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An integrated lesson comparing the butterfly and frog life cycles

Students will build on their prior knowledge about the butterfly life cycle to compare and contrast the life cycles of butterflies and frogs. Students will
ocate butterflies on the school grounds and create pictographs and models of fractions to explain their findings mathematically. Students will also use a
ariety of resources to read about and study the food, space and air needed by butterflies and frogs to grow. They will create visual and written
roducts to demonstrate their findings.

A lesson plan for grade 2 Mathematics and Science

Y MA R THA D O B SO N AND MA R G A R E T M ONDS

Learning outcomes

tudents will learn to understand the similarities and differences between the life cycle of butterflies and frogs by integrating the second
rade science, mathematics, and language arts curriculum.

Teacher planning
IME REQUIRED FOR LESSON
days

M AT E R I A L S / R E S O U R C E S
Students will need art paper, crayons, second grade writing paper and pencils.
The teacher should prepare ahead of time a chart titled Life Cycles on which words will be listed as they are introduced in the
lessons.
Poster or chart of the butterfly life cycle.
Picture flash cards of critical vocabulary words.
ECHNOLOGY RESOURCES

Computer with printer and internet hook-up.

Pre-activities

Learn more
R E L AT E D PA G E S
The migration of the
monarch butterfly: The
students will listen to and
discuss books about
butterflies and the
migration of monarch
butterflies to Mexico in
order to integrate science,
social studies, and
language arts.
Bugs, bugs, bugs: This
lesson integrates writing
and the study of insects by
having the students create
a book following the
pattern of How Many Bugs
in a Box? by David A.
Carter.
Getting to know spiders:
This lesson is useful for
helping students
understand the differences
between spiders and

Use a K-W-L chart with students to discuss how people grow and change. In most second grade text books, students begin an animal
life cycle discussion by discussing growing and changing. Students talk about people and animals being babies and adults and then
lead into other life cycles. The K-W-L will help to ascertain that students have first understood this preliminary growing and changing
background discussion. See the LEARN NC Education Reference to learn more about KWL charts.
Next, assess the students prior knowledge of the butterfly life cycle by using the Anticipation Guide. An Anticipation Guide is an
excellent strategy to use to assess prior knowledge. Students mark (A) agree or (D) disagree for statements on the topic.
For students who do not have prior knowledge about the life cycle of the butterfly, you may wish to do the lesson plan Butterfly Cycle
by Becky Woolard available on LEARN NC.
For English Language Learners (ELLs) who do not understand the life cycle of the butterfly, you might want to considering finding
coloring pages and images that pictorially show the process.

Activities

D AY O N E
1. Read aloud the book, Chickens Arent the Only Ones by Ruth Heller or any other book which explains that many animals have a life
cycle which includes eggs.
2. As you use Ruth Hellers book or other books you have chosen, discuss the life cycle of the frog and compare it to the life cycle of the
butterfly. Point out to students that frogs are amphibians while butterflies are insects. Begin the Life Cycle word chart by writing the
words, amphibians and insects.
3. Even though amphibians and insects are not a part of the life cycle vocabulary, the life cycle discussion will include a comparison of
butterfly and frog life cycles. It is important to point out that one of the differences is that butterflies are insects while frogs are
amphibians. ELLs also need to be learning some higher order vocabulary words used to classify animals.
4. Display a chart of the life cycle of the frog or give the students a picture of the life cycle of the frog which has already been labeled.
Give the students a paper with pictures of the stages of the life cycle of the frog for them to label. These may be created by the teacher
or adapted from another publication.

D AY T W O
1. Read aloud the book Butterfly and Frog or any other book which compares and contrasts the life cycle of the butterfly and the frog.
Review the life cycle of the frog.
2. Draw a Venn diagram on chart paper. See Learn NC Education Reference for information on Venn diagrams. Brainstorm with the
students the similarities and differences of the butterfly and frog life cycles. Write these similarities and differences on the Venn
diagram during the discussion.
3. Point out that the only similarities are the egg and adult stages. Also review that butterflies are insects and that frogs are amphibians.
Ask the students how many stages are in each life cycle. (Frog3. Butterfly4.) Discuss the other stages with students including the
tadpole stage for frogs and the caterpillar and cocoon stages for butterflies. Explain that the synonym for caterpillar is larva and that
the synonyms for cocoon are chrysalis and pupa. Add the words tadpole, caterpillar,larva,cocoon, chrysalis, and pupa to the Life Cycle
Chart.
4. Give the students blank Venn diagrams and have them copy the Venn diagram that was discussed.

