Life Cycle of a Butterfly Pasta Activity

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Students will learn to identify the four stages of a butterfly’s life cycle.
Materials:

  • Butterfly patterns
  • spiral pasta-caterpilllar
  • shell pasta-chrysalis
  • bow tie pasta-butterfly
  • small pasta representing an egg
  • crayons or markers
  • glue

Lesson Plan:

  1. Ask the students what they know about butterflies. Have they ever seen one? Have they ever touched one? What did it look like? Was it colorful?
  2. Ask the students if they know what the butterfly was before it was a butterfly?
  3. What do caterpillars look like? How do you think they got to be caterpillars? What do they feel like? Are they furry? Slimy?
  4. How does a caterpillar turn into a butterfly?
  5. Discuss or show a picture of a chrysalis.
  6. Now put the stages of a butterfly in order.
  7. The book The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle can be used or I have cards depicting each stage of a butterfly.
  8. We also chanted a few times, egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly I had a few volunteers come up and put the life cycle cards in order.
  9. Have students create the butterfly life cycle on their own butterfly.
  10. Have butterfly patterns ready, and you may want to have divided them into 4 sections already.
  11. Show the students an example before they begin, so they are sure they know what order to go in (left to right)
  12. Have students decorate butterfly and before they start explain using visuals that butterflies have the same pattern on each side of their body.
  13. Glue the pasta to the butterfly.
  14. Write, or have the students write if they are able, the stages of a butterfly under the corresponding piece of pasta.
  15. Display.

Monarch butterflies are a great way to let students experience the life cycle of a butterfly. They can be ordered at Monarchwatch.org and this activity could be a culminating activity to a unit on the monarch butterflies.

By: Mandy Wallace

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Colorful Caterpillar Cut-and-Paste Art Pattern
This cut-and-paste ladybug art project will provide your students with opportunities to improve their fine motor dexterity and their ability to follow directions.
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