CHDV 150 I ntroduction to Curriculum

Small Group Activity Form

Name of Activity: Caterpillar repair shop


Curriculum Area: Math/ Manipulatives


Length of Activity: 15-20 minutes


Learning Objectives (specify at least three):
The child will be able to separate caterpillars based on patterns, classifications, and measurements.
(MATH 3)
The child will be able to use spatial sense in order to fix their caterpillars (MATH 6)
The child will be able to count from one to six. (MATH 1)




Material/Equipment Needed:

Toilet paper rolls
Paint
Construction paper wings, cut with orange, black and blue
Tape
Glue
Plastic googly eyes (various sizes)
Wire pipe cleaners (various colors)
Black permanent marker
Scissors
Cardboard
Yarn
Hole puncher
Cards with pictures of completed caterpillars and butterflies
3 baskets, one has small parts, one has medium parts, the final one has large parts






Preparation (What do you need to do beforehand?):

The first step is to paint several toilet paper rolls into colors that are similar to the caterpillars that I have
in the center.
The next step is to cut those caterpillars into sections each ranging from small sections to large sections.
Then I need to cover the bottom sections of each of the caterpillar segments with cardboard circles and
tape.
Then I will need to write in permanent marker on the caterpillar parts, 1 for small parts, 2 for medium
parts and 3 for large parts.
I will then create butterfly wings for the children to add to their caterpillars in a fourth basket. These
wings will be made by various colors of construction paper such as orange, green, blue, brown and
yellow.
I will then create cards of the various types of caterpillars and butterflies and add them to the table for
the children to replicate using the materials. The names of the caterpillars, their descriptions, and the
colors will all be written on the back in developmentally appropriate language.
I will then place additional accessories for their caterpillars and butterflies including crepe paper (to act
as a cocoon), pipe cleaners (for antennae and legs) and glue and tape to adhere the caterpillar accessories
to their models.









Procedures (step by step) Be Specific

*Beginning (How will I introduce activity?)

I will introduce this activity shortly after coming inside from an outdoor play activity, after the children
have had time to have a snack and wash up.
I will first ask the children if they remembered the language and literacy activity The Very Hungry
Caterpillar.
I will then pose questions to encourage discussions, such as:
What sort of caterpillar did you think that was?
What were some of the characteristics of the caterpillar?
Was that caterpillar bigger, smaller or the same as the caterpillars in the class?
I will then tell children that there are a variety of types of caterpillars available in the world and that the
caterpillars in our class are just one of the many caterpillars that we can find in the world.
I will then introduce the fact cards first and acquaint the children with different facts pertaining to each
species of butterfly and caterpillar.
I will also use this opportunity as a subtle way to engage them in comparisons of sizes and pattern
recognition of these different species of butterflies. For example:
Look at these two butterflies; do they have the same wing size?
What separates this butterfly from the other butterflies?
Would you say that the caterpillars in the class are the same as the ones we are looking at today? What
makes you think they are different or similar?








*Middle: (How will I support/enhance/scaffold?) The person reading your lesson plan should be able to
identify what you are saying or doing to support your stated learning objectives. THIS IS VERY
IMPORTANT.

I will then introduce the children to the activity, which will be recreating the different caterpillars
and butterflies on the table.
I will have models available of the caterpillars that will be made by me before hand so the children
can examine what the caterpillar should look like when it is completed.
I will then instruct the students on how to repair their caterpillars.
They will each need to take different sections of the caterpillars which will be related to one of the
specific caterpillars on the table.
For example, for the azure butterfly, is a small green caterpillar with blue wings. Therefore, the
children will need small parts to make the caterpillar and small wings. I will arrange these parts in
the baskets with the corresponding colors and shapes beforehand.
I will scaffold the children by asking them questions to help them identify the observable qualities of
the caterpillar parts through questions like:
I can see you are making a birdwing butterfly, it says here that it is the biggest butterfly in the
world, do we need small wings for it or big wings?
It seems like you are making a caterpillar that is very small, do you think he will have small wings
or big wings?
Look at your caterpillar and look at the caterpillar, would you say it is bigger than our caterpillars
in the science center? What makes you think so?
I will also assist the students with counting the caterpillars parts, since there are five sections to the
caterpillar models and each part needs to be arranged smallest to largest in order to successfully
create a caterpillar.
I will help the children by asking them questions about the numbers located on the caterpillar
sections starting from the head (or the lowest number 1) and ascending to the highest number (the
tail which is 6).
I will encourage the children to examine their diagrams as they proceed through the activity by
offering questions to encourage them to associate the number with the section required. For
example:
I see you have a head for your caterpillar and two more pieces, how many more pieces do you think
youll need for your caterpillar to be fixed?
Look at this number; does it go before or after?
Is the head the first number of this sequence or is it the last number?
For the children that are having trouble with number recognition or are not ready for complex fine
motor activities. I will ask them make patterns of different caterpillars and butterflies in a sequence.
I will scaffold these children to create patterns of two different butterflies and two caterpillars or one
big and one small caterpillar.
If the children do not understand what patterns are I will scaffold them by asking them questions
like:
Look at this butterfly and this caterpillar; if we line them up to look at how many different ways
can we do it?
Can we arrange these caterpillars from smallest to biggest? How many of both do you think there
are?








*End: (How will I bring this activity to a conclusion and transition to the next activity? Be very specific
in how you will transition the children.)

I will make an announcement that the activity is coming to a close and that we will be moving on
to a new activity in five minutes.
For the children that are done or did not want to participate in the project. I will invite them want
to be my assistants for the next activity which will be the lifecycle dioramas of the caterpillars life
cycle.
I will offer them the paper plates and the noodles for the activity and have them proceed over to
the science center to place them there.
I will then announce to the other children that it is time to place the models in a safe place to
prevent damaging them.
I will dismiss the children according to their caterpillar model, for example, any child who was
working on the mourning butterfly could be dismissed to place their diorama in their cubby. This
will repeat until the last of the three different butterflies is addressed.
I will also scaffold the children by relating their patterns in the cubby to the patterns of the
butterflies through questions like: Look at this class, there is one azure and two mourning
butterflies in the first row of the cubby and two mourning butterflies and two azure butterflies in
the bottom cubby. Are they in the same order?















Throughout the day/week, what opportunities will the children have to reflect back on this activity?


The children will have time to reflect on these activities through the science center and through the art
activities which will involve placing specific numerical patterns to their work.
For example, when the children are categorizing and comparing the caterpillars in the science center
they will have the opportunity to count to six all of the caterpillars in the center.
The children will also learn to associate number order, since the caterpillar repair shop activity allowed
the children to associate the smallest number (or smallest section) with the largest number (largest
section). Therefore the children will be able to count from smallest to largest as they examine their own
work throughout the week.
Children will also use this knowledge to associate patterns and sequences with the different caterpillars
as they enter different life cycle stages. They will be able to make patterns and sequences relating to the
caterpillars that have entered the chrysalis stage, those caterpillars that are still normal and those
caterpillars that are fully cocooned.
The children will also have a chance to separate and count how many of each different life cycle stage
are located in the science center by organizing them in ways that allow them to visually see the
differences.
I will also ask the children specific scaffolding questions to encourage them to classify and categorize
the caterpillars into recognizable sequences through questions like:
Look at this caterpillar, what stage of its life is it in? Do you think it is the same as these two?
Do you think we can arrange the science center so the caterpillars already inside of their cocoons are
next to the caterpillars that are hanging upside down?
How many different patterns do you think we can make out of the caterpillars that are not inside of
their cocoons?