Lesson Plan - “the Very Hungry Caterpillar” Is Hungry for Knowledge

Lesson Plan

1. Lesson Title: “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” is Hungry for Knowledge!
2. Brief Overview of the Lesson: After reading the story “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle, students will work in a variety of centers related to science, math, art, and nutrition which will be based off the book.
3. Lesson Objectives:

1. Students will be able to:

1. Create the life cycle of a butterfly using given materials.
2. Calculate solutions to simple addition equations.
3. Show answers to simple addition equations using given materials.
4. Separate food items based on their nutritional value.
5. Explain how and why they have separated materials into a healthy or unhealthy category.

1. Target Standards:

1. 9.1c.1 Representation – Represent common themes and patterns in visual arts.
2. 2.1.6 Concepts and Applications of Operations – Create a sorting method.
3. 2.2.2 Computation – Separate concrete objects into groups, represent addition and subtraction in ever day situations using up to ten concrete objects, use “counting on” as a strategy for determining the sum.
4. 2.5.2 Communication – Depict problem solving process through the use of pictures, simple chart, or graph.
5. 3.1a.3 Life Cycles – Identify stages of life cycles for plants and animals.
6. 10.1-3.4 Nutrition – Identify how specific foods keep us healthy, identify the foods to include in specific food groups.
7. 10.5.3 Use of Tools – Demonstrate control with writing and drawing implements to draw pictures, letters and words, use tools with control and skill to perform basic tasks.
8. 1.6.1 Listening Skills – Initiate and respond appropriately to conversations and discussions.
9. 1.6.2 Speaking Skills – Speak clearly enough to be understood by all audiences in complete, coherent sentences.
10. 1.6.3 Discussion – Pose questions, listen to the ideas of others, and contribute own information in group discussion partner discussion.
11. 1.9.1 Media and Technology Resources – Use technology to gain information, use age appropriate computer program with little or no assistance.
12. 25.2.2 Behavioral Regulation – Make transitions between activities upon adult direction.
13. 25.4.1 Social Identity – Engage in cooperative learning activities to complete a task.

1. Anticipated students’ prior knowledge/possible difficulties:

1. I am anticipating that going into this lesson, students will have already covered some basic addition in class. They will also have had lessons on healthy/unhealthy foods.
2. Some difficulties that may exist are students staying on task for the entire fifteen minute period. I also anticipate that some students may struggle in the butterfly life cycle center as this is a slightly more complex concept. This is why the special educator present in our classroom will work with students in this center to help them better grasp this concept.

1. Target Practices: Living and non-living things, addition, use of tools (physical development – fine motor), nutrition, and sorting.
2. Instructional Methods:

1. 10 minutes – Students will meet on the circle time rug. There, I will read aloud to them the story “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”.
2. 2 minutes – After the story is finished, students will be broken up into their groups for their center activities (a brief description of each center and break down of groups is attached).  The directions for each center will be given.
3. 15 minutes – Students will work in their first center.
4. 5 minutes – Students will clean up their personal materials, take a miniature stretch break, and transition to the next center.
5. 15 minutes – Students will work in their second center.
6. 5 minutes – Students will clean up their personal materials, take a miniature stretch break, and transition to their next center.
7. 15 minutes – Students will work in their third center.
8. 5 minutes – Students will clean up their personal materials, take a miniature stretch break, and transition to their next center.
9. 15 minutes – Students will work in their fourth and final center.
10. 3 minutes – Students will clean up their personal materials, all of the materials for whichever center they end in, take a miniature stretch break, and return to their seats to be prepared to transition to the next activity.

1. Assessment:

1. Center 1 – Students will be graded based on a 0-2 scale. They will receive 2 points if their butterfly life cycle contains an egg, a caterpillar, a chrysalis, and a butterfly and these cycles are represented correctly having used the correct material for representation. Students will receive 1 point if they have included all parts, but some parts are represented incorrectly or if they have included only some parts but represented these parts correctly. Finally students will receive a zero if they include no parts of the butterfly life cycle or misrepresent all parts of the butterfly life cycle.
2. Center 2 – Students will be graded based on a 0-2 scale. They will receive 2 points if their math equation is solved correctly and represented correctly in their paint dot caterpillar. Students will receive 1 point if they have solved the equation correctly but misrepresented this in their paint dot caterpillar or if they have solved the equation incorrectly but represented the correct answer in their paint dot caterpillar. Students will receive 0 points if they have not solved the equation correctly and have not represented the correct answer in their paint dot caterpillar. Students will be graded on each individual math equation completed and scores will be averaged based on the number of equations completed.
3. Center 3 – This center will not have any type of formal assessment. Students will be assessed on this center through photographs and anecdotal records. Teachers will record if students were able to correctly separate food items based on being healthy or unhealthy and if they were able to express their reasons for choosing the category they separated the item into.
4. Center 4 – This center will not have any type of formal assessment. Students will be assessed on this center through photographs and anecdotal records. These will speak mostly to their physical development.

1. Strategies to Reach Diverse Learners:

1. There will be multiple modes of information presentation

1. Verbal (story, instruction, small group discussion)
2. Visual (paint math, fake foods)
3. Kinesthetic (transitions, stretch breaks)

1. Students will learn in a variety of settings including large group, small group, and individual.
2. Students will be given the opportunity for movement throughout transitions.
3. Students will receive any necessary support, whether it is group-wide or individual, during the centers.

Center One – Butterfly Life Cycles

In this center, students will watch a video on Brain Pop Jr. about butterfly life cycles. After watching this video, the special educator who is present in this center will help guide students through creating their own butterfly life cycles. They will do so on paper plates which have been pre-divided into four different quadrants. They will use a ditalini noodle to represent an egg in the first quadrant, a rotini noodle to represent a caterpillar, a shell noodle to represent the chrysalis, and a farfalle noodle to represent a butterfly. The special educator will offer as much or as little guidance to students as necessary. He or she will offer more support to the students with ADHD who struggle to engage in grade level activities and he or she will offer markedly less help to the gifted students, allowing them to figure out almost on their own how to create the life cycle based off the knowledge they gained in the video.