First grade students in Mrs. Heinrichs and Mrs. Henry’s classroom began a caterpillar project, led by teaching assistant Mrs. Gallup, as soon as they returned from April break this year.
Each day the students observed the caterpillars and watched how they grew from the size of a grain of rice to full grown caterpillars! A process that took about a week.
The students were then able to watch the caterpillars form their chrysalis, which was a very interesting and exciting event for the students! The first graders arrived at school very excited each day to see what happened while they were gone.
During the butterfly unit most of the daily activities began with a book about butterflies, some were informational texts and some fictional books. The students learned about the butterflies’ life cycle, their migration to Mexico every winter and return in the summer and also how some will sleep through the winter in a warm spot.
A favorite project was near the end of the unit, when the first graders used pasta and rice to create an example of the butterflies’ life cycle.
As a class the first graders focused on the changes a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly, how delicate they are once they emerge from the chrysalis, and how they cannot fly right away but instead need to let their wings fully unfold and dry.
They all learned how to care for the butterflies as a class, and did a wonderful job.
After the students released the butterflies they each received a Budding Entomologist certificate.
– Mrs. Gallup, BES First Grade Teaching Assistant
photos: Mrs. Henry
