Caterpillar to butterfly
Caterpillar to butterfly: the life cycle of a butterfly as an observable transformation. Egg → caterpillar → chrysalis → butterfly. The idea that one creature can change its whole form. Classroom butterfly kits, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
What a learner can do afterwards
- Describe the four stages of a butterfly's life in order: egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly
- Explain that the caterpillar and the butterfly are the same creature at different stages of life
- Retell or draw the transformation from caterpillar to butterfly after reading a story or watching it happen
The lesson
A butterfly does not start life as a butterfly. It begins as a tiny egg. Then it changes shape three more times.
Leo watches a caterpillar in a jar. First it eats leaves. Then it makes a chrysalis. A week later, a butterfly comes out.
The caterpillar and the butterfly are not two bugs. They are the same creature. It just changes its shape.
Egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly: one creature, four big changes.
Watch it
Where it sits
Learn first
This opens up
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.