11C Constancy and Change #3 Some small changes can be detected by taking measurements....

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Butterfly 1: Observing the Life Cycle of a Butterfly

To observe and identify the characteristics of the life cycle of a butterfly.

A fundamental observation skill in science is comparing and contrasting. In this lesson, students will observe one organism over time and compare its early development (caterpillar) to its later development. Students will also compare actual characteristics of a butterfly with a fictional representation of a butterfly.

Through a series of activities, students will study the life cycle of a butterfly while noting its development as it metamorphoses from a caterpillar to a butterfly. During this time, students will learn about the attributes of a butterfly through both observation and comparing and contrasting.

In this lesson, students will keep a "butterfly journal" of observations and activities. Depending upon the individual skill level, students can use words, pictures, or illustrations to record their observations. The American Museum of Natural History offers an online sample field journal page made specifically for butterfly watching that can be printed out and bound at the end of this lesson. The Earth's Birthday Project website also offers a Journal Observation Page that would be more suitable for older students.

This lesson is the first of two lessons which focus on butterflies and their habitats. In the follow-up lesson, A Butterfly's Home, students construct an environment suitable for a butterfly's survival.

Prior to beginning this lesson, you will need to be prepared with a "Butterfly Kit" which can be purchased through a variety of businesses, including The Earth's Birthday Butterfly Activity Kit. Your choices for a kit may vary depending upon your classroom needs, but the following activity can be used with any kit or classroom arrangement, ranging from one butterfly for the class to observe to one butterfly for each student. Make sure that your kit starts with "eggs" and not caterpillars, pupa or butterflies.

You will need a copy of the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.

Time: Approximately 30 minutes with 30 days of observation

Show children the Science NetLinks student page titled What's Happening Here? This online booklet depicts the life cycle of a butterfly using photos from the Captain's European Butterfly Guide website. This booklet is intended to spark discussion. It can be revisited at the end of the lesson to see how student responses have changed. You may also wish to print out a copy for each student.

To begin the lesson, tell students that they will learn about how the butterfly changes throughout its life.

Begin the lesson by saying to students: "Let's describe a caterpillar." Use this caterpillar image to help stimulate conversation. This activity can be done with the whole class as a brainstorming session with the teacher recording responses on a large chart while students record the responses on their individual sheets. Or, students can work in small groups and come up with ideas that they add to a group chart and share with the class. It is okay to accept all answers. Later, students will return to the responses on the chart and develop criteria to determine which of the statements represent facts that they observed during their own observations of a butterfly's life cycle.

Life Cycle of a Butterfly
Read The Very Hungry Caterpillar to the class. As soon as the story is finished, look back through the book and ask children to think about how the caterpillar changes in the story.

Explain that butterflies go through a growing process during which their appearance changes drastically. Ask them to list (or draw) in their science journals the ways in which the "very hungry caterpillar" changed during the course of the story. Encourage them to use the following terms:

• egg
• larva or caterpillar
• pupa, chrysalis, or cocoon
• adult butterfly

• size
• color
• shape
• activity
• diet

Bind the students' journal pages into a "journals". Students can create "butterfly shaped" covers by taking 11 x 17-inch construction paper, folding it over, and cutting an outline of a butterfly's wing. They can then add spots of paint to one of the wings, and then fold over the other wing so that the paint is symmetrical on both sides. The bound journal pages can then be inserted "into" the butterfly. (Teacher note: You may wish to wait until you have completed related lessons including A Butterfly's Home before binding the books.)

Draw a diagram of the life cycle of the butterfly. Alternative activities based on a student's learning style are:

• act out the life cycle of a butterfly
• place life cycle cards in order using Butterfly Life Cycle from the Earth's Birthday Project website
• create a song about the life cycle of a butterfly to a familiar tune

For a follow-up lesson on butterflies and how they adapt to their environments, go to the Science NetLinks lesson entitled Butterfly 2: A Butterfly's Home.

The Earth's Birthday Butterfly Activity Kit is part of the Earth's Birthday Butterfly Program, an established, annual event. Each spring, classrooms across the country throw a birthday party for the Earth, culminating in the release of butterflies - butterflies that students raise from caterpillars right in their own classrooms. From the website, you can download a 48-page activity guide that contains a wealth of engaging ideas. Also, you can order Earth's Birthday Project Caterpillars, which are delivered each year, from March to July.

For Spanish-speaking ESL students, the Magic School Bus also has an activity called A Butterfly Grows Up in which the students create mini-books about the life cycle of the butterfly.

Created : 10/20/2001