Life cycle

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Home : 2003 : February : 14

Life cycle
By Jackie

I taught a small unit on butterflies to my first graders and they loved it. Mainly we discussed the life cycle of the butterfly. I made a poster board to illustrate each of the four stages egg, caterpillar, chryslais, butterfly.
I taught a seperate lesson for each of the stages. First we talked about eggs, and what type of animals hatch from eggs. Then I ordered some caterpillars from the Carolina company (www.carolina.com or 800-334-5551). I ordered a "Raise-A-Butterfly Kit" #GW-14-4010 which was $22.95. The caterpillars came in a small plastic cup and I allowed the students to pass the cup around

and look at them. Over time they formed a chrysalis at the top of the cup. You then transfer the top of the cup to a larger plastic container, which they give you. Then you just wait for the little beauties to come out. The kit gives detailed instructions and is very informative. The students loved to watch them. We also kept track of the life cycle by counting the number of days they spent in each stage. The kit would be wonderful to place in a center.
As far as a play goes you could have a few students be the butterfly and display it's life cycle. They would start out as eggs on a leaf, and all the other students could be animals that pass by them and wonder about them. One wise animal, maybe an owl, could tell what the eggs are. Then they would turn into caterpillars, and the animals would look at them and notice them as a part of the garden/forest. You could continue through the other life stages, and have the other animals react in different ways to their changes.I hope this helps. Good luck.
Jackie