“Creepy Caterpillars Can Create” Laurie DiMartino ED 200 Curriculum Project Spring 2006 Trinity College

Intro  The thematic unit for this curriculum project is exploring the Life Cycle of a butterfly.  This is curriculum is to be applied in a kindergarten classroom.

Objectives Students will…  think critically about the stages that are involved in the transformation of caterpillar to butterfly.  will employ bodily kinesthetic, musical, and naturalistic intelligence to learn a song and dance that explains the metamorphosis of a butterfly.  will form an understanding of the life cycle of a butterfly and apply that knowledge in multiple tasks that will be evaluated by the teacher.

Activity Schedule DAY 1 Read, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle. Introduction to the life cycle of a butterfly unit. Prior to reading the book children will be asked by the teacher “what they know” about caterpillars, along with what they want to learn about caterpillars. Day 2 Go over Life Cycle diagram of a butterfly, using sequence cards. The teacher will emphasize the different stages and the importance of their order. Students will then be given the four stages; (egg, larva, pupa, and adult butterfly). Students will color them and paste them on a sheet in correct order. Day 3 Watch the Movie, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”. The caterpillar in this story enjoyed many foods. Prepare a graph with the foods the caterpillar ate. Give each child a post-it note and have them place it on the area of the graph that is their favorite food. Day 4 Read, I’m a Caterpillar, by Jean Marzollo. Reading Level 1. Pick out words in book to create a pre writing exercise. Along with an arts and craft activity. Students will be given construction paper to create a caterpillar, and then write one or two sentences using the words from the book. Day 5 Teach children caterpillar dance and song. “The little caterpillar crawled up into a tree, Spun his cocoon and slept so quietly, All through the winter he didn't make a sound, He dreamt of his new life when he'd be flying all around. While he was sleeping the snow did gently fall, Winter came and went, then he heard the robin's call, “Come on Mr. Butterfly, out of your cocoon Spread your wings and fly for me, while I sing my tune.”

Evaluation  The teacher will evaluate the students on the following criteria using a rubric scale of 1-4:  Class participation  Effort  Completion of assignments  Card sequencing  Application and understanding of knowledge in pre-writing exercise