The Life Cycle of Caterpillars

1. The Life Cycle of Caterpillars By: Julia Peterson

2. Menu Hypothesis Life Cycle Activities Assessment Video Clip Bibliography

3. Hypothesis A hypothesis is an educated guess about something. I want you to make a hypothesis about what will happen to the caterpillars in our science center. Write or draw your hypothesis on a piece of paper in your notebook and save it for the end of this activity. Back to menu

4. Life Cycle Caterpillars go through many changes in their lives. There are 4 stagesthat the caterpillar goes through. The names of the stages are the egg, the caterpillar, the chrysalis, and the butterfly. Click on the picture to see real pictures of these stages.

5. Eggs The first stage is the egg stage. The caterpillar starts it’s life as an egg. The eggs are laid on a leaf which will later serve as food for the caterpillar. Caterpillar eggs are many differentcolors and shapes.

6. Caterpillar The second stage is a caterpillar. Caterpillars are in this stage for 2 weeks to 1 month. During this stage caterpillarseat constantly and grow very quickly. Caterpillars eat leaves off of flowering plants and trees.

7. Chrysalis The third stage is the chrysalis stage. The chrysalis stage lasts anywhere from a few days to many months. The caterpillar doesn’t eat during this stage. During this time the caterpillar goes through changes called metamorphosis.

8. The final stage is the butterfly. Butterfly When the caterpillar emerges from the chrysalis, it is an adult butterfly. Butterflies can only eat liquids through their straw-like mouth called a proboscis. Some butterflies live for a few days while others live for a few months.

9. Class Activity Pick a partner that you would like to be with for the following activity. After you observe each stage that the caterpillars in our classroom went through, please draw the stages on a chart in your notebook.

10. Now that you know a little bit about caterpillars I want one partner to observe the caterpillars in the science center. I want you to take notes (either writing or drawing them) in your notebook. I want the other partner to explore the internet and books in the classroom and find interesting information about caterpillars. Please write or draw at least 10 similarities and differences from the caterpillars in the book to the ones in our classroom. Back to menu

11. Activities Here are some activities and games that you can use to help you learn about the caterpillars life cycle. Caterpillars Coloring pages: Chrysalis You can print off the coloring pages and the butterfly stages and color or paint them. Butterflies Butterfly: Put the stages in order Games: Butterfly Fun Back to Menu

12. Assessment With your partner find one other group to work with. Discuss the life cycle of the caterpillar. Then Individually print out the next slide and put the steps of the caterpillar’s life in order. When you are done, compare it with your partner and then put it in your notebook and save it.

13. Put these in order Click here after you have completed this assessment to check your work. Back to menu

14. Life Cycle Answer Back to menu

15. Video Clip Click the picture to view Then click on Don’t Tell Me 56K Real Video Back to menu

16. Bibliography http://www.bry-backmanor.org/actpag36.html http://www.billybear4kids.com/butterfly/flutter-fun.html http://www.mesc.usgs.gov/resources/education/butterfly/life-cycle/butterfly-life-cycle.asp http://www.monarchbutterflyusa.com/Cycle.htm http://www.exhibits.pacsci.org/insects/buttermoth.html http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/butterflies/lifecycle/ http://members.aol.com/cbruner1/index.html http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/hpages/zkids.html http://www.eric-carle.com/ http://www.kidzone.ws/ http://www.fortunecity.com/millenium/blyton/15/garden.htm http://www.teachingheart.net/veryhungrycaterpillar.html The Little Golden Book Encyclopedia http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/bugs/hopper_trailer.html

17. The End!!