Date: January 28, 2000

Grade Level(s): Kindergarten, 1, 2

Subject(s):

• Language Arts/Literature/Children's Literature
• Health/Nutrition
• Science/Entomology

Duration: 2 class sessions

Description: This lesson provides descriptions of activities that can be used with The Very Hungry Caterpillar , by Eric Carle.

Goals:

1. Students will learn about the life cycle of a butterfly.
2. Students will learn about healthy foods and "junk" food.

1. Students will be able to describe the stages of a butterfly's life cycle.
2. Students will be able to identify examples of healthy foods.
3. Students will be able to construct a clothes pin butterfly.

• The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
• computer lab with Internet access
• clothes pin for each student
• butterfly pattern (teacher-created)
• construction paper (various colors)
• crayons
• pom-poms
• pipe cleaner
• scissors
• glue

Day 1 :
Begin by having the children think about a summer day. Ask students if they have ever chased a butterfly. Then continue by asking, "Where do you think butterflies come from?" Wait for a couple of responses and then move along into the book (If a flannel board and felt food pieces are available, the teacher can have students place the foods on the flannel board as the story is read.)

Afterwards, discuss the foods that the caterpillar ate. Ask students, "Which foods were healthy? Which foods were not healthy?" Discuss the food groups and show a picture of the Food Pyramid. Place each type of food that the caterpillar ate into the separate categories. (If possible, show students the interactive Food Guide Pyramid web site below.)

Have the children add up all of the foods the caterpillar ate (in all). Talk about the sequence of the days Sunday through Saturday. Sing the "Mulberry Bush" song to reinforce days of the week (see web site below for lyrics).

Day 2 :
Discuss the life cycle of the caterpillar to a butterfly. Look at the life cycle of a moth (very similar to the butterfly) at this web site: http://www.exhibits.pacsci.org/insects/buttermoth.html

Activity :
Have students make a clothes pin butterfly. To assemble, students begin by choosing a piece of construction paper. Then they fold the paper in half and trace the butterfly pattern. Next, students cut out the butterfly and decorate the wings. Then the butterfly is glued to a clothes pin. Students can add three pom-poms to the butterfly's body and add antenna. Let the butterflies dry. (Teachers can post the butterflies on a bulletin board).

Assessment: Depending on the grade level, students can draw a picture and/or write a letter to send to Eric Carle (P.O. Box 485, Northampton, MA 01060), sharing what they've learned about caterpillars, butterflies, healthy foods, etc.

Useful Internet Resources:
* Cecropia Moth
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/5479/page2.htm