D AY T H R E E
1. Review the life cycles of the butterfly and frog. Read aloud From Tadpole to Frog by David Stewart or any other book on the frog life
cycle. Discuss, compare, and contrast the space, food, and air needed by the butterfly and frog. Review all stages of the life cycles.
Frog:
Space/where the frog lives water and land
Food/what the frog eats insects
Air/what the frog breathes oxygen from water and air on land
Butterfly:
Space outdoors
Food milkweed, other host trees, and nectar from flowers
Air oxygen from the atmosphere
2. This lesson plan is an integrated lesson. Students have previously studied pictographs and the use of tally marks in their math lessons.
Now use simple vocabulary from this lessonbutterflies and frogsto review the math concepts during this science lesson.
3. Review with students how to do a scavenger hunt. Divide the students into four groups: two butterfly and two frog groups. Explain to
them that they will go to the library for their scavenger hunt where they will look for pictures of either frogs and butterflies. Tell them
to take paper and pencils with them. Allow twenty minutes in the library for the scavengar hunt.
4. In the library tell the students to make tally marks for each butterfly and frog they find. Tell the students to take their papers with tally
marks with them back to the classroom.
5. In the classroom review how to make a pictograph. For more information on pictographs refer to the Math Teaching Models page from
Education Place. Have each group make a pictograph with their tally marks. Tape the pictographs to the white board. Ask the students
the following questions:
How many butterflies/frogs did each group find?
Which group has more butterflies/frogs?
Which group has fewer butterflies/frogs?
6. Continue the discussion using other math comparisons according to the needs of the class.

insects. They will also

learn about a spider's
particular body parts. Live
spiders will be observed
over the course of a few
days to see how sound,
light, and movement
affect the spiders.
R E L AT E D TO P I C S
Learn more about English
language learners,
amphibians, animal
characteristics, animals,
biology, butterflies,
caterpillars, compare and
contrast, eggs, frogs,
habitats, insects, life
cycles, mathematics,
pictographs, read-alouds,
science, similarities and
differences, and tadpoles.

Help
Please read our disclaimer for
lesson plans.

Legal
The text of this page is
copyright 2008. See terms of
use. Images and other media
may be licensed separately;
see captions for more
information and read the fine
print.

Assessment

Give students a blank picture of the frog life cycle. Tell them to choose the words from the Life Cycle chart to label the diagram. Tell students
o also number in the correct order the stages of the life cycle. You may need to create your own diagram. Students will be expected to
omplete this with eight percent accuracy.
Have students complete the life cycle worksheet.
Use the Life Cycle Assessment as a tool for your evaluation.

Supplemental information

Heller, Ruth. (1981) Chickens Arent the Only Ones. Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers. This book has excellent pictures of the
ollowing animals which lay eggs: chickens, peacocks, turkeys, ostrich, hummingbirds, snakes, lizards, crocodiles, turtles, dinosaurs, frogs,
oads, salamanders, fish, seahorses, sharks, stingrays, octopuses, moonsnails, spiders, snails, butterflies, and other insects. It shows a spiny
nteater and a duckbill platypus as mammals which are exceptions and also lay eggs. It also shows that other mammals have live babies. The
ext is simple and would work for native speakers and ELLs.
Lieber, Robert. (2004) Butterflies and Frogs. Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. This is a wonderful upside-down book.
Marzollo, Jean and Judith Moffatt. Im a Caterpillar (Hello Reader)! Science, Level l.
Hickman, Pamela and Heather collins. A New Frog: My First Look at the Life Cycle of an Amphibian (My First Look at Nature).
Allen, Judy. Are You a Butterfly? Backyard Books.
Stewart, David. From Tadpole to Frog.

M O D I F I C AT I O N S

Day l:
1. Every day have the ELL print his/her first and last name with assistance if needed. Pair the ELL with a buddy who knows the ELLs
second language much better or a native speaker who will be compatible with the ELL. During the K-W-L the ELL will be listening.
2. During the Anticipation Guide the ELL will be listening with his/her buddy. After the Anticipation Guide, ask the ELL to hold up the
correct flash card as you say them: egg, caterpillar, crysalis, and butterfly. Then ask them to go to the white board and draw the word
you say using TPR and hold up the cards as you give the number of the life cycle stage: first, second, third and fourth. Mix these up as
you say them.

