I. Curricular Framework

Concept:

Change

Essential Question:

How is a butterfly’s life cycle similar to our own life cycle?

Bridge:

Creative Movement

Content:

The Butterfly Life Cycle

Outcomes:

II. Standards Aligned

III. Instruction and Assessment

1. Connect: Connecting to the Concept Experientially

Objective: To create an experience enabling children to imagine the life of a caterpillar.

Activity: At the beginning of this unit, bring in cocoons to hatch for students' observation. (Hatching time is about 3 weeks.) Have the children close their eyes and imagine they are a caterpillar. Conduct a guided imagery that leads them through its life cycle.

Assessment: Enjoyment and engagement of students

2. Attend: Attending to the Connection

Objective: To enable students to analyze their feelings while "being" a caterpillar.

Activity: Teacher-led discussion with accompanying mindmap of children's reactions to how it felt to be a caterpillar outside and inside the cocoon and how it felt to be a butterfly. Ask each student to share which phase they liked best and graph student responses. Discuss feelings about changes.

Assessment: Student contributions to the group and individual responses

Assessment, Phase One, Level of Engagement, Fascination:

3. Image: Creating a Mental Picture

Objective: To deepen students' awareness and understanding of the butterfly life cycle.

Activity: Teacher reads The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle. Teacher leads students through a creative movement exercise with colored scarves and music (Pachelbel Canon in D works well here). Students act out being caterpillars with lights on, being in the cocoon with lights out, and emerging as butterflies with lights on again.

Assessment: Student participation in the activity and whether or not their movements "make sense."

Assessment, Phase Two, Seeing the Big Picture:

4. Inform: Receiving Facts & Knowledge

Objective: To teach the specific stages and attributes of the butterfly life cycle.

Activity: Students view a film on the cycle of a butterfly. Students check out library books on the subject of caterpillars and butterflies. Teacher provides important information and key vocabulary words.

Assessment: Teacher verbally checks for understanding during instruction.

Assessment, Phase Three, Success with Acquiring Knowledge:

5. Practice: Developing Skills

Objective: To provide guided practice for life cycle stages and vocabulary.

Activity: Students complete review worksheets sequencing the butterfly life cycle and reinforcing the vocabulary words through a crossword puzzle and matching activity.

Assessment: The quality of their worksheet activities.

Assessment, Phase Four, Success with Acquiring Skills:

6. Extend: Extending Learning to the Outside World

Objective: To further expand and reinforce student understanding of life cycle concepts.

Activity: Students participate in the following sequenced learning center activities designed to reinforce each life cycle phase:
1. Create caterpillar eggs from rice glued onto green construction paper leaves.
2. Select a picture of a caterpillar from a book`. Reproduce it using egg carton pieces and felt-tipped pen.
3. Create a cocoon from 2 egg carton cups wrapped with yarn.
4. Make the butterfly which emerges from that cocoon. Copy its picture from the book and draw an outline of its wings and body. Design its wing patterns with chalk and outline it with a thin line of Elmer's glue. Let dry thoroughly. Color with oil pastels. Cut out finished butterfly.
5. Display butterflies on large bulletin board and/or hang from ceiling.

Assessment: Quality of student projects.

7. Refine: Refining the Extension

Objective: To review and synthesize all previous lessons.

Activity: Assign students to cooperative learning groups. Each group plans how they will complete one of the following:
1. Write a factual book which will be donated to the school library.
2. Demonstrate the life cycle of a butterfly through a skit presented to another class.
3. Create and perform a puppet show portraying the butterfly life cycle.

Assessment: Enjoyment and understanding as evidenced by the accuracy of student projects.

8. Perform: Creative Manifestation of Material Learned

Objective: To give students an opportunity to share what they learned.

Activity: Children either share their book with others, or perform skits and puppet shows. Invite another class to view the now-hatched live butterflies. Release butterflies outside. Read Monty, by James Stevenson, a story of the life cycle of a butterfly that is a metaphor for our own life changes.

Assessment: Participation, cooperation, and delight in the learning.

Assessment, Phase Five,Performance, Creative Use of Material Learned: