The Hungry Caterpillar Needs A Cozy

Cocoon!
Context: This project incorporates reading comprehension
skills, critical thinking, problem solving, and other various
STEM skills in a comprehensive project to understand the
life cycle of a butterfly. This project should be done during
the butterfly life cycle unit. Hopefully, there is a real
caterpillar in your classroom transforming into a butterfly.
Aim to have read the book The Very Hungary Caterpillar,
and this project created when the real caterpillar has just
made their cocoon! This projects will keep the student
engaged and interested in the transformation of the butterfly and allows them to be
creative of the various cocoons they can make themselves.

Skills needed for the activity: ability to use scissors, counting unit blocks,
knowledge of length and width, teamwork skills, and presentation skills.

Goals of the activity:

 Measurement on how long and wide to make the cocoon
 Critical thinking and problem solving skills using a variety of
unconventional materials to make the most comfortable home
 Understanding of the life cycle of a butterfly and being able to reiterate the
different steps (which come before and after the cocoon)

Literature: The Very Hungary Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Time Frame: 1 hour 15 minutes

5 minutes introduction
45 minutes project time
10 minutes for portfolio completion
15 minutes presentation time

Group Size: 4 students

Safety: reminder of scissor safety; go over how to be a good classroom citizen;

review STEM safety poster.

1st Grade Melanie Southard, 2017

Classroom Setup: Have one group of 4 at each table (use extra small group table
if necessary), place their tool boxes on each of the tables, and put recycled
materials on the teacher table where it can be monitored.

State Objectives:
Math: 1.9 The student will use nonstandard units to measure length, weight/mass, and volume.
Science: 1.5 The student will investigate and understand that animals, including humans, have
basic needs and certain distinguishing characteristics. Key concepts include
a) basic needs include adequate air, food, water, shelter, and space (habitat);
b) animals, including humans, have many different physical characteristics; and
c) animals can be classified according to a variety of characteristics.
1.7 a) changes in temperature, light, and precipitation affect plants and animals, including
humans
English: 1.1 The student will continue to demonstrate growth in the use of oral language.
e) Express ideas orally in complete sentences.
1.3 The student will adapt or change oral language to fit the situation.
a) Initiate conversation with peers and adults.
b) Follow rules for conversation using appropriate voice level in small-group settings.
c) Ask and respond to questions.
Writing: 1.12 The student will print legibly.
a) Form letters accurately.
b) Space words within sentences.
c) Use the alphabetic code to write unknown words phonetically.
1.13 The student will write to communicate ideas for a variety of purposes.
a) Generate ideas.
b) Focus on one topic.
c) Revise by adding descriptive words when writing about people, places, things, and
events.
d) Use complete sentences in final copies.
e) Begin each sentence with a capital letter and use ending punctuation in final copies.
f) Use correct spelling for commonly used sight words and phonetically regular words in
final copies.
g) Share writing with others.

Standards for Technology Literacy:

8: Students will develop an understanding of the attributes of design.
9: Students will develop an understanding of engineering design.
10: Students will develop an understanding of the role of troubleshooting, research
and development, invention and innovation, and experimentation in problem
solving.

1st Grade Melanie Southard, 2017

 A Cozy Cocoon
Background: In class we read the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar and learned
about the life cycle of a butterfly. The caterpillar is about to make his cocoon and
he needs your help to build the coziest place to help him transform into a beautiful
butterfly.
Design Challenge: Design and build a cocoon for the very hungry caterpillar so he
can transform into a butterfly! It must be able to fit our classroom stuffed
caterpillar, it must be colorful and the caterpillar has to have a way to get in and
out of the cocoon. After you have built your cozy cocoon, you will share it with
class.
Criteria:
Your cocoon must
• Fit out classroom stuffed caterpillar
inside (5 unit blocks long, 3 unit
blocks wide)
• Be colorful
• Have a way to get in and out

Materials:
• construction paper
• scrap paper
• popsicle stick
• paper tubes
• recycled materials
• limited art supplies

Tools:
• scissors
• Hot glue gun
• markers/crayons/colored pencils

Group Size: 4
Time: 45 minutes

Standards of Learning:
Science: Standard 1.5 – Life Processes
Math: Standard 1.9 - Measurement
English: oral communication
Standards for Technological Literacy: 11-design, 17-communication

1st Grade Melanie Southard, 2017

My Journal Name:_________________

A Cozy Cocoon!
1. What is the challenge?

I need to

2. Brainstorm 2 ideas: Use your pictures and words

3. Choose your best design for the cocoon and make it with your
group.

1st Grade Melanie Southard, 2017

 4. Check your progress.
My Cocoon:

Can fit the caterpillar

inside (5 block long and 3
blocks wide)
Is colorful and neat

Has a way to get in and

out
5. How well did your design work? Circle one

6. Did you make any changes to your design?

Yes No

7. If you made changes, write or draw what you changed.

1st Grade Melanie Southard, 2017

8. Describe how you made your cocoon cozy

9. Write 2 things your group members did well

1st Grade Melanie Southard, 2017

The Cozy Cocoon Rubric

Name:____________________ Date: _____________

Partners Names:__________________________________

Planning
Restated challenge in Used own words Use some of their Teacher helped
own words own words with help considerably when
from the teacher restating challenge
Brainstormed 2 solutions sketched 1 solution sketched No solution sketched
solutions and
sketched them
Product
5 unit blocks long At least 5x3 A little less than 5x3 Significantly too
and 3 unit blocks small for caterpillar
wide to fit
Neat and colorful Exceeds expectations Meets expectations Room for
improvement
Has a way in and out Method used for Method used has No place for
caterpillar to get in and some difficulty caterpillar to come
out easily getting caterpillar in in and out
and out
Oral
Presentation
Described the final Describes 3 features Describes 1-2 Describes no
product’s features and how it was cozy features and how it features and may or
and how they made it was cozy may not have shared
cozy how it was cozy
Shared what Shared their challenges Shared challenged Unable to share a
challenges they faced and how they changed it but not able to challenge
and how to change it explain how to
change it
Used good Spoke clearly, loudly Spoke somewhat Unable to give
presentation skills and made good eye unclearly and might effective oral
contact with the class be hard to hear. presentation
Teamwork
Worked well with Exceeds expectations Meets expectations Room for
partners improvement

1st Grade Melanie Southard, 2017

All members engaged Exceeds expectations Meets expectations Room for
in project and able to improvement
complete task
Respectful of other’s Exceeds expectations Meets expectations Room for
thoughts, ideas, and improvement
opinions

Comments:

1st Grade Melanie Southard, 2017