Primary Type: Lesson Plan
Status: Published
This is a resource from CPALMS (www.cpalms.org) where all educators go for bright ideas!
Resource ID#: 39194
Becoming a Butterfly: Reading and Writing about the
Life Cycle of a Butterfly
In this lesson students will read the informational text The Life Cycle of a Butterfly by Lisa Trumbauer in order to understand the 4 stages of a
butterfly's life. Students will use elements of nonfiction, such as photographs and diagrams, to aid in their understanding of the text. They will create
a graphic organizer and use it to produce an informative piece of writing that illustrates what they have learned through their reading.
Subject(s): English Language Arts
Grade Level(s): 2
Intended Audience: Educators
Suggested Technology: Document Camera,
Computer for Presenter, Interactive Whiteboard,
Overhead Projector
Instructional Time: 5 Hour(s)
Resource supports reading in content area: Yes
Freely Available: Yes
Keywords: butterflies, life cycle, sequencing, writing
Instructional Design Framework(s): Direct Instruction, Writing to Learn
Resource Collection: CPALMS Lesson Plan Development Initiative
LESSON CONTENT
Lesson Plan Template: General Lesson Plan
Learning Objectives: What should students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?
Utilizing the text The Life Cycle of a Butterfly, students will answer who, what, when, where, and how questions about the text.
Students will describe the four stages of a butterfly's life cycle using the text The Life Cycle of a Butterfly.
Students will use information gathered in The Life Cycle of a Butterfly to write a paragraph that describes the four stages of a butterfly's life cycle.
Students will use context clues and glossaries to define the meanings of selected vocabulary words in the text.
Students will identify the main purpose of The Life Cycle of a Butterfly.
Students will explain how the diagram on page 20 of The Life Cycle of a Butterfly helps them understand the text.
Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?
Students should be able to write complete sentences.
Students should be able to use correct capitalization and punctuation in their writing.
Students should have had some prior experience with sequencing events.
Students should be able to use sequencing or time order words in their writing.
Students should be able to begin paragraphs with a topic sentences or brainstorm a topic sentence with teacher and peer guidance.
Students should be able to write a closing sentence or brainstorm a closing sentence with teacher and peer guidance.
Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?
What do we want to learn about caterpillars?
page 1 of 5 How do the photographs in the text help us understand the meaning of some of the words?
How can the sentences that come before or after new words help us figure out their meaning?
How can the glossary help us when reading the text?
Why do you think the author wrote this book?
Why do you think the author included photographs and diagrams in this book? Do you think that they are important? How so?
How can you explain what you learned about the life cycle of a butterfly to a person who hasn't read the book?
What words could you use in your writing to help them understand the order things happen in?
What are some important details that need to be included when you talk or write about the life cycle of a butterfly?
Teaching Phase: How will the teacher present the concept or skill to students?
The "Hook" and Activation of Prior Knowledge
Day One:
1. Show the children pictures of baby animals and their parents (ex. dogs, cats, rabbits, etc.). You can even show them a picture of you as a baby.
2. Ask students what they notice about the pictures. Do they see similarities between the parents and babies? What are they?
3. Then, show them a picture of a caterpillar and a butterfly.
4. Explain that a caterpillar is a baby butterfly.
5. Ask students what is different about the caterpillar and butterfly compared to the other pictures of babies and their parents. They should answer that in the other
pictures all the babies look like their parents, but the baby caterpillar does not look like the butterfly.
6. Have students take out journals or pass out a piece of writing paper.
7. Give students 5 minutes to write everything they know about caterpillars and butterflies.
8. Let students share what they wrote.
9. Write the information on a chart to display in the classroom. Things can be added to the chart throughout the lesson.
Introducing the Concept or Skill
Day Two:
1. Teachers will be using the text The Life Cycle of a Butterfly by Lisa Trumbauer. It is recommended to have at least 4 copies.
2. Split students into groups of four. It is recommended to use reading levels to group students so teachers can provide the appropriate amount of support or
independence. For this assignment I group strong readers together. This allows for more independence in reading the text on their part. Grouping struggling
readers together allows me to use necessary reading strategies (choral reading, echo reading).
3. Ask the whole group the guiding question: What do we want to know about caterpillars? (Answer: How do they change into a butterfly?)
4. Tell students that they are going to learn about that in the book, The Life Cycle of a Butterfly. Note for teachers: This book has a lower reading level (ATOS 1.8). It
was chosen because nonfiction vocabulary and text can be more difficult to read and understand than fiction.
5. Write the vocabulary words caterpillar, molts, chrysalis, hatch, and life cycle on chart paper or a white board.
6. Instruct students to look for these words as they read and see if they can figure out their meanings.
7. Have students partner read the book. The teacher can change this part depending on their group's ability level. They can choral read the text with lower level
groups or have above level groups read independently.
8. When groups are done reading, go back to the list of vocabulary words.
9. Ask what the students think each word means. Record responses.
10. Ask the guiding question: How do the pictures help you figure out the word meaning? (pg. 13, the picture of the chrysalis is a good example of how the picture
shows what something is when the words do not).
11. Ask the guiding question: How can we use the sentences before or after the word to figure out the meaning? (Pg. 11 (molts) is a good example of this.)
12. Direct students' attention to the glossary in the back of the book. Ask the guiding question: How does a glossary help us figure out the meaning of a word?
13. Check student definitions of words against the glossary's.
Day Three:
1. Split students into the same groups again.
2. Have them reread the text for fluency. Lower level groups can "round robin" read, other groups can partner read or read independently.
3. Ask basic comprehension questions:
How does a caterpillar begin life?
What does the caterpillar do immediately after it hatches from the egg?
What else do caterpillars eat?
What happens to the caterpillar as it grows?
What does "molts" mean?
After the caterpillar hangs upside down what does it do?
What comes out of the chrysalis?
How long does the caterpillar/butterfly stay in the chrysalis?
How long do butterflies live?
How does the life-cycle start all over again?
4. Ask the guiding question: How does the diagram on page 20 help you understand this text? (Especially in regards to the last question) Ask the guiding question:
What do you think is the main reason the author wrote this book? This would be a good place to talk about nonfiction and how the author's purpose in nonfiction is
to inform or teach.
Guided Practice: What activities or exercises will the students complete with teacher guidance?
Introducing the activity
Day Four:
Review the guiding question: Why do you think the author used a diagram in her book? Show students pg. 20 and explain that they will be making their own diagrams
to show the life cycle of a butterfly. This activity can be done whole group. You may want to provide a book for students to consult at each table. Display the chart you
page 2 of 5 made earlier in the lesson. It should now have the added vocabulary words for students to reference. Students are going to create a graphic organizer that shows the
life cycle of a butterfly. Students will be able to use this as a guide when writing the final assessment.
1. Give students a large piece of construction paper.
2. Have them draw 4 boxes with arrows on the paper (see Attachment 1 graphic organizer.docx for an example of what this should look like). Model this.
3. Instruct students to draw a picture of each stage of the butterfly's life in the box, and then write sentences to tell what happens in each stage. It is recommended
that students have at least two sentences per box.
Student Actions during the activity
Students will draw pictures that show the 4 stages of the butterfly's life cycle.
Students will write sentences explaining what happens in each stage.
Teacher Actions during the activity
Monitor students to make sure they are on the right track.
Encourage them to check the book and the chart.
Suggest they use learned vocabulary words.
Read/show examples of good work.
Independent Practice: What activities or exercises will students complete to reinforce the concepts and skills developed in the
lesson?
Introducing the activity
Day Five: **This is done after the closure activity. The closure activity is the graphic organizer.
1. Go back to the guiding question: What do we want to learn about caterpillars? Ask students if they learned how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly.
2. Explain to students that they are ready to show what they know! Pass out the graphic organizers they made yesterday. Tell them that they are going to write a
paragraph telling about the life cycle of the butterfly and that they will be able to use their graphic organizer to help them.
3. Give students five minutes to turn to their shoulder partner (the person sitting next to them) and have them explain their graphic organizers to each other as a
review.
4. Display the attached rubric for their writing assignment on the board. Go over the requirements so students know what is expected of them. (This is where the prior
assessment of students' writing abilities will be useful. The teacher may have needed to teach mini-lessons on using sequencing words in writing.) The teacher may
want to brainstorm opening sentences and write ideas on the board for students to choose from. Depending on students' ability, the teacher may want to give some
students sentence frames to work with.
Expected Student Products and/or Performance
Students will write a paragraph that explains and gives details about the life cycle of a butterfly. The paragraph will include an opening sentence, text vocabulary,
sequencing words, details, and a closing sentence. Writing will contain correct punctuation and capitalization.
Closure: How will the teacher assist students in organizing the knowledge gained in the lesson?
Lesson Review Activity (Teacher Guidance Required)
The true closure of this lesson actually happens during the creation of the graphic organizers because that is where the students are able to organize their thinking.
Ideas for sharing after the lesson:
1. Make diagrams of the life cycle of a butterfly using different pasta shapes (see link: http://mrspetitesteachingpassion.blogspot.com/2011/03/life-cycle-ofbutterfly.html). This would be a nice addition to a bulletin board where you displayed their writings.
2. Send groups of students to different people at the school (ask in advance), like the principal, librarian, or bookkeeper and let students read their paragraphs.
Summative Assessment
The teacher will determine if students have reached the learning targets for this lesson through reading their final written assignment.
The teacher will use the following prompt: Explain and describe all four stages, in the correct order, of the life cycle of a butterfly. Use vocabulary words from the text
in your writing.
The teacher will use a rubric to assess their writing. The numbers listed are suggested points for each part of the paragraph.
1. Topic sentence - 1
2. All four stages of the life cycle are included: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly - 4
3. Stages are in the correct order - 4
4. At least one detail for each stage is included - 4
5. Vocabulary words are included (caterpillar, chrysalis, egg, life cycle, molt) - 5
6. Ending sentence -1
7. Sentences are complete thoughts - 10
8. Sentences begin with a capital letter - 10
9. Sentences end with the correct punctuation - 10
10. Neatness - 1
Total points possible: 50
In the attachment below, pre-typed numbers are left off the rubric. This makes it easy to make modifications for students during the grading process. For example, you
may require only six sentences for students who are struggling writers. The points above are just a suggestion for the majority of the class. LIfe Cycle Rubric.doc
The teacher should also show the students the rubric before they begin to write and explain expectations. This helps students focus on what is important.
Formative Assessment
Since the final product of this lesson is an explanatory writing, the teacher will assess students' ability to write to explain before beginning.
Give students this simple prompt: Explain how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Students will write with no guidance from the teacher. The teacher will
look for topic sentences, sequencing words, ending sentences, and writing conventions. This will let the teacher know if they will need to do some writing mini-lessons
to reinforce some skills. Teachers may also need to work in small groups with some students to re-teach skills or give extra support while writing.
Check for prior knowledge before beginning the lesson. Give students five minutes to write "everything they know" about butterflies in their journals. Then students will
share what they know with the class. As they share, write the information on a chart to display in the classroom. As students move through the lesson and learn new
page 3 of 5 things they can add them to the chart. This will include new science vocabulary.
During the lesson, as the teacher goes through the text, focus on helping students use sentence clues and pictures/diagrams to figure out the meanings of the new
vocabulary words. As the class learns them, add them to the chart. This will also help students understand how diagrams can contribute to and clarify a text. Ask the
question, "How do the pictures and/or diagram help you figure out the meaning of this word?"
Data collection method: The teacher will collect student writings and check them for the necessary skills. The teacher will listen to students tell what they know
about butterflies and record answers to assess what they already know about the topic.
Use of performance data: The teacher will use the writing data to decide if they need to teach whole group or small group mini-lessons on certain writing skills (ex:
topic sentences, sequencing words, closing sentences, writing conventions). This information will also let the teacher know which students may need extra support or
modification during the writing assessment.
