Lesson Plan 6: The Life Cycle of a Butterfly (continued)

Student Name: Shawna Shipe

I. General Information:
Grade Level: Kindergarten
Discipline: Science
Unit Topic: Life Cycles
Time Frame: 45 minutes during literacy, center time
Texts: Are You a Butterfly by Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries (picture book), Quigley
the Caterpillar iPad application available for purchase, "Before You Buy" App
Walkthrough may be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NALGKWR0Uks,
Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert (picture book)
Other Materials: butterfly life cycle puppet, model paper for each student
Life Cycle of a Butterfly Model Page (see downloadable file below lesson plan), model
materials for each student: lentils, pasta spirals, shells, and bow shapes, two small leaves
for each student (real leaves, paper leaves, or students may draw), life cycle stages
recording sheet for each student: Butterfly LC Stages Recording Sheet (see downloadable
file below lesson plan)
II. Standards/Indicators
Life Science
3.C.1. Genetics: Observe, describe and compare the life cycles of different kinds of animals and plants.
3.C.1.a. Identify and draw pictures that show what an animal (egg to frog) and a plant (seed to tree)
looks like at each stage of its life cycle.
Reading Informational Text
RI1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text. With prompting and
support, demonstrate understanding orally or in developmentally appropriate writing after reading, viewing, or
listening to a text:
confirm predictions using details from the text
RI2 With prompting and support, identify the main topic and retell key details of a text.
With prompting and support, listen to a wide variety of complex informational texts.
RI3 With prompting and support, describe the connection between two individuals, events, ideas, or pieces of
information in a text.
With prompting and support, demonstrate an understanding of sequential order
Writing
W2 Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/ explanatory texts in which
they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic.
With prompting and support, express orally or via developmentally appropriate writing several
sentences using the facts that are all related to the topic.

W6 With guidance and support from adults, explore a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing
including collaboration with peers.
With prompting and support, contribute to a shared writing experience.

III. Lesson Objectives

1. Students will listen to a variety of complex informational texts throughout the unit. This
lesson includes the sixth text. (RI2)
2. Students will participate in a whole group shared writing experience as the teacher uses
word processing to type student ideas into a class created poem. The poem will be
projected on a board. (W6)
3. Students will discuss similarities and differences between Waiting for Wings and Are You
a Butterfly. (RI9)
4. Students will create a model of the life cycle of a butterfly to show what a butterfly looks
like at each stage of its life cycle and will complete a writing piece about the stages.
(3.C.1.a, RI3, W2)
IV. Procedures:
IntroductionRemind students that yesterday we learned about the life cycle of a butterfly. Have
students stand and show the life cycle stages using movements from yesterday's
movement activity.
Teaching/Activities1. Introduce the book Are You a Butterfly by Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries.
2. Read the story aloud.
3. Use the Content Area Strategy ...Is Poetry (Altieri, 2011) to help students
participate in a whole group shared writing experience. In this lesson, the poem
the class will write is entitled, A Butterfly Life Cycle Is... The teacher will use
word processing to type student ideas into a class created poem which will be
projected on a board. Students will be encouraged to use vocabulary that describes
butterfly life cycle stages. These terms will also be used during individual writing
pieces at the end of the lesson. In centers, students may write individual poems.
4. The teacher will ask the following text-dependent questions and use the Think Pair
Share strategy to allow students to discuss answers with peers and share with the
group:
Why does a caterpillar look different from its mother and father?
How do you think a caterpillar survives without a nose?
What do you think happens to a caterpillar when it is inside a chrysalis?
What does a butterfly use to drink nectar from flowers?
5. Next, the teacher will divide students into small groups. The groups will be asked
to discuss the smiliarities and differences between Waiting for Wings and Are You
a Butterfly and then share with the whole group.
6. The teacher will review the stages of the life cycle by using the butterfly life cycle
puppet and by having students show the life cycle stage movements.

7. Students will use the attached Model Page and Recording Sheet (found in the
Materials section above) to create a model of the life cycle of a butterfly to show
what a butterfly looks like at each stage of its life cycle. Students will also
complete a writing piece about the stages.
Closure- The teacher will remind students that they read Are You a Butterfly by Judy
Allen and Tudor Humphries and learned about the life cycle of a butterfly. Students will
share completed butterfly life cycle models with the class at the end of the lesson.
During center time or as a later review, students may view the eBook Quigley the
Caterpillar (link attached above).
VI. Evaluation/Assessment:
Assessment of Objectives- The teacher will observe and record students' ability to
demonstrate listening skills during the lesson on an anecdotal note page or checklist. The
teacher will observe and record students' ability to listen to and participate in the poetry shared
writing activity. The teacher will observe and record students' participation in a discussion
about similarities and differences between the butterfly life cycle texts. Students will also be
assessed on their ability to demonstrate knowledge of the sequence of a butterfly life cycle
through the creation of a model showing what a butterfly looks like at each stage of its life cycle
and a writing piece about the stages.
Sources:
Allen, J., & Humphries, T. (2000). Are you a butterfly? New York, NY: Kingfisher.
Ehlert, L. (2001). Waiting for wings. San Diego, CA: Harcourt.
Kids storybook about butterfly life cycle: Quigley the Caterpillar [ages:4 , iPad]. (2013, April 14). Retrieved
April 7, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NALGKWR0Uks
Robot Check. (2015). Retrieved April 15, 2015, from http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Kids-Life-CyclePuppet/dp/B003SZS2EU
Hildebrand, L. (2012, August 29). The Hildebrands: Our butterfly popped! Retrieved April 26, 2015, from
http://laurahildebrand.blogspot.com/2012/08/our-butterfly-popped.html
Golden Rule Design. (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2015, from http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/GoldenRule-Design
Altieri, J. (2011). Meeting the Reading Comprehension Demands of Each Content Area. In S. Fortner (Ed.),
Content counts!: Developing disciplinary literacy skills, K-6 (pp. 112). Newark, DE: International Reading
Association.
Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2014). Addressing CCSS Anchor Standard 10: Text Complexity, 91 (4). Retrieved from
http://www.literacyinlearningexchange.org/sites/default/files/la0914addressing.pdf