Hobbies And Interests
Video
Because it can take a while for a caterpillar to grow up, create its cocoon and finally hatch into a butterfly, a video on the process is a good first step of a butterfly life cycle project. A video speeds up the process and can show parts of the process that may be difficult for students to pick out in real life. For instance, with the video, motion can be slowed down to show exactly what is happening. In real time, the students may leave a caterpillar at school and return the next morning to a cocoon.
Stages
After watching the video, but before handling the live caterpillars, discuss the different stages with the class. If you purchase a butterfly kit, you will bypass the egg stage. Discuss the fact that the caterpillars you receive first began as eggs, but that the eggs require specific conditions to hatch. Therefore, it is best to obtain the caterpillars instead. Guide the students through a discussion of when they think caterpillars decide its time to make a cocoon. Discuss how long the caterpillars stay in the cocoon and ask them to predict when the butterflies will emerge.
Butterfly Kit
Butterfly kits typically come with a place to keep the caterpillars and then the butterflies and a certificate to purchase caterpillars. Order the caterpillars so they will arrive on time for your project. Allow the students to help you make the caterpillars' home comfortable for them, adding sticks and leaves for them. Caterpillars also enjoy milkweed if you can find some. Place the caterpillars inside and instruct the students on how the project will work. Each day, the students should make observations in regard to where the caterpillar is in the life cycle process.
Observations
Throughout the process, instruct each student to keep a notebook in which to record observations. The students should include information, such as whether the caterpillars are growing, if they are eating and where they like to hang out. Students can compare notes to see if other students are observing the same things. The students should record the date on which the caterpillars built their cocoons to help calculate when they should emerge. Different types of butterflies remain in their cocoons for varying amounts of time. Ask the students to predict when the butterflies will emerge.
Conclusion
At the end of the project, help the students release the butterflies back into the wild. Choose a special day when the weather is nice so the students can enjoy the weather. After the students release the butterflies outside, you can extend the project into other areas of the school day, such as art. For instance, ask the students to draw a picture of the life cycle of the butterfly as they observed it. Each student could have a different perspective on the process, which would make an interesting way to see the process through the students' eyes.