These extensions are brought to you by other teachers who have used this unit. They have not been evaluated by The Einstein Project. (Rev. 4/27/2012)
ACTIVITIES:
The Einstein Project requests that you not release your butterflies into the wild.
Write a butterfly report with a 5th grade buddy or older student
Write a story, "If I were a butterfly"
Make clothespin butterflies, w/attached magnet, out of coffee filters & food coloring [could also insert fabric scraps]. Can use as a remembrance of release day.
Cutting lesson to reinforce symmetry of colors and design patterns
For Lesson 11, transfer several butterflies from the flight cage into 9 oz. clear cups with a lid. Each set of partners is then able to clearly examine the butterfly colors and body parts.
Use pasta to represent each stage of a Painted Lady's life cycle
Create caterpillars out of marshmallows, spiders out of Oreo cookies – great for remembering body parts
Make a bead bracelet that represents the butterfly lifecycle: yellow – egg, green [3] – caterpillar, white – chrysalis, last – butterfly bead.
Expand on the theme of life cycles (ie. Frogs) and on characteristics of insects
- do a tadpole lifecycle at the same time - wonderful to observe and compare the two cycles.
Journal in a booklet shaped like a butterfly
Model (paper cardstock) of caterpillar & butterfly with word cards
Do "The Caterpillar and the Polliwog" choral reading
Make caterpillars out of egg cartons
Use Kidspiration webbing software to make information webs. Students made webs and add facts throughout the unit as the caterpillars change.
Plant mallow plants or flowers that will attract butterflies in school yard or nature center.
Students can do a PowerPoint presentation at the end of the unit to report what they have learned (integrates technology).
Paint "hand" butterflies on shirts
INQUIRY:
Program for parents – butterfly poetry, songs, reader's theater, cookies
Metamorphosis - students should know more about the process - complete and incomplete
Field trip to:
- Barkhausen Nature Center
- NEW Zoo
- Green Bay Botanical Garden
- Wildlife Sanctuary (excellent follow up, released butterflies in their garden)
- Mosquito Hill, New London (has a butterfly house- go early in Sept.)
Show an insect collection
Have a butterfly cake & read butterfly poems on release day
Review information with baseball science
BOOKS:
(about butterflies) - National Geographic
"Life Cycle of a Butterfly"
"Caterpillar Caterpillar" - Vivian French
"Charlie the Caterpillar"
VIDEOS:
"Butterfly" - Magic School Bus
"Backyard Safari – Butterflies" - PBS program
Enough/Too Much Food?
Teachers are sent some extra larvae to allow for any loss of larvae in-transit. The container of food you receive is enough for the 30 larvae, as long as too much food is not being put in the cups.
If not enough/too much food is put in the cups, it starves/crowds the larvae and reduces the chances of completing their life cycle.
Approximately 1/4" of food in the 1 oz cup is needed. Your instructions say a spoonful (and you are given a white plastic spoon). If you use a rounded spoonful, it is too much food.
