Flying with the Butterflies!

Flying with the Butterflies

Level: Third Grade
Subject: Science
Topic: Metamorphosis

Introduction
Butterflies are very beautiful insects and are very eye catching but even harder to catch! But did you know they go through many stages before they become butterflies? They actually are caterpillars before and then they start going through the process of Metamorphosis.



Task
In the next three weeks we will be caring for butterflies from the early stages of a caterpillar. We will be responsible for feeding them and keeping them safe. Once they are full grown, we will set them free!



Process

1. A butterfly kit will be purchased beforehand by teacher from this website: http://www.butterflyschool.org/teacher/borrow_kit.html
This exercise will take three weeks because that is how long it takes a butterfly to go through its life cycle.
2. We will record in our journals each week the difference in the appearance of the butterflies. (Color, Size, Shape, Etc.) Perhaps, we could make drawings in our journals too? Or, take digital photos?
3. During these three weeks we will be taking care of butterflies by feeding them and making sure their habitat is kept clean. What do they have to do each day? Be specific. Do you have a resource explaining how to care for butterflies? What do they like to eat, etc?
4. On Monday-Thursday we will record information in our journals and take care of our butterflies. What info exactly must the students record? Do you have any worksheets to help with this? Perhaps a different aspect each day? What about a personal reflection or a personal journal of how much the student changed in the three weeks too? (ie. Lost a tooth; grew ¼ inch; etc.) This will connect to the idea of metamorphosis.Then if everything goes on schedule on Fridays we will watch episodes of The Magic School Bus, Bill Nye the Science Guy, and National Geographic about butterflies. NICE.
5. At the end of our three weeks and out butterflies are grown and went through every stage of their life cycle we will set them free if weather permits.

Resources


1. Facts about Butterflies: http://insected.arl.arizona.edu/bflyinfo.htm

2. Facts about the Viceroy Butterfly: www.ivyhall.district96.k12.il.us/4th/kkhp/1insects/viceroy

3. Life Cycle of a butterfly (activities): www.billybear4kids.com/butterfly/flutter-fun.html



Evaluation
Your journals will be graded on how well and how often you recorded information. You will also be graded on how clean you kept your butterfly habitat. Good. But only if you give students specific guidelines to follow.

Journals: 50%
Habitat: 50%

Conclusion
Congratulations you have now taken care of and learned about butterflies. Now we will get a chance to visit the Butterfly Garden in the Botanical Gardens.

For Extra Credit:

What did you learn about taking care of butterflies.Was it a lot of responsibility or were you able to handle it with out a problem?