I know many of you are on Spring break this week and I hope you're
enjoying some time resting and relaxing!
Our spring life cycle study continues and over the next few weeks we'll
be raising butterflies, learning about the life cycle of frogs and writing poetry!
These little guys sure eat a lot and grow QUICKLY!
We used the little journal that came with our
caterpillars to record their daily change and growth.
While learning about pollination and the part that insects play in
the life cycle of plants I came across this fun activity on one of my all-time
very favorite blogs Hope King's Second Grade Shenanigans.
Hope has so many great ideas and this one is perfect for illustrating how
butterflies and other insects help to pollinate a plant and
continue its life cycle.
Each student had a juice box, Cheetos, and a die cut flower.
The bright colors and smell attracts the butterfly to a flower and students chose
the flower color that most appealed to them!
As my little butterflies landed on their flowers they used their proboscis
to drink a little of the nectar in their (juice box) flower. Their tiny little
butterfly feet (their hands) picked up pollen (by touching their Cheetos).
Next, our butterflies flew around the room and touched all
of the other flowers which transferred their pollen
to each bloom they "landed" on.
Last year we made this Butterfly Life Cycle On A String writing craft for students to
write what they have learned about each stage of a butterfly's life cycle.
This year we'll be making the Frog Life Cycle version.
We used beads, chenille sticks and paper to show each stage then students
wrote about each life cycle stage on leaves. We attached these in order onto
a piece of yarn and tucked them into the leaf pocket where the butterfly
lays its eggs and the life cycle begins again.
We tied in our poetry unit by writing haiku and acrostic poems about butterflies.
I added a little challenge to this by telling students that while they were
writing poetry and creating a mental picture about a butterfly
they could not actually use the word 'butterfly'.
Students used their journals to work out their poems before writing their final drafts.
We used watercolors to illustrate our poems.
We also wrote acrostic poems and used this format to tell a story.
I reminded students that each sentence did not need to begin
with the given letter but rather to tell a story
using the letters to guide them.
We'll be wrapping up our frog life cycle learning this week
so stay tuned for our frog fun!
Have a great week, friends!