Title – All About Butterflies

By – Desiree Winters

Primary Subject – Science

Secondary Subjects – Language Arts, Computers / Internet

Grade Level – K-2

Topic/Unit:

Life Cycle

Content:

This lesson is intended to teach the life cycle of a butterfly. Students will make colorful butterfly models and use the internet to learn more about the life cycle of a butterfly. Students will use the knowledge they learn to create a life cycle chart using Kidspiration software.

Benchmarks:

L.OL.E.2 Life Cycles – Plants and animals have life cycles. Both plants and animals begin life and develop into adults, reproduce, and eventually die. The details of this life cycle are different for different organisms.

Goals and Objectives:

• Students will be able to identify the stages in a butterfly’s life cycle.
  
• Students will be able to create a butterfly model, arranging the stages of a butterfly’s life cycle in the correct order.
  
• Students will be able to put the different stages of the butterfly’s life cycle in the correct order using the Kidspiration software.

Learning Resources and Materials:

For the class:
• Live butterfly kit for the classroom to view the life cycle (optional)
  
• 
  The Very Hungry Caterpillar
  
  by Eric Carle
  
• Computer with Internet access for teacher to show kids pictures and information about the butterfly life cycle.

For every student or small group of students:

• Computer with Kidspiration software
  
• Large sheet of construction paper
  
• Tempera paints
  
• Scissors
  
• Glue
  
• Pipe cleaners
  
• Strips of heavy duty paper like butcher paper
  
• Pencil
  
• 8 inch strip of masking tape
  
• 2 index cards cut in half
  
• Popcorn kernel
  
• Marker

Development of Lesson:

Introduction:

• First, we will talk about the life cycle of the butterfly and the stages that the butterfly goes through; egg…larvae…pupa…butterfly.

• We will then see a PowerPoint slide show by Natasha Brown of the various stages of the life cycle of butterflies and frogs that includes questioning of students’ prior knowledge of baby animals and their parents:
  

  http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/science/science2a.htm

  
  .

  After the introduction, we will read
  
  The Very Hungry Caterpillar
  
  by Eric Carle and then make model butterflies. The students will color and shape their butterflies, then add antennae and attach the names of the different stages with a replica of each stage down the body of the butterfly. We will then go over the stages of the butterfly once more, after which the students will use Kidspiration to put the pictures of the different stages in the correct order.

Methods/Procedures:

• Read the story,
  
  The Very Hungry Caterpillar
  
  by Eric Carle to the class to get students more involved with the caterpillar and the butterfly. Stop periodically to ask questions to interpret the story and answer any questions the students may have. Then, read the story again and go over the stages in the book. The students will then act out the various stages using their hands.
  
  Egg – hand in fist position
  
  Larva – index finger extended, scrunched, extended, …
  
  Pupa – index finger inside other hand’s fist (like hot dog)
  
  Butterfly – two hands interlocking and doing flying motion

• Next, students will make a butterfly model. Fold the piece of white construction paper in half. Open it back up and on half of the paper have a student drip different colors of tempera paint, starting by the fold. After colors have been dripped, fold the paper back together and starting at the center of the fold, smooth the paper towards the two outer corners. Open the paper to see the butterfly design. Let the paint dry. Once the paint is dry, the butterfly needs to be cut out. If the shape looks like a butterfly, you can have students cut around the paint to make the butterfly. If the shape doesn’t, then you may make a stencil for students to trace around on the folded sheet so the butterfly is symmetrical.

• After the butterfly has been cut out, the student will glue the strip of heavy duty paper to the front of the butterfly in the center to make the butterfly body. (The bottom part of the strip is where they will put the other stages of the life cycle.) Have the students use the marker to draw a face on their butterfly. While that dries, have students write the different stages of the butterfly’s life cycle on the pieces of index cards. (Egg, Caterpillar, Chrysalis, Butterfly) These will need to be written on the board or a place where students may copy them down. If students aren’t writing on their own yet, write the words with dotted letters for the students to trace. Next, students will glue the stage words on the strip of heavy duty paper, starting at the bottom with the egg and working their way up until they label the butterfly at the top. Have them add the popcorn on the egg strip, a bent pipe cleaner on the caterpillar strip, and the rolled up masking tape on the chrysalis strip, to show “examples” of each stage. If you want, you may add pipe cleaner antennae to the butterfly to finish it off.

Accommodations/Adaptations:


For the students really interested in reading that are also good listeners, they can act out the story. While other students, who may be withdrawn, can draw pictures or write a poem or a story. There are so many different levels to this lesson where instruction can be given on a student-by-student level if needed. Students can also be grouped allowing instruction tp be given to 3-4 students at once and permitting the students to work more independently together.

Assessment/Evaluation:

• The students will have to place the stages of the butterfly life cycle and the replica of each stage in the correct order. This is done during the lesson, so if anyone is having issues, needs more time, or has questions, it can be gone over before the class as a whole moves on.

• At the end of the lesson students will have to place the correct pictures of the butterfly life cycle in the correct order using the Kidspiration software in the chart that is set up by the teacher or by using the Kidspiration life cycle template.

Closure:


At the end of the lesson we will go over the stages of the life cycle of a butterfly by acting them out using our hands and doing simple body movements to accompany the hand movements to keep the students involved.

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Desiree Winters

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