Butterfly Life Cycle & Geometry: Two Lesson Plans

Introduction to the Monarch Butterfly Lesson

Subject: Early Childhood Special Education
Lesson Title: The Life Cycle of Butterflies — Science and Language Arts
Objective: Students will understand the life cycle of monarch butterflies.

Every year, millions of monarch butterflies manage to find their way from hatching grounds in North America to wintering grounds in Mexico. These butterflies travel up to 2,000 miles to arrive at their destination: a few fir tree-covered ridgetops in Mexico that none of them have ever visited before. How do these remarkable butterflies know where to go? What modern threats endanger their survival? Why does this matter?

Using either individual computer workstations or a central unit, the teacher plays a video on butterfly parts. The first segment focuses on the characteristics of a butterfly — what makes a butterfly? Key terms address body parts and their functions.

Source: "Butterfly Parts" (2010). Animal Planet / Discovery Channel.

Key Terms: Legs, Eye, Wings, Mouth, Abdomen, Thorax

A large piece of butcher paper is placed on the board (or a whiteboard or overhead camera is used). It is divided into three columns for a KWL chart: Know, Want to Know, and Learned. As the teacher explains the chart, students form their own version in their lab books.

Butterfly Anatomy: Instruction and Assessment

Explanation and Modeling: Students are asked to recall what they learned during the short video. They name a butterfly part and then define its function. There may be more entries in the "Want to Know" column after the video. Before watching the second video, students brainstorm further about the monarch butterfly, then view the video to seek answers to their questions.

Assessment: Students draw a butterfly and label each part based on the key terms. The purpose of the assessment is to ensure familiarity with six terms about a butterfly, knowledge that will also apply to future science lessons about insects. Students are assessed on their ability to recall and explain each part. The expectation is that they will correctly label and identify at least four of the six parts. Because writing abilities at this level vary considerably, assessment is conducted in a "show and tell" manner.

Reliability: This assignment uses a butterfly because its body parts are relatively straightforward to explain. The instructor spent time highlighting similarities and differences between human anatomy and butterfly anatomy, focusing on the function of each insect part. The core challenge involves both memorization (names) and comprehension (which parts go where and what they do), with a stretch goal of applying that knowledge to other insects or describing functions more broadly. Kept simple, the functions are accessible because of their similarity to students' own anatomy — for example, the mouth is used for eating, and the eye is used for seeing. Using Bloom's Taxonomy, the lesson covers the bottom three levels (Remember, Understand, Apply), which is appropriate for this age group and cognitive level.

Procedure: Students were given 10–15 minutes to make their drawings and label the parts. The reference picture of the parts from the beginning of the lesson was left visible in the room, but no specific attention was drawn to it. Instead, the instructor reviewed each drawing individually and presented a series of labels with pictures, asking each student to place the label on their drawing in the correct location and then explain the function of that part.

Science Assessment: Based on students' ability to remember and understand the different parts and place the labels correctly on their drawing.

Language Arts Assessment: Based on students' verbal explanation, word choice, complexity of thought, and grammar when describing what each butterfly part does functionally and how it is similar to or different from the corresponding human part.

Scores were based entirely on percentiles and ratios. For this class of 18 students, results were as follows:

Drawing and Identification Rubric:

2 students (11%) — Balanced drawing; all major areas of the butterfly (head, eyes, wings, abdomen, thorax, legs) apparent.
11 students (61%) — Balanced drawing; 5–6 parts correct.
3 students (16%) — Semi-balanced drawing; 4 parts correct.
2 students (11%) — Unbalanced drawing; 3 or fewer parts correct.

Scoring Results and Lesson Efficacy

Explanation of Functions Rubric:

1 student (5%) — Explains all areas and is able to identify and correctly make comparisons to similarities and differences.
8 students (44%) — Explains most areas; good comparisons on most.
9 students (50%) — Explains some areas; explanations are limited.
0 students (0%) — Not able to explain more than one concept.

Clearly, the lesson was more effective in drawing and identification than in verbal explanation. Seventy-two percent of students performed at average or above on part one, while only 49% performed well on the explanation component. Fifty percent of the class was only able to provide limited explanations of functionality for a few areas — typically the eyes and legs.

Efficacy: The limited time of the lesson, combined with limited review, likely contributed to these scores. This student population clearly needs more practice and reinforcement of concepts in order to develop self-directed exploration and understanding. Additional instructional strategies would be helpful, such as having students work in groups to form a human "butterfly" — with each student representing a part and explaining it — as well as additional films or stories about butterflies. Moving into concept memorization and drill, coupled with the use of plush or plastic butterfly models to engage kinesthetic learning, could also improve retention (Bedford, 2007).

Conclusion: Background knowledge was introduced using simple vocabulary, drawing on similarities to students' own physiology to reinforce and connect facts. The lesson sets up additional science instruction and supports continued language arts growth, with the goal of eventually moving toward synthesis of information. Using color and additional art-based techniques — paint, sequins, and similar materials — to reinforce concepts may also be beneficial (Krogh and Slentz, 2001).

Part 2 — Secondary Students
Lesson Title: Geometric Shapes
Objective: Geometry — Exploring shapes using hands-on manipulatives to construct said shapes.

Introduction to the Geometry Lesson

Introduction: Students recognize that lines, segments, rays, and points exist not only on paper but in the world around them. By the end of the lesson, they will be able to identify, describe, and compare line segments, lines, rays, and angles, and use appropriate symbols. They will also communicate mathematical understanding in journals using words, pictures, numbers, and symbols.

Input: Flashcards showing examples of rays, points, lines, segments, parallel lines, perpendicular lines, and intersecting lines are used to introduce the concepts. Students play a game identifying and defining each concept. Once initial vocabulary is mastered, the class moves on. Students stand in a circle, and yarn is passed around. Each student holds a small section of yarn and then passes it either across the circle or to a neighbor, forming a web pattern. The teacher ensures that some parallel and perpendicular lines are represented. The web is carefully laid on the floor so that every student has a clear view. Laminated alphabet-labeled points are placed at intersecting points on the web, providing a shared system for naming rays, line segments, lines, and more using proper mathematical terminology.

Students could also use their own paper to draw grid-like mazes, or incorporate the activity into an art project using push pins and string. The lesson could be integrated with a theme about spiders and webs, or connected to seasonal themes where appropriate (Baiker and Robinson, 2004).

Vocabulary:

1. Ray — a line starting at a single point and going on forever in one direction.
2. Point — a fixed spot on a plane.
3. Line — a straight path going on forever in both directions.
4. Segment — a line with two endpoints.
5. Parallel — two lines, line segments, or rays that remain constantly equidistant and never intersect.
6. Perpendicular — a line, line segment, or ray that touches or intersects another at a 90-degree angle.
7. Intersecting — two lines, line segments, or rays that touch or pass through one another at any angle.

Flashcards are used to drill vocabulary and concepts. Note that in practice, more than one flashcard is used for each concept, with horizontal, vertical, and diagonal orientations represented.

Multidisciplinary Input: Ferrell and Kerr (2008), The Great Polygon Caper.

Assessment Manipulative: The yarn web (Gauggel, 2000). The actual web will vary depending on the number of students and how they pass the yarn; colors represent movement from one student to another. Components include: (1) circle of students, (2) yarn lines, (3) labels, and (4) added points as needed.