DESCRIPTIVE PARAGRAPHS II
Grade 5

Write three descriptive paragraphs about bullfrogs.
The topic sentence for each paragraph is given to you.
Read about bullfrogs here.

Bullfrogs
Fast Facts

Size: 3.5-6 in.

Description: green to greenish-brown; bullfrogs of the South are often spotted. Irises of eyes gold or brown. Both head and body are flattened and broad. The tympanum (eardrum) of the male is larger than that of the female.

Life span: average 4 to 5 years

Range: Nova Scotia to central Florida, west to Wisconsin and the Rockies;

Habitat: vegetation along the edge of large, slow moving, bodies of freshwater.

Diet: voracious appetite, will eat almost anything that moves and that it can swallow, including invertebrates and small vertebrates such as mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, even turtles and other frogs.

Fun Facts

1. Bullfrogs are capable of leaping 3-6 ft.
   
2. Bullfrogs are territorial and protect their territories by calls, displays, chases, jump attacks, and even wrestling. Females are attracted to males with the territories that provide the most food.
   
3. A female bullfrog may lay up to 25,000 small eggs that are held together at the surface of the water.
   
4. Bullfrogs have teeth in the roof of their mouth and a muscular tongue capable of flipping prey into their mouth.
   
5. Bullfrogs may remain at the tadpole stage for up to 2 years. A longer tadpole stage means a larger frog after it changes, which usually means a better chance of survival.
   
6. Hearing is one of the most important senses to a frog. Male bullfrogs chorus at breeding ponds; females also make aggressive and reciprocation calls.
   
7. Bullfrogs close their nostrils and continue to breathe through their skin while under water.

Ecology and Conservation

Where bullfrogs are naturally found, they help keep populations of insects, such as mosquitoes, in check (under control). But they have been introduced into areas of the western United States where, because of their appetite, they are capable of destroying local populations of native species. Their populations can increase to become out of balance with the species native to those habitats because often they have no natural predators. Their skins gives off a poisonous liquid which makes them not too tasty to many animals.

Copy and print the activity below to do in your classroom.