Curriculum Overview
Theme/Overall Description of Teaching and Learning Focus/Unit
The State Standard focused on throughout the Butterfly Unit conducted with Mrs. Meehan's second graders are as follows: 2.2L.1: Describe the life cycle of a living thing; and 2.W.7; Participate in shared research and writing projects. The essential question students should be able to answer by the end of the unit is, How does a butterfly change throughout its life cycle? The concept goal of the unit is that students will be able to describe the life cycle of the butterfly. The skill goal of the unit is that students will be able to ability to write a research paper with a partner.
In order to accomplish this goal the students will need to meet the following objectives:
Description of Unit and Its Relationship to Overall Classroom Work
The State Standard focused on throughout the Butterfly Unit conducted with Mrs. Meehan's second graders are as follows: 2.2L.1: Describe the life cycle of a living thing; and 2.W.7; Participate in shared research and writing projects. The essential question students should be able to answer by the end of the unit is, How does a butterfly change throughout its life cycle? The concept goal of the unit is that students will be able to describe the life cycle of the butterfly. The skill goal of the unit is that students will be able to ability to write a research paper with a partner.
In order to accomplish this goal the students will need to meet the following objectives:
- Students will be able to make at least one prediction about what occurs during all four phases of the butterfly life cycle after studying images of the egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, and butterfly. Students will decide if their prediction(s) was correct after watching a video.
- Students will make at least one prediction about what occurs during the chrysalis and adult stages of the butterfly life cycle in their science journals. Students will decide if their prediction(s) was correct after watching a video.
- Students will be able to correctly draw and/or write the butterfly life cycle in their science journals based on their prior knowledge established in the previous two lessons.
- Students will work with a partner to compare the adult and caterpillar stages of the butterfly life cycle, using a Venn diagram. Students can each compare at least one similarity and one difference of the adult and caterpillar stages of the butterfly life cycle.
- Students will be able to research the life cycle of the butterfly by reading a nonfiction text with their partner. Students will be able to describe the life cycle of the butterfly by writing a paper on at least one aspect of the butterfly life cycle with a partner.
Description of Unit and Its Relationship to Overall Classroom Work