Lesson Plan

From Bugs to Butterflies-The Transformation of Caterpillars to Butterflies

Stage 1 Desired Results
Content Standard(s):

Florida Early Learning and Development Standard

Domain II. Approaches to Learning

II A. Eagerness and Curiosity

1. Shows curiosity and is eager to learn new things and have new experiences.
Understandings: Essential Questions:

Students will be able to demonstrate flexibility, What do we already know about butterflies?

imagination and inventiveness when approaching What do caterpillars turn into?

new tasks such as going on nature walks over

How long do you think it will take for the
several weeks and observing butterflies that fly
caterpillars to transform into butterflies?
around the plants and flowers in our courtyard.

Students will use magnifying glasses and have

access to scientific tools and take photographs of

their discoveries of the nature walks (using kid

friendly cameras.) This will encourage thought

provoking questions to enhance their learning

about butterflies.

Students will demonstrate eagerness to learn

about butterflies. (This was initially why this

project was chosen.)

Students will understand that a caterpillar

transforms into a butterfly by observing 5

 caterpillars in our classroom transform into

butterflies.

Students will be able to identify the four stages

of the butterfly cycle.

Students will set their own personal goals by.

The children will make their own class book that will include each child in my class observing butterflies.

The book will be one that can be added to throughout the various stages of this unit. The students can

reflect on their learning and their understanding of butterflies and the process of the transformation from

caterpillars to butterflies.

Progress on students' personalized goals will be monitored by

My observations of the students eagerness and curiosity about the changes in the real caterpillars in our

classroom.
My students will check their progress by consistently being inquisitive about what has happened with the
 caterpillars each day. They will make observations and I will write down their dictations as well as hang

up their drawings about how the caterpillars have changed and put them on our documentation board

which includes many enlarged photographs of the butterfly cycle and encourages conversations about our

project.

Rules and Procedures

Upon arrival to school each day, students get time to observe the caterpillars at the science table.
As a class we talked about how to be safe when observing the caterpillars so they could turn into

butterflies. (I have a parent who volunteers to help facilitate this process. She is able to monitor the

children as well as write down dictations or tape record conversations.)

Stage 2 Assessment Evidence Directly Aligned to Content Standard

Pre-Assessment, including analysis of the pre-assessment results.

In order to gain prior knowledge of what my students already know about butterflies the student will be

asked what they already know about butterflies.

The students will reflect on the experiences observing the butterflies on the playground.
The students will look at enlarged photographs of the different stages of the butterflies and the students

will be able to talk about what they know as a group. Their conversations will be recorded.
Visual ques will be used in the small groups due to the limited vocabulary of three and four year old

children and facilitate conversation.

The students will be given sequencing cards to put in the order of the butterfly cycle in order to pre-

assess their knowledge of the stages of the butterfly cycle.

 Graph to Show What Mrs. Elstads Class Knows about Butterflies
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0 # of Students with Knowledge of subject

Performance Task(s) or Assignment Description(s):

The goal of this lesson/unit is to study the life cycle of the butterflies using a project approach based on

the students natural curiosity of butterflies that they observed on their playground.
Students will observe five caterpillars transform into butterflies in the classroom.
Students will be involved in various activities which will include literacy connections to The Very

Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. This literacy connection will help them make associations to the real

caterpillars growing and transforming into butterflies.

Students will be exposed to many different ways to express their understanding of the transformation

process through drawings, dictations, photographs to make comparisons and through exploring different

art materials such as clay to demonstrate their understanding of what the different stages of the butterfly

cycle look like.

Rubric:
Learning Exceeds Meets approaching
Target
Butterflies
Student can Student can name 5 parts of Student can name 3 parts of a Student can name 1 part
identify parts a butterfly after the unit is butterfly after the unit is of the butterfly when
of a butterfly complete. complete. unit is complete.
Student is Student can explain what a Student can state what a Student does not make
aware that a caterpillar turns into and caterpillar turns into. the connection between
caterpillar can also describe two a caterpillar and a
turns into a details of the butterfly.
butterfly transformation process.
For example: The student
can describe that the
caterpillar builds a cocoon
and grows into a butterfly.

Student can The student can name the
name the four four stages of the butterfly
stages of the cycle and can demonstrate
butterfly life with their body the four
cycle. stages. (Curl up like an
egg, crawl like a
caterpillar, be as still as a
chrysalis and fly like a
butterfly.
Students can identify two Student cannot name any
stages of the butterfly life of the butterfly life cycle
cycle and demonstrate with stages.
their body any two of the
stages. (Crawl like a
caterpillar, fly like a
butterfly.)
Self or Peer Assessments Formative Assessments, Summative

Students will use a flannel board to recreate and Assessments, etc.

demonstrate their understanding of the Students will be asked to tell me what they

transformation process of a caterpillar using the know individually about the butterfly cycle.
Students will tell me individually what they
story pieces for The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by
want to find out about the butterfly cycle.
Eric Carle. They can use the book to help them

put the story in the correct sequence.

Students can do the flannel board activity with a

partner to share ideas and help each other.

Stage 3 Learning Plan Directly Aligned to Content Standard AND Assessments

Learning Activities:

This project/unit has been a process of over a period of several weeks, The way in which I will teach my

lesson next week will be the releasing of the butterflies outside, as they will have transformed by the end of

this coming week.

The class will come together during morning circle. At this time I will ask essential questions (10

minutes.): This will help the students focus on the task at hand which is reviewing what we have

learned about our hands project on the transformation of caterpillars to butterflies.

1. How did the caterpillars transform into butterflies? (They ate the food in the kit, crawled to the top

of the container and formed chrysalises. They grew into butterflies and came out of out of the

cocoons, they ate nectar in the butterfly netting cage and now they are ready to fly outside.)
(Curiosity, Context)
 Pre-assessment (10 minutes) in small groups of three students during learning centers. The students will

demonstrate their understanding of the sequence of the butterfly cycle using sequencing cards. The

sequencing cards are enlarged photographs of the different stages in which our caterpillars made their

transformation. ( Coherence, Connection, Concentration)

The students will then participate in a large motor activity which involves singing a song that they act

out the different stages of the butterfly cycle. (10 minutes)

(Connection, Coaching, Context)
In a learning circle the class book will be read to the students and as a class we will reflect on all of the

stages of our projects. I will also play some of the recordings of the students making observations of the

past weeks. (Connection, Coaching)

The final part of the lesson will be to walk out to our courtyard and set the butterflies free. This will

provide the students with real world context of making the connections to butterflies and nature.

(Curiosity, Context)

Stage 4 Feedback Strategies, including Timeliness

For Early Childhood students the feedback strategies must be immediate, flexible and interactive. The way in

which feedback will be provided to my students is as follows:

By using a documentation board to hang up dictations as well as their drawings and their photographs,

gives the students immediate feedback throughout this project. This encourages provoking questions

and conversations with me as well as with their peers and parents.

Revisiting the class book with all of the stages of the project that is relevant to the children, provides

constant feedback and helps children make connections daily.

 Releasing the butterflies will give them a hands on experience of seeing the end result of their

caterpillars transforming, therefore giving the students instant feedback because of the hands on

learning experience of watching the caterpillars transform into butterflies and watching them be

released outside.

References

Epstein, Ann S. "How Planning and Reflection Develop Young Children's Thinking Skills."

Beyond the Journal, 2003. Accessed 23 Apr. 2017.

Goodwin, B., & Hubbell, E. (2013). The 12 touchstones of good teaching. Denver,

CO: McRel.