Teaching overview
Learning points
- The wood frog’s body recycles urea. Instead of getting rid of waste urea, it uses it to protect the organs while they are frozen during hibernation.
- When an animal goes into hibernation, its heart and breathing rate become lower, and its body temperature lowers as well. This preserves energy.
- Most animals need to remove waste from their bodies. Waste can be harmful if it builds up in the body.
Curriculum keywords
- Hibernation, Seasons, Excretion
Read the story
Most animals go to the toilet every day. Have you ever wondered what happens when they hibernate?
Share with students
Spark a discussion
- How does the wood frog manage to survive being frozen over the winter?
- What happens to an animal’s body during hibernation?
- Do any other animals hibernate apart from mammals? What happens to them?
Twig Science: A Complete Pre-K–8 Program for the NGSS
Immersive Investigations with High-Quality Multimedia
- Investigating, designing, building, and understanding phenomena
- Hands-on, digital, video, and print investigations
- Synchronous/asynchronous distance learning