Ontario (Canada)
I here frogs come out at nighttime. It sounded like an old swing rubbing
against what holds it up. The male frogs I think were "showing off" or
"calling" the female frogs, looking for a mate.
Name: Erin
Age: 12
Location: Tumwater, WA (USA)
I learned that the bullfrog lives in ponds and streams. It makes a
sound like "jug o' rum". I learned that different frogs makes
different sounds and that some of the sounds are really weird.
Name: Dylan
Age: 9
Location: Burlington, Ontario (Canada)
We learned that the Western Forest frog sound is croaking. We think it
makes this sound to communicate. We learned that the Plains Spadefoot Frog sounds like a quacking duck. These two frogs live in the prairies and grasslands.
Names: Christine and Lisa
Ages: 8 and 9
Location: Burlington, Ontario (Canada)
Frogs make a "croak croak" sound and they are probably saying "hi" to other
frogs. Maybe they are trying to find a girlfriend.
Name: Kaitlynn
Age: 6
Location: Las Vegas, NV (USA)
I think a frog is slimy and slippery.
I think a frog is singing a song to get a mate. I've heard a
frog before and I think it sounded like a burp!
Name: Jenny
Age: 8
Location: California (USA)
I couldn't find a picture of a frog, but I looked at some of my toy
frogs. I found the nostrils and the eardrums. I heard lots of frogs
singing in Florida. It sounded like a lot of croaking. I heard them in
the evening. I think the first frog was singing for the other frogs to
come to him.
Name: Lexie
Age: 6
Location: Michigan (USA)
I heard a frog croak once. It sounded like a frog. I heard it at night.
He said, "Ibit, ibit". He was talking to me. He said, "Go to bed."
Name: Kevin
Age: 4
Location: New Jersey (USA)
Yes, I have heard frogs many times. There is a whole city of frogs in the field across the street from my house. It is like frogland.
I hear them in the night and sometimes in the day. Sometimes they are even louder than my dog, Popeye, barking. I think they are saying, "It's nighttime everybody, let's go to sleep."
Name: Carl
Age: 6
We learned that the Common Gray Treefrog has a loud trilling sound
during mating season. It makes this sound to call to its mate.
We also learned that the Northern Cricket frog sounds like a cricket.
The habitat of these two frogs are ponds and wetlands.
Names: Heather and Matt
Ages: 8 and 8
Location: Burlington, Ontario (Canada)
Colorful frogs can sometimes be poisonous.
Frogs are amphibians.
Some frogs are green, like the marsh frog.
Frogs can have strong back legs.
Some are stronger than any other frog's.
So, if you see a frog take a very close look.
Name: Aaron
Age: 5
I am describing a peeper frog. I heard the peeper frog at night. It can
be green or brown. It sounds like little peeps, that's why we call them
peeper frogs. I think their message is to "get off my territory" or
"come here". They are small and they live in the swampy pond at my Pop
Pop's house.
Name: Brad
Age: 6
Location: Pennsylvania (USA)
A frog goes ribbit, ribbit! We hear frogs at night. Frogs are telling
their friends to go to the pond, or where there is food or that a person
is coming and might step on them.
Name: Mrs. Gilchrist's Senior Kindergarten
Location: Ottawa, Canada
