Butterfly and Moth Internet Activities

Sue Stroyan and Kathy Roetzer

sfstroya@ilstu.edu
ksroetz@ilstu.edu
Metcalf Laboratory School
Illinois State University
Normal, Illinois 61790-7000

CURRICULUM AREA

Science; may be incorporated for integrated activities or thematic units

SUBJECT

Metamorphosis and Life Cycle of Butterflies and Moths

GRADE LEVEL

Second Grade

INTRODUCTION

Beginning late August when the butterflies and moths visit the gardens, the second graders at Metcalf Laboratory School begin their study of these colorful creatures. Using books on butterflies and moths as well as periodic visits to the school's Butterfly Garden, they begin their discussions and activities about the world of butterflies. To enable them to fully understand more about butterflies, their butterfly and moth lesson is integrated with the use of selected websites in the Internet.

This activity allowed teachers to develop their lesson and plan activites using resources in the Internet. Students widened their knowledge of life cycles by studying butterflies and moths and integrated what they learned from reading books and exploring websites in the Internet.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this unit was to allow the teacher to use the Internet to plan activities for the students on the theme of butterflies and moths. The task was to find sites that were suited for the primary age level and to use the information on these sites to create activities that would extend what students know about the life cycles of butterflies and moths, particularly of the Monarch Butterfly, the Swallowtail Butterfly, and the Cercopia Moth.

MATERIALS

A student-made kit using the following:

One yellow folder
Three activity sheets with instructions
Scissors and glue
Butterfly book

Computer with Internet access
Proxima to project the computer screen

PROCEDURE

Selecting the Internet Sites

By exploring the Internet, we preselected sites that we thought were relevant and age-appropriate for our students. The Internet provided a wonderful resource for children to learn about butterflies and moths using the following websites:

 

 

Activities

First Activity: Assembling the butterfly kit

In the beginning of the unit on butterflies and moths, each student was given a yellow folder, a butterfly diagram, and three activity sheets to make a kit. The kit was called Butterfly and Moth Internet Activities. On the cover of the folder, the students attached an outline of a moth's half wing on the left flap and a butterfly's half wing on the right. A list of butterfly and moth Internet sites was placed on the top left corner of the folder. Inside the folder, students attached their three activity sheets. After assembling their kits, they colored the wings of the moth and the butterfly.

Second Activity: Viewing the Internet sites

At our grade level, most children do not have the keyboarding skills necessary to "surf the net" so we used a computer with a Proxima to project the sites into our classroom screen. The sites were pre-selected and we explored them together, sharing both our wonder and discovery. The Butterflies of the United States and Moths of the United States sites were the perfect places to observe beautiful photographs of the variety of butterflies and moths that we are studying. There were also other information in this site such as the host and nectar sources and the characteristics of each species. Another site that has a lot of information and that could easily be read by children in our classes is the Children's Butterfly Site. Here the children each took turns reading about the life stages, reviewing the frequently asked questions about moths and butterflies, and linking to other associated sites.

Third Activity: Choosing their favorite butterfly

After viewing the sites, students began working on their butterfly and moth activities. The students obtained the information they needed to complete the sections of the folder by reading Michael Berenstain's Butterfly Book and visiting the websites.The activity on the inside left flap of the folder asked students to encircle their favorite type of butterfly based on their book and why they chose it. They chose from the following: Tiger Swallowtail, Common Sulphur, Black Swallowtail, Monarch, Painted Lady, Giant Swallowtail, Cabbage Butterfly, Dogface, Morning Cloak, Great Spangled Fritillary, and Red Spotted Purple.

Fourth activity: Creature features

In the middle of the folder is an activity where students listed "creature features" of moths and butterflies on a chart. To do this, they recalled what they saw in the Internet sites. After they finished the chart, they illustrated the life cycle of a butterfly and put their life stages in order.

Fifth activity: Drawing pictures from the Internet

The last activity on the right side of the the folder was to have students draw and color pictures of a Cecropia Moth and a Black Swallowtail and write down what they learned from the Internet sites.

 

 

OVERALL VALUE

The hands on research-based learning from the Internet sites is an effective way of accessing information for classroom use. The rich information in the butterfly and moth sites was extremely useful in planning for activities for students. Teaching and learning with the use of the Internet added an element of discovery and created excitement on the part of the students.

Metcalf's Butterfly Garden

 

 

 

Garden Poems

Life Cycles: A Thematic Unit (Second Grade Metcalf Laboratory School)

 

References

Berenstain, M. (1992). Butterfly book. A Golden Book. NY: Western Publishing Co.

Stroyan, S. F. & Roetzer, K. (Spring 1998). "Metamorphosis: An Elementary journey into the Internet". "From routes to roots." Illinois State University Arboretum Education Newsletter.