"Beautiful Butterflies"

 

 

 

TEKS: 

            Science: 3.8(a) observe and describe habitats within ecosystems

                           3.8 (d) describe how organisms modify environment to meet their needs

                           3.9 (a) observe and identify characteristics that allow survival

 

Materials:

 

 

·        plastic cup with lids

·        media

·        pupa

·        adhesive backed magnets

·        wax paper

·        book

·        construction paper

·        bow tie pasta, spiral pasta, large shell pasta

·        dried peas (one/student)

·        glue

·        markers

·        wiggle eyes (2 sets/student)

·        M&M's

·        Candy corn

·        Plastic bowl

·        Die cut butterflies

·        Tape

·        Chart paper

·        Bread (four slices)

·        Food coloring (red, blue, yellow, green)

·        Blind fold

·        Temper paint

·        Pipe cleaner

·        Magnet tape

·        Clothes pins

·        Wax paper

·        Old, broken crayons

·        Iron

·        Towel

·        Scissors

·        Fishing wire

·        Green yarn

·        Small twigs

 

Objectives:

 

·        Read butterfly life cycle book

·        Look at mounted butterflies in museum

·        Guided imagery (outside)

·        Construct egg carton life cycle

·        M&M camouflage game

·        Hidden butterflies

·        Students develop reasons why it is important for butterflies to be camouflage

·        List students ideas

·        Protective coloring activity

·        Play predator/prey game (outside)

·        Symmetric painting

·        Butterfly magnet

·        Wax stained glass

 

 

 

 

Activities:

 

Activity 1: Book and discussion

·        Read book about the life cycle of a butterfly.  While reading the book the students should be allowed to ask questions about how the butterfly is developing.  After the book has been read the students should be questioned about the information in the book. 

·        The students will then be taken into the gallery of the museum to look at butterflies that have already been mounted.  The students will be encouraged to look at the butterflies body parts and coloring.

 

Activity 2: Protective coloring

·        The instructors will complete this part of the activity preparation the previous day.

a.)    Peel off and discard the crust of four slices of white bread

b.)    Break each bread slice into 20 small pieces

c.)    Leave the pieces of one slice white, color the other three slices red, blue, and green

d.)    For each color mix together 1/4 cup water and 10 drops of food coloring

e.)    Soak pieces of bread in colored water

f.)      Spread pieces of bread onto cookie sheet and allow to air dry (overnight)

·        Choose an area with short grass where many birds are seen

·        Let students place each different colored bread pieces in a circle of about 12 inches in diameter, 6 feet apart from each other

·        Ask students to think about why we have done this, and what they think will occur to the bread over the next 4 hours

·        The bread will be gathered later in the afternoon

·        When the bread is gathered the students should discover that more of the red, white, and blue colored bread is gone (the green will be left because it will not be easily seen in the grass)

·        Extend this into a discussion:  "What if the bread were insects or butterflies which would have been eaten by the birds?"  "How could this help to extend the life of the insect or butterfly?"

 

Activity 3: Guided Imagery

·        Students will be taken outside to sit on the sidewalk in the sun

·        One instructor will read "A Day In The Life Of A Butterfly"

·        Students will be asked to close their eyes and picture in their minds the story that is being read to them

·        When reading is completed the students will be allowed to discuss feelings they experienced

 

Activity 4: Construct a “Life Cycle of A Butterfly”

·        Cut a sheet of construction paper into strips that are 3x8 inches wide and divide the paper into four equal sections

·        Punch one hole in the top of the paper and tie a piece of yarn through the hole

·        Cut a leaf shape from green construction paper

·        Glue the leaf to the first box and glue one pea to the leaf (egg)

·        Glue some bits of green yarn in the second section for grass

·        Glue one piece of spiral pasta onto the yarn (caterpillar)

·        Glue on small twig to the third section

·        Glue one piece of shell pasta to the twig (chrysalis)

