ButterflyBackpack

Pre–K,Kindergarten,First and Second Grade

Adventure Backpacks are self-guided tours of The Arboretum which combine teacher instruction with hands-on activities and group discussion. Each backpack is equipped with enough materials for a class of 30 to participate in the fun-filled activities. Children will learn about the attributes of insects and the life cycle of the butterfly.

Science TEKS:

Kindergarten

K.2A ask questions about organisms, objects, and events observed in the natural world

K.2C collect data and make observations using simple equipment such as hand lenses

First Grade

1.2A ask questions about organisms, objects, and events observed in the natural world

1.2C collect data and make observations using simple equipment such as hand lenses

1.10D observe and record life cycles of animals

Second Grade

2.2C collect data from observations using simple equipment such as hand lenses

2.10C investigate and record some of the unique stages that insects undergo during their life cycle

Definitions and other information to share:

Arboretum: A collection of trees and other woody plants for research and educational purposes.

Botanical Garden: A collection of plants preserved and shared with the public.

Vocabulary:Metamorphosis:a complete change in the form of an animal as it develops into an adult. Larva: The worm-shaped form of an insect. Pupa: an insect in the stage between larva and adult during which the insect is in a cocoon. Chrysalis: the hard cocoon that protects a butterfly during its change from larva to adult. Antennae: thin, moveable sensory organ found in pairs on the heads of insects. Proboscis: a long tubular mouthpiece.

Activities:

  • Introduce your students to the butterfly life cycle by reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Discuss the stages of the butterfly life cycle.
  • Decorate your classroom with butterflies. Give each child a coffee filter and markers. Have your students decorate the coffee filter. Tie the center of the coffee filter with a pipe cleaner and shape to form antennae. Hang the finished butterflies in a window.
  • Hold a butterfly parade! Allow each student to choose a butterfly to research. Give each student a poster board. Cut out the shape of butterfly wings and have the students draw, paint or decorate to resemble the butterfly they researched. Attach straps to the wings and the children can wear them in the butterfly parade. Students can also make head bands and attach pipe cleaners for antennae.
  • Plant a butterfly garden. Have your students discover which plants make good caterpillar and butterfly host plants. You can start your class butterfly garden by planting host and nectar seeds in an egg carton. When the seeds have germinated you can plant them in your school yard. Some options might include: Mexican sunflower, Marigold, Zinnia, Pentas, Mexican milkweed, Dill, Fennell and Parsley.
  • Butterflies are bilaterally symmetrical. You can use butterflies to teach your students the concept of symmetry.Give each student a butterfly cut out. Have the children fold it in half, and then spread it open. Give your students colorful paints and have them decorate one side of the butterfly only. While the paint is still wet, tell the children to fold their butterfly closed and gently press on the folded butterfly. When they open their painting, they will see a beautiful symmetrical butterfly.
  • For younger students, you can use caterpillars and butterflies as exciting teaching tools. Cut circles out of different colored construction paper. Have your students create a pattern using the circles. Add a head and antennae and they have a pattern caterpillar. Extensions on this activity might include counting by 5’s, identifying rhyming words, sequencing pictures etc. Similarly, with butterfly cut-outs you can have students match colors, shapes, letters, rhyming words, beginning consonant sounds and math facts.
  • Have your students compare their own life cycle to the butterfly life cycle. Give each child a page divided into four parts. In the first section, have your students draw the first stage of the butterfly life cycle (egg) and the first stage of their own life cycle (baby). In the second section the students will draw the caterpillar and illustrate what they looked like as a toddler. In the third section the students will draw the chrysalis and also what they think they might look like when they are teenagers. In the last section children will draw the butterfly and illustrate what they think they might be/ look like when they are adults.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Carle, Eric. The Very Hungry Caterpillar Philomel Books, 1987

Ehlert, Lois Waiting for Wings Harcourt Children’s Books, 2001

Gibbons, Gail Monarch Butterfly Dimensions, 1991

Ryder, Joanne Where Butterflies Grow Pearson Learning, 1996

Trimble, Marcia Malinda Martha Meets Mariposa Dimensions, 1999

WEB SITES:

SCHOOLYARDGRANTSFORBUTTERFLYGARDENS:

Captain Planet

National Gardening Association

PrePost/AB

Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens