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Art Integration Lesson Plan Template

LTC 4240: Art for Children




Lesson Title & Big Idea: Life Cycles Grade Level: 3
Lesson Overview/Summary:
Students will learn about the lifecycle of a caterpillar by reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar as a whole class, discussing
the steps a caterpillar takes to become a butterfly, and creating a paper wind chime that represents the different life
stages.


Class Periods Required:

1 2 3
Key Concepts:
1. Visual Art: I want students to know how a wind chime can represent the life
cycle of a caterpillar.
2. Literacy: I want students to know that they can often use books to find the
answers to questions they may have.
3. Science: I want students to know that life cycles are a part of life and that
studying a caterpillar is a good way of understanding what a life cycle is.

Essential Questions:
How can we describe a life cycle?
What stages does a caterpillar go through? How about in the book The
Very Hungry Caterpillar?
How can we use a wind chime to represent the life cycle of a caterpillar?


Lesson Objectives:
1. Visual Art: The students will be able to properly show/display the stages of a caterpillars life cycle using their creative skills to create a wind chime.
2. Literacy: The students will be able to look for information by reading through a book.
3. Science: The students will be able to correctly explain the cycle that a caterpillar goes through throughout its life.
Grade Level Expectations (GLEs) :
1. Visual Art:
Demonstrate an additive process (e.g., string, card-board, glue, found objects)
Compare different responses students may have to the same artwork
Identify the following artworks: Symmetry
2. Literacy:
Apply pre-reading strategies to aid comprehension: prior knowledge
Apply post-reading skills to demonstrate comprehension of text:
Identify and explain relevant connections between text to world
3. Science: Pose questions about objects, materials, organisms, and events in
the environment
Common Vocabulary:
Life cycle: A series of stages
Wind chime: An arrangement of materials hung so as to strike each other
and make noise when moved by the wind.
Cocoon: A silky envelope spun by the larvae of many insects.


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Content Areas Integrated:
1. Visual Art (Inspiration Artist: Eric Carle)
2. Literacy
3. Science

Lesson Activities & Procedures:
1. Students will get to observe our classrooms new pets, caterpillars!
2. We will talk about what a life cycle is and try to list some animals we
might know that goes through a life cycle
3. The class will come together and read The Very Hungry Caterpillar and
take notes on the different stages the caterpillar goes through.
4. After reading the book, we will discuss as a class what we noticed.
5. We will go over the life cycle stage together and make any clarifications
needed.
6. DAY 2 Student will review what they have learned about life cycles in
general and specifically for caterpillars.
7. I will then show a model of the wind chime they are to make.
8. We will go through each step of making the chime together (each stage is
hanging lower than the next)
9. We will then talk about why the wind chimes we made could be used to
represent the life cycle of a caterpillar.
10. Students will draw a caterpillar timeline
Anticipatory Set:

Students will meet our new classroom pets, caterpillars!
Closure:
Students will create a simple timeline of a caterpillars life.


Formative Assessment strategy:
Listening to class discussion and observe the amount of difficulty students are
having in deciding on the order to place their wind chime pieces in.

Summative Assessment strategy:
Review students caterpillar timeline for accuracy.


What student prior knowledge will this lesson require/draw upon?
Students will be asked to draw upon their prior knowledge of what a caterpillar is and what other animals they know of that might go through a life cycle.
They will need to know how to glue, use scissors, and color.

How will you engage students in imagining, exploring, and/or experimenting in this lesson?
I will engage students by allowing them to color the images whatever colors they desire. They will be able to use their imagination while drawing their
timeline of a caterpillar because they can make the figures look any way they want.
How will this lesson allow for/encourage students to solve problems in divergent ways?
This lesson doesnt necessarily allow for this because it is pretty cut and dry. The lesson doesnt bring up any problems to solve, it just informs the student on
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what life cycles are and how to represent them.

How will you engage students in routinely reflecting on their learning?

I will do this by bring up different times in the class that we talk about an animal or item that goes through a cycle. We will be able to compare these other
animals to what we have learned about caterpillars and their life cycles.
How will you adapt the various aspects of the lesson to differently-abeled students?

Depending on the type of adaptation that is needed, I could possibly give a student the wind chime pieces that are already cut out, opposed to having the
student struggle with cutting them out themselves. Students could also work in groups so they can bounce ideas off of each other and provide peer support
when needed.

What opportunities/activities will students be given to revise and improve their understandings and their work?
Once I get the opportunity to look at their wind chimes and time lines, if I see fit, they will be able to conference with me and we will be able to revise and
discuss together. This will make sure they get any one-on-one time that may be needed.


What opportunities/activities will you provide for students to share their learning in this lesson?

Once students have completed their time lines, they will be able to share their pictures with their pods groups. They will also be able to show their groups
the colors they chose to use when creating their wind chime.









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References

Carle, E. (19951992). The very hungry caterpillar. Great Britain: Mantra
. (n.d.). Dictionary.com. Retrieved April 30, 2014, from http://dictionary.reference.com
Silverstein, L. B. & Layne, S. (n.d.). Defining arts integration. Retrieved from
http://www.americansforthearts.org/networks/arts_education/publications/special_publications/Defining%20Arts%20Integration.pdf