·        Color one piece of bow tie pasta with a marker, tie a small piece of pipe cleaner around the pasta, and glue two wiggle eyes to the front of the pasta

·        Glue this piece of pasta to the bottom section of the paper (butterfly)

·        Discuss with the students the life cycle that the butterfly goes through

 

Activity 5: M&M Camouflage Game

·        Before the activity is begun the instructor will mix together in a bowl M&M's and candy corn so that the yellow and orange M&M's are camouflaged

·        Allow each student to pick out of the bowl the first five M&M's that they see

·        Instruct the students to NOT eat the M&M's until the activity is concluded

·        Once each student has chosen their candy make a tally of the number of each color

·        In most circumstances the orange and yellow M&M's will have lower numbers because they blend in with the candy corn

·        Discuss why some colors were chosen more often than others have students relate this to nature and how this could be helpful to insects

 

Activity 6: Hidden butterflies

·        Instructor will place butterfly shapes around the room so that the shapes blend into background, do not hide butterfly shapes, they should be in plain sight

·        Make some butterflies easier to see than others so that students can discuss the difference

·        Ask the students if they have noticed anything different around the room

·        Once the students have discovered the camouflaged butterflies begin to discuss how real butterflies are colored in nature for protection

·        Have students give reasons for this coloring and list the ideas on the classroom chart

 

Activity 7: Predator Prey Game

·        Take campers to the wooded area

·        Blind fold one student who will be the predator

·        The predator counts to 20 while the other students (or prey) hides

·        Hiding students must be able to see some part of the predator at all times, once students have found a hiding place they must stay in that place

·        Predator removes blindfold and looks for prey, predator must stay in the same place and is only allowed to look around

·        When predator spots the prey he/she points and calls out their name

·        The prey is then out and must come and sit down next to the predator without talking

·        After five minutes, if the predator has not found all the prey the blindfold is put back on the predator and the prey has to move 10 steps closer

·        The blindfold is taken off again if at this time the predator cannot find the prey the game is over

·        The last prey not found becomes the predator

·        A new game begins

 

At this time, the protective coloring activity should be completed by picking up the remaining bread pieces.

 

Activity 8: Craft stations (symmetric painting, butterfly magnet, wax stained glass)

The students will be spilt into equal groups to rotate to the various centers throughout room.  As one group finishes a station the next groups will rotate until each group has completed the three different projects.

Symmetric painting:

·        Class discussion about symmetry of butterflies

·    Each student will be given a sheet of paper that has the outline of a butterfly printed on it

·    The students will be instructed to fold the paper in half (like a hot dog), and then unfold it so that there is a line down the middle

·    Students will have a variety of paint to choose from and they will be instructed to place several different colors on only one side of the butterfly

·    After putting paint onto picture, it should be folded in half once again so that the paint will spread to the other side

·    Now the paper can be unfolded and both wings of the butterfly will look the same

·    The paper should be laid to dry

·    Once the picture has dried the students can cut out the butterfly shape and place antennae on the butterfly

Butterfly magnet:

·    Roll four pieces of pipe cleaner each into a flat surface (for example it will look somewhat like this @)

·    Students will receive help hot gluing the four pieces of pipe cleaner onto a clothes pin ( two pieces on each side to form the wings of the butterfly)

·    The student will then attach two antennae and two wiggle eyes to the clothes pin

·    A magnet should then be placed on the back of the clothes pin

Wax stained glass:

·        Each student should have 2 sheets of 8x10 wax paper

·        Trace pattern of butterfly on one sheet of wax paper with black marker

·        Use old crayons and scissors to shave crayons onto wax paper

·        Once students have covered butterfly with shavings place other piece of wax paper on top

·        Place a towel on top of wax paper and iron on low heat

·        Once crayons are melted remove iron and let cool

·        Students can then cut out butterfly shape

 

Punch two holes in top of each wing and loop fishing wire through holes, leaving enough wire to hang butterfly