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Lesson · Grade 2 · Science

The Salmon Life Cycle

  • Grade 2
  • Science
  • 1 min 4 s
  • British Columbia
  • BC2-SC-04

A side view of a river of fresh water that runs into the salty sea builds up one stage at a time: a parent salmon lays eggs in the gravel, an egg hatches into a tiny alevin with a yolk sac, and it grows into a fry and then a silver smolt. The smolt swims out to sea and grows into an adult that looks like its parent, then swims back up the river to lay eggs, closing the loop of the life cycle.

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In one sentence

The question this lesson answers

How does a salmon grow up?

Salmon begin life in fresh water, like this river.

Transcript

What the lesson says

How does a salmon grow up?

Salmon begin life in fresh water, like this river.

A parent salmon lays eggs in the gravel.

An egg hatches into a tiny alevin.

It looks very different from its parent.

Its yolk sac is full of food.

When its yolk is used up, it becomes a fry.

Then it turns silver and is called a smolt.

The smolt swims out to sea, into salt water.

In the sea, it grows into a big adult.

Now it looks a lot like its parent.

Most adults swim back to the river where they hatched.

They lay eggs, and the life cycle starts again.

Eggs, alevin, fry, smolt, adult, and round again!

Curriculum

Where this fits

British Columbia, Grade 2

Science, Biology: similarities and differences between offspring and parentBC2-SC-04

Previous: How Young Animals Look Like Their Parents

The outcomes and strands follow the British Columbia curriculum.

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