Miss Kolod's Butterflies Blog by Lauren Kolod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Creative Commons
Miss Kolod's Butterflies Blog by Lauren Kolod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Lesson Plan
The Life Cycle of a Butterfly
Grade Level/ Subject: 1st Grade – Science, Language Arts
Approximate Time: 20 minutes/day for about 3 weeks, or for the full butterfly life cycle
Student Objectives/ Student Outcomes:
• Students will be able to identify the stages in a butterfly's life cycle.
• Students will be able to observe the changes the caterpillar/butterfly undergoes each day and write or blog about it
• Students will be able to create an Animoto video to demonstrate the life cycle of a butterfly, arranging the stages of a butterfly's life cycle in the correct order.
Content Standards:
• 3.C Communicate ideas in writing to accomplish a variety of purposes
• 3.C.1b Create media compositions of productions which convey meaning visually for a variety of purposes
• 12.A Know and apply concepts that explain how living things function, adapt, and change
• 12.A.1a Identify and describe the component parts of living things and their major functions
• 12.A.1b Categorize living organisms using a variety of observable features
• 13.B Know and apply concepts that describe how living things interact with each other and with their environment
Materials/Resources/Technology:
• Caterpillar/ butterfly habitat kit
• Digital camera
• Computer
• www.animoto.com
• http://misskolodsbutterflies.blogspot.com/
Implementation:
Opening of Lesson: (Objectives, hook, behavior, expectations) First, the teacher will introduce the butterfly unit to the students. S/he will set expectations about the way the caterpillars should be treated and how to handle them. Then, the caterpillars will be introduced to the students and they will have time to observe them. Throughout the butterfly unit, students will be completing many other activities, including hands-on projects, creative writing, SmartBoard activities, BrainPop Jr. activities, and others to reinforce the concepts being learned about the life cycle of a butterfly.
Procedures: Once students have had the opportunity to observe the caterpillars, the teacher will model the first blog entry of how to take a picture with the digital camera and brainstorm with the students what they can observe about the caterpillar, using their senses. Each day, the students and/or teacher will take a picture and make another blog entry about how the caterpillar has changed. Students will also discuss why they think some caterpillar behaviors are occurring (i.e. Why is he hanging in a “J”? What is the web for? What is the small black stuff at the bottom of the chrysalis from?) and predict what the caterpillar will do next. To make the blogging/journaling more manageable for first grade and engaging for all students, the teacher may want to have students write in a butterfly journal and take turns blogging for the remainder of the butterfly’s life cycle.
Summary and/or closing: At the end of the butterfly unit, students will be able to look back at the blog posts and discuss how the caterpillar/butterfly changed over time. From the pictures, each student will also use Animoto to make a video to show the life cycle of the butterfly, choosing a picture from each stage to represent it and then describe which stage it is. A portion of a sample video can be found here: http://animoto.com/play/gd71lD7tAxy378oPitusWA
Critical Thinking Questions: The main critical thinking questions in this lesson will be based on how the caterpillar/butterfly are changing. Students will be asked to observe what is happening using all of their senses and make predictions as to what will happen to the caterpillar/butterfly next. Students will also be encouraged to come up with questions on their own about the changes in the butterfly life cycle.
Accommodations for Individual Needs: During the course of the butterfly’s life cycle, the teacher will give each student the chance to do at least one blog entry and take at least one picture. Also, students can collaborate on blog posts and share their ideas, having one person be the reporter, one a photographer, and one an observer so students of multiple abilities can participate in at least one of the jobs. The teacher may also want to check for student understanding along the way by conferencing with students and talking with them individually about their observations.
Assessment: Students will be assessed using anecdotal assessment during the lesson, using their journals to see the observations that they made, and finally, from the Animoto video they create. In the Animoto video, students will be assessed as to whether they have the steps of the life cycle in order (egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly) and whether or not they described them appropriately.
Grade Level/ Subject: 1st Grade – Science, Language Arts
Approximate Time: 20 minutes/day for about 3 weeks, or for the full butterfly life cycle
Student Objectives/ Student Outcomes:
• Students will be able to identify the stages in a butterfly's life cycle.
• Students will be able to observe the changes the caterpillar/butterfly undergoes each day and write or blog about it
• Students will be able to create an Animoto video to demonstrate the life cycle of a butterfly, arranging the stages of a butterfly's life cycle in the correct order.
Content Standards:
• 3.C Communicate ideas in writing to accomplish a variety of purposes
• 3.C.1b Create media compositions of productions which convey meaning visually for a variety of purposes
• 12.A Know and apply concepts that explain how living things function, adapt, and change
• 12.A.1a Identify and describe the component parts of living things and their major functions
• 12.A.1b Categorize living organisms using a variety of observable features
• 13.B Know and apply concepts that describe how living things interact with each other and with their environment
Materials/Resources/Technology:
• Caterpillar/ butterfly habitat kit
• Digital camera
• Computer
• www.animoto.com
• http://misskolodsbutterflies.blogspot.com/
Implementation:
Opening of Lesson: (Objectives, hook, behavior, expectations) First, the teacher will introduce the butterfly unit to the students. S/he will set expectations about the way the caterpillars should be treated and how to handle them. Then, the caterpillars will be introduced to the students and they will have time to observe them. Throughout the butterfly unit, students will be completing many other activities, including hands-on projects, creative writing, SmartBoard activities, BrainPop Jr. activities, and others to reinforce the concepts being learned about the life cycle of a butterfly.
Procedures: Once students have had the opportunity to observe the caterpillars, the teacher will model the first blog entry of how to take a picture with the digital camera and brainstorm with the students what they can observe about the caterpillar, using their senses. Each day, the students and/or teacher will take a picture and make another blog entry about how the caterpillar has changed. Students will also discuss why they think some caterpillar behaviors are occurring (i.e. Why is he hanging in a “J”? What is the web for? What is the small black stuff at the bottom of the chrysalis from?) and predict what the caterpillar will do next. To make the blogging/journaling more manageable for first grade and engaging for all students, the teacher may want to have students write in a butterfly journal and take turns blogging for the remainder of the butterfly’s life cycle.
Summary and/or closing: At the end of the butterfly unit, students will be able to look back at the blog posts and discuss how the caterpillar/butterfly changed over time. From the pictures, each student will also use Animoto to make a video to show the life cycle of the butterfly, choosing a picture from each stage to represent it and then describe which stage it is. A portion of a sample video can be found here: http://animoto.com/play/gd71lD7tAxy378oPitusWA
Critical Thinking Questions: The main critical thinking questions in this lesson will be based on how the caterpillar/butterfly are changing. Students will be asked to observe what is happening using all of their senses and make predictions as to what will happen to the caterpillar/butterfly next. Students will also be encouraged to come up with questions on their own about the changes in the butterfly life cycle.
Accommodations for Individual Needs: During the course of the butterfly’s life cycle, the teacher will give each student the chance to do at least one blog entry and take at least one picture. Also, students can collaborate on blog posts and share their ideas, having one person be the reporter, one a photographer, and one an observer so students of multiple abilities can participate in at least one of the jobs. The teacher may also want to check for student understanding along the way by conferencing with students and talking with them individually about their observations.
Assessment: Students will be assessed using anecdotal assessment during the lesson, using their journals to see the observations that they made, and finally, from the Animoto video they create. In the Animoto video, students will be assessed as to whether they have the steps of the life cycle in order (egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly) and whether or not they described them appropriately.
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