Feedback to Students
A key assignment during this lesson will be to create a graphic organizer that shows the life cycle of a butterfly using pictures and words (including appropriate
vocabulary). The teacher will collect and give feedback on the completeness and correctness of the graphic organizer before the final assessment is due. Students will
be able to use the graphic organizer as a guide to writing the final assessment.
Students can draw their own graphic organizer as opposed to the teacher giving them a worksheet. A large sheet of construction paper can be used and the teacher
can draw a model on the board to help them get started. See attached example below. This organizer resembles the diagram at the end of the text, so this would be a
good place to review how diagrams can clarify a text. However, the teacher can use their own judgment based on the needs of their class. If needed, the teacher can
print out the attached graphic organizer for the students to use. Attachment 1 graphic organizer.docx
Throughout the lesson the teacher will also ask who, what, when, why, and how questions to informally assess students' understanding of the text.
Delivery of Feedback: The teacher will check students' graphic organizers for accuracy. Students will be given an opportunity to revisit the text and make additions or
corrections to the graphic organizer as needed. Students will also get immediate feedback when they answer the informal comprehension questions. Teachers and
students can revisit the text as necessary to ensure understanding.
ACCOMMODATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Accommodations:
Provide differentiated support depending on the level of readers in the reading group (ex: choral read with students who have lower reading levels).
Allow students to use an opening/closing sentence that was generated by you or the class.
Provide sentence frames for struggling writers. They can either copy the sentence frames on their own paper or they can fill in the blanks. These can be as simple
as providing the appropriate sequencing words (First, ______________, Next, ________________, Then, ______________, Last (or
finally)________________________. If students need more assistance forming sentences than this, I suggest working with them in a small group and writing the
sentences together, modeling the process.
Peer edit or teacher edit writing before handing the paragraph in.
Let students use the previously attached worksheet for their graphic organizer instead of drawing their own.
Extensions:
Compare and contrast the life cycle of a frog to the life cycle of a butterfly.
Learn more about butterflies (ex: migration). Do an independent study and report findings to the class.
Read other books about the life cycle of a butterfly and incorporate extra details from those books into final writings.
Suggested Technology: Document Camera, Computer for Presenter, Interactive Whiteboard, Overhead Projector
Special Materials Needed:
Chart paper
At least 4 copies of The Lifecycle of a Butterfly by Lisa Trumbauer
Large construction paper for the graphic organizer
Crayons
Pencils
Writing paper
An interactive white board, document camera, overhead projector, or a regular white board/chalkboard would all be suitable for modeling for the class (ex:
showing them how to draw the graphic organizer or writing the list of possible opening sentences)
Copies of the attached rubric
Optional:
A variety of other books on butterflies (extension activity)
Books on the life cycle of a frog (extension activity)
The attached worksheet form of the graphic organizer
Pasta shapes, paper plates, and paint for the activity outlined on the website
Further Recommendations:
Split students into groups by their reading level so that you can provide the appropriate level of support during reading to each group.
Other students can be doing their normal reading centers while you are working in reading groups.
As an alternative to the above suggestion: students could be doing butterfly related centers while you are working with groups.
I suggest doing the graphic organizer and final writing assessment as whole group activities.
page 4 of 5 SOURCE AND ACCESS INFORMATION
Contributed by: Noelle Karcz
Name of Author/Source: Noelle Karcz
District/Organization of Contributor(s): Sarasota
Is this Resource freely Available? Yes
Access Privileges: Public
License: CPALMS License - no distribution - non commercial
Related Standards
Name
LAFS.2.RI.1.1:
LAFS.2.RI.2.4:
LAFS.2.RI.2.6:
LAFS.2.RI.3.7:
LAFS.2.W.1.2:
Description
Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key
details in a text.
Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area.
Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe.
Explain how specific images (e.g., a diagram showing how a machine works) contribute to and clarify a text.
Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and
provide a concluding statement or section.
page 5 of 5