Life cycle of a stag beetle foldable activity

Use this foldable sequencing printable to introduce or review the life cycle of a European stag beetle. This differentiated science activity can be used as part of a lesson or unit about life cycles, insects, beetles, or woodland animals.

Benefits of this life cycle activity

• Low prep
• Children learn about the stag beetle life cycle in a fun and hands-on way, that’s a bit different from a standard science worksheet.
• Can be used to introduce the life cycle, or as a review/assessment to check understanding.
• Encourages fine motor/scissor skills, hand-eye coordination (folding), and sequencing.
• Differentiated options allow for multiple age ranges or abilities to do the same activity.
• Finished foldouts can be inserted into a science notebook where they can be referenced by children.

The templates

There are 3 templates and multiple label options to choose from:

Template 1: Colour the stag beetle and its 4 life cycle stages, cut out the life cycle labels, match them to the pictures, glue, and fold. As an alternative, children could write their own labels directly onto the template.

Template 2: Colour the stag beetle and its 4 life cycle stages, cut out the stages and sequence them on the template, glue, and fold. There are 2 label options for this - one with the names of the stages, and the other with descriptions.

Template 3: This template has 6 stages (the larval stage is broken down into 3 parts). Children colour the stag beetle and its life cycle stages (2 choices of labels), sequence the stages, cut, glue, and fold.

What you need:

You’ll need coloured pencils, scissors, and glue. You may find it useful to have a pre-made example for children who might require more of a visual cue for folding.

Save printing costs by showing the folding instructions on a screen.

This resource is a 13-page PDF. It is not editable. The zipped file contains both US and UK versions. There’s also a bonus ‘label the stag beetle’ worksheet included.