Butterfly Lifecycles    

All organisms have a life cycle.  Each cycle stage has special 

    characteristics and basic needs.

 

 

 

 
Elena Maciel
Introduction
Standards 
Objectives
Activities
Assessment 
Results
Resources

  .
Image © Paul Opler
Painted Lady Butterfly
Vanessa cardui is a widespread butterfly in temperate and some tropical areas. It also known as the thistle butterfly and the cosmopolitan. The Painted Lady has a 2 - 2 7/8 inches (5.1 - 7.3 cm) wingspan. Adults sip thistle nectar and some hibernate. The life cycle begins with tiny, pale green eggs. The yellow-striped, brown-green spiny caterpillar builds a silky, webbed nest, usually in thistle. Family: Nymphalidae

Introduction
.Students are better able to appreciate science via direct observations and hands-on activities.  This web site supports a 15 lesson hands-on science unit in which students observe the life cycle of the Painted Lady Butterflies.  During this unit, students watch their own caterpillar grow, shed its skin several times, transform into a chrysalis, and emerge as a black and orange butterfly - all within less than a month.

Standards Addressed: Life Science

Second Grade
Life Sciences: Plants and animals have predictable life cycles.  As a basis for understanding this concept:

a. Students know that organisms reproduce offspring of their own kind and that the offspring resemble their parents and one another.

b. Students know the sequential stages of life cycles are different for different animals, such as butterflies, frogs, and mice.

c. Students know many characteristics of an organism are inherited from the parents.  Some characteristics are caused or influenced by the environment.

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Instructional Objectives

After observing the complete lifecycle of the butterflies, students will learn the following concepts:  

  • the different stages of a butterfly's life cycle are the egg, larva, caterpillar, chrysalis and the adult butterfly.
  • caterpillars need food, air, and space to live and grow.
  • the caterpillar forms a chrysalis, and a butterfly emerges from the chrysalis.
  • a butterfly needs food to live, but it does not grow after emerging from the chrysalis.
  • a butterfly lays eggs, which hatch into larvae.

Students will be able to demonstrate the following skills:

  • observing, describing, and recording growth and change in the larva.
  • predicting, comparing, and discussing the larva's appearance and change over time.
  • communicating observations through drawing and writing.
  • relating observations of the butterfly's life cycle to student's own growth and change.
  • extending knowledge of butterflies through reading.

Students will develop the following attitudes:

  • developing an interest in studying insects.
  • appreciating the needs of living things.
  • valuing scientific information that has been collected over time.
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Student Activities
Insert brief summaries of your introductory, enabling, and culminating activities. Insert links to online resources in your text and insert links to activities on your student lesson web site.
Introductory Activity
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Enabling Activity(ies)
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Culminating Activities

Students will choose from one of the following culminating activities.

Culminating Activity 1: Comparison Drawing of the Butterfly

Materials: For each student 

  • 1 sheet of drawing paper 
  • 1 drawing of a butterfly they completed in Lesson 1
  • 1 box of crayons

Preparation:

  1. Prepare a display area (bulletin board or clothesline).  Give the area a title, such as "Look How Much We Have Learned about Butterflies."
  2. Retrieve the students' original drawings of a butterfly from Lesson 1.

Procedure:

  1. Tell the class that today they will see for themselves how much they have learned about butterflies.  Remind them of their previous drawings, which you have kept safe (and hidden).  Tell them that they each will compare their old drawings  with today's new one.  Assure them that they will be pleased to see how much they have learned.
  2. Instruct students to draw a butterfly with as many details as they can remember.  Ask them to pay attention to the numbers of parts (such as legs, eyes, and wings) and to where the parts are located.
  3. When everyone is finished, pass out the old drawings and let the children compare the two to evaluate their own progress.
  4. Display the "before" and "after" pictures side by side on the bulletin board or clothesline.  Give the students time to look at each other's work.  Stress that this is a time to notice how much they have all learned and an opportunity o congratulate one another.  The teacher might model an observation to set a positive tone.

Culminating Activity 2: Following up on the Student Brainstorming Sessions about Caterpillars and Butterflies

Materials: The student-generated lists saved from the brainstorming sessions.

Procedure:   Display the lists and look at them with the students.  Here are some ways to     approach analyzing the lists to point out student progress:

  • Ask students to point out statements on the lists that they now know to be true without a doubt.  What experiences did they have during the unit that confirmed these statements?  Leading questions may be helpful, such as "How do you know that?" and "Tell what happened next."
  • Ask students to correct or improve statements.  Have students give reasons for the corrections.
  • Ask students to contribute new information to the lists.  What else have they learned?

Culminating Activity 3: Writing about the Life of a Butterfly 

Materials: For each student

  • Pencils and Paper

Procedure: 

  1. Ask students to imagine the eggs that their butterflies laid outside after they were released.
  2. Now, have them imagine what happens to the eggs.  Tell them to write the life story of that egg.  Emphasize that the story should begin and end with the egg.
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Assessment
Insert your grading rubric for the culminating activity or a link to your rubric or test document file.
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Results
After implementing your lesson (sometime between January & March), insert a chart of your pre-test, post-test, and culminating assessment data.
Proficiency of students demonstrating the following skills and attitudes after completing the Lifecycle of Butterflies unit.

5

4

3

2

1
Student can use a magnifier effectively.          
Student is aware of the needs of living things.          
Student observed growth, changes, and behaviors of the caterpillars and keep written record of observations.          
Student identified the head, two kinds of legs, eyes, mouth, and bristles.          
Student observed a caterpillar molting.          
Student observed evidence of changes in caterpillars including how he sheds his skin, head capsule, frass and silk.          
Student made reasonable predictions about stages in the life of a a butterfly.          
Student understood why a caterpillar molts.          
Student observed the J-shape stage and recorded observations.           
Student observed the chrysalis and recorded observations.          
Student identified the four wings, six legs, two antennae, proboscis, and eyes.          
Student compared the way a butterfly eats with the way a caterpillar eats.          
Student understands that butterflies have their place in the environment.          
Student organized data and used it to answer questions.          
Student distinguished an insect from a non-insect.          
Student understands that butterflies goes though a life cycle and can sequence it correctly.          
Student followed general directions.          
Student recorded observations with drawing and words          
Student worked cooperatively          
Student contributed to discussions.          

 

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Web Resources & Supplementary Materials

Introductory Activity
List and link the web resources for this activity here. Also link supplementary materials such as PDF files and /or document files.

Enabling Activity
List and link the web resources for your learning activity(ies) here. Also link supplementary materials such as PDF files and /or document files.

Culminating Activity
List and link the web resources for this activity here. Also link supplementary materials such as PDF files and /or document files.

Students will inevitably ask question which we may not be prepared to answer .  We can go to this web site together as a class to find some answers to the most frequently asked questions regarding butterflies: http://www.mesc.nbs.gov/butterfly/butterfly-faq.html

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Heber Elementary
1052 Heber Avenue, Heber, CA  92243


Elena Maciel and emaciel@rohan.sdsu.edu
Last Revised: 00/00/2000 (insert and update last revision date every time you work on this page)