Day 2:
1. Pair the ELL with the buddy from Day l. Have the ELL work with the buddy to label the picture of the life cycle of the frog.
2. As you read the book aloud, call on native speakers and ELLs up to point to the pictures you name. A native speaker would be ask to
point to something like the egg yolk or lily pad that they will not know while the ELL will point to pictures of simplified vocabulary
such as leaves, eggs, and various animals.

Day 3:
Put the ELL with his/her buddy to complete and copy the blank Venn diagram.

Day 4:
1. Use TPR with ELLs as the critical vocabulary for Day 4 is used in the lesson. For example, as you use the word breathe, breathe in and
out and exagerate your action. You may ask all students to do the action with you. Point to air. Use visuals for any words that are
difficult to demonstrate. For example, it would be very good to have a visual of milkweed and nectar. For these visuals, see
Educational Science.
2. Put the ELL with his/her buddy for the scavengar hunt and pictograph activities. If the ELL has difficulty with counting the tally
marks, ask the buddy to count aloud with the ELL.

A LT E R N AT I V E A S S E S S M E N T S

ife Cycle Assessment. DiscussionThe ELL will not be able to participate orally in the discussion. For this part of the assessment, provide
ictures of the critical vocabulary and ask him/her to point to the picture that you name. You could use the flashcards that are a part of the
esources for this unit, charts in the room or pictures in the books that have been used.
Do not assess the Anticipation Guide.
Labeling the Frog Life Cycle. The ELL should be expected to take the words from the critical vocabulary to use for this activity.
Cooperative Work. Indicate how well the ELL worked with group members.
Pictograph. In order for the ELL to participate in the discussion, show the ELL the pictographs and ask the ELL to point to the one with
more butterflies/more frogs/fewer butterflies/fewer frogs. Ask, How many butterflies/frogs are there?
Life Cycle Lesson Questionaire. Read aloud the questions on the questionaire modifying the questions orally which use vocabulary that
was not a part of the critical vocabulary.

C R I T I C A L V O C A B U L A RY

Day l: life cycle, egg, caterpillar, crysalis, butterfly, first, second, third, fourth, label
Day 2: life cycle, egg, tadpole, frog, amphibian, insect, chart, label
Day 3: stage, critical vocabulary from days l and 2

Day 4: eat, food, breathe, air, space, lives, where, water, land, oxygen, tree, flower
Day 4 Math Vocabulary: How many? more, fewer

COMMENTS

his lesson plan was developed during the English Language Development Standard Course of Study lesson planning institutes hosted by
he North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and LEARN NC, June and July, 2004. It includes specific strategies, instructional
modifications, and alternative assessments which make this lesson accessible to limited English proficient students. Please note that this
esson has been aligned with the goals and objectives of the N.C. English Language Development standards.

Common Core State Standards

M AT H E M AT I C S ( 2 0 1 0 )
Grade 2
Measurement & Data
2.MD.10 Draw a picture graph and a bar graph (with single-unit scale) to represent a data set with up to four categories. Solve simple puttogether, take-apart, and compare problems1 using information presented in a bar graph.

North Carolina Essential Standards

SCIENCE (2010)
2.L.1 Understand animal life cycles. 2.L.1.1 Summarize the life cycle of animals: Birth Developing into an adult Reproducing Aging and death
2.L.1.2 Compare life cycles of different animals such as, but not limited to, mealworms, ladybugs, crickets, guppies...

North Carolina curriculum alignment

M AT H E M AT I C S ( 2 0 0 4 )

Grade 2
Goal 4: Data Analysis and Probability - The learner will understand and use data and simple probability concepts.
Objective 4.01: Collect, organize, describe and display data using Venn diagrams (three sets) and pictographs where symbols represent multiple units (2's, 5's,
10's).
CIENCE (2005)

Grade 2
Goal 1: The learner will conduct investigations and build an understanding of animal life cycles.
Objective 1.02: Observe that insects need food, air and space to grow.
Objective 1.04: Compare and contrast life cycles of other animals such as mealworms, ladybugs, crickets, guppies or frogs.

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