First Grade Science

Jamilyn Keele
4/9/20

LESSON RATIONALE
In this lesson, students will be able to see the growth and change of an animal through the
different phases of its life cycle. Students will be able to watch change over time in their
classroom.

READINESS
I. Goals/Objectives/Standard(s)
A. Goals
1. Students will observe and understand how animals/insects change over
time.
B. Objective
1. Upon recording information on the caterpillar/butterflies, students will
understand and be able to explain the change that a butterfly goes through.
C. Standards
1. 1.LS.3 Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity
of life in different habitats
2. ISTE: 1c - Stay current with research that supports improved student
learning outcomes, including findings from the learning sciences.
II. Management Plan
A. Time - 40 minutes
1. Anticipatory set - 2 minutes
2. Read Book - 5 minutes
3. Guided practice - 10 minutes
4. Independent practice - 15 minutes
5. Review/closure - 8 minutes
B. Space
1. Students will begin on the carpet for the book and the review of the life
stages for the butterfly
2. Students will move to groups around the room to listen to their videos and
to create their illustrated directions
3. Students will join back together on the carpet to present their work and
review their learning
C. Materials
1. Board pictures
2. Expo marker
3. The book From Caterpillar to Butterfly
4. iPads
 5. Paper
6. Crayons and markers
D. Behavior
1. Students will listen and collaborate with one another during their group
work
2. If students are not able to work together in a group, they will work
separately at their own desks
3. All students should be engaged and are invited to ask questions to further
their understanding of the material
III. Anticipatory Set
A. “When I was little, my mom helped me and my sister to raise Monarch butterflies
from baby caterpillars to adult butterflies. We built their habitat, fed them,
observed them as they grew bigger and eventually became butterflies.”
IV. Purpose Statement
A. “Today we are going to learn all about monarch butterflies and the life cycle that
butterflies go through. It is important to know the life cycle of a butterfly in order
to observe change over time.”

PLAN FOR INSTRUCTION

V. Adaptations
A. Students who have trouble working in groups or do not want to work in a group
can do the activity on their own. They may watch the video independently and
work on the instructions on their own.
B. Students who need more support will be working with other students who will
help guide their learning and keep them on task
C. For students who need to be more challenged, they can write directions as well as
illustrate them. (I will go around the room encouraging this if I see that they need
a challenge).
VI. Lesson Presentation
A. “The first thing that we are going to do today is to learn about the stages of a
butterfly. I have different pictures here for the four different stages of a butterfly.”
Put your laminated pictures on the board. “To understand the different stages of a
butterfly, we are going to read this book! It is called From Caterpillar to Butterfly
written by Deborah Heiligman. Listen close and pay attention to how the
Caterpillar changes from a baby to an adult butterfly.” Read the book.
B. “Let’s think through the new words that we learned. Metamorphosis is a big
word. I’ll write that word on the board. Metamorphosis means the process of
transformation. Larva is another new word for us to learn. Larva means a baby
insect. Chrysalis is another big word that refers to the coating that the caterpillar
makes to turn into a butterfly. Now raise your hand and help me to identify the
four-stage of a butterfly life cycle.” Allow students to raise their hands and
 answer. You are looking for 1. Egg, 2. Larva (caterpillar), 3. Pupa (chrysalis), 4.
Butterfly. Write these four stages above the pictures.
C. “Thank you so much for helping me to remember the four stages of the life cycle
for a butterfly. I have a secret to tell you guys!!! We are going to raise our own
butterflies from larva all the way to a grown-up butterfly!” Allow them to be
excited. “Before we are able to welcome our little caterpillars into our classroom,
we have to do some research first. You are going to work in groups of three to
research the habitat (where the caterpillars need to live), the food the caterpillar
will eat, and the food the butterflies will eat. In your groups, you will be assigned
a video to watch and conduct your research from. Work together to watch the
video, gather information, and write instructions for me on how to care for a
caterpillar from larva to butterfly. You HAVE TO INCLUDE the habitat, the food
for the caterpillar and the butterfly. There will be multiple groups working on a
topic because there are so many of you. Your final project will be an illustration
of how to complete your task. You can add directions if you want, but I want to
see colorful drawings on how to build a habitat for a caterpillar/butterfly and how
to feed a caterpillar or butterfly. I will split you into your groups and will ask one
member to grab their iPad so that your group can watch the video. I will set the
timer for 15 minutes. When the timer goes off please clean up your materials and
return to the carpet, seated with your group, to listen for the next directions. If you
feel that your group finished early, please recheck your work to make sure you
did not miss any details. If your group is completely done ahead of time, you may
go grab your book box and read silently.” Split the class into groups of three and
help them begin their research and drawing instructions.
D. Videos
1. Habitat
a) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bamajex9T3g
b) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kdl7Olug2-k
2. Caterpillar food
a) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYbMScXPEV0
3. Butterfly food
a) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KfBoQXNokI
b) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqcyfZNf1p4
VII. Check for Understanding
A. Walk around the room and conduct a formative assessment as they work in their
groups. Who understands the task and who may need more support?
B. While labeling the phases of a caterpillar’s life and transformation into a butterfly,
be taking note of students who are helping and confident and students who are
quiet and unsure.
C. Summative assessment is taken as a grade when students present their directions
for the research that they conducted.
VIII. Review Learning Outcomes/Closure
A. “Alright, the timer just went off so please clean up your work and find a seat on
the carpet with your group. Thank you so much for all of your help! If you did
research on the butterfly and caterpillar habitat, please go to the front of the room
with your group. This group is going to share what they found first and then we
will go down the line and have the rest of the groups share what they discovered.”
Continue this presentation with the other two groups. Have a checklist of
required things that they should have included in their directions.
1. Habitat
a) Milkweed
b) Hoary vervain (maybe)
c) Open space to fly
2. Caterpillar food
a) Plants
b) Leaves
c) They have to eat a lot
3. Butterfly food
a) Nectar
b) Mouth straw/proboscis
c) fruit /sweet/sugar
B. “Thank you guys so much for your hard work. I wonder if the type of plant or
nectar that a butterfly or caterpillar eats or drinks is different for different types of
butterflies? We will continue to learn about butterflies and their life cycle as we
prepare to bring our own little baby caterpillars into our classroom!”

PLAN FOR ASSESSMENT

● Formative
○ Working together at the board with the students to label the phases of a butterfly
life cycle
○ Walk around the room and observe their knowledge and understanding while they
are working in groups
● Summative
○ Taking a grade when students present their illustrated directions based on their
research that they conducted

REFLECTION AND POST-LESSON ANALYSIS

1. How many students achieved the lesson objective(s)? For those who did not, why not?
2. What were my strengths and weaknesses?
3. How should I alter this lesson?
4. How would I pace it differently?
5. Were all students actively participating? If not, why not?
6. What adjustments did I make to reach varied learning styles and ability levels?
7. Can students explain the life cycle of a butterfly?
8. Should students spend more time researching before we get the caterpillars?
9. What do students need to be re-taught, if anything?

● there are different ways to order the caterpillars

○ www.naturegifts.com
■ Each kid gets their own cup (you could write their names on it and they
can have their own caterpillar)
■ Have extras to incase one dies
○ www.insectlore.com
○ www.monarch-butterfly.com
■ Other kits for other insects as well