PRINTABLES FOR THIS UNIT: https://drive.google.com/file/d/13D6UvDn4V-scKsSsUdW63xXEtjSUZPmu/view?usp=sharing
Monarch Butterfly Journey (page 1)
Letter Tracing and Butterfly Paths (page 2)
Color your Own Monarch Butterfly (page 3)
Butterfly Puzzle (page 4)
Make your own Butterfly Anatomy Book (pages 5-7)
Butterfly Anatomy (page 8)
Butterfly Anatomy Fill-in-the-Blank (page 9)
Butterfly Count and Write (page 10)
Count the Butterflies (page 11)
Bye-bye Butterflies Subtraction (page 12)
Memory Matching Game & Make your own Type of Butterflies Book (pages 13-14)
Butterfly Matching Puzzle Game (pages 15-20)
Classifying Butterflies/ Moths (page 21)
Moths v.s Butterflies Venn Diagram (page 22)
Monday, April 27
Main Lesson: The Journey of the Monarch Butterfly
Monarch Butterflies are famous for their seasonal migration, when millions of them journey south from the United States and Canada to California and Mexico for the winter, reversing the journey and returning north in the spring.
Migration
Populations of monarchs living in the eastern parts of northern Canada and the northern U.S.A. journey south for the winter when the days get shorter and the weather cools. They head for the mountains of central Mexico, where it is warmer, many of them migrating up to 3,000 miles. Once they arrive at their destination, they huddle together on oyamel fir trees to wait out the winter. When spring arrives and the days grow longer again, they begin a month and a half-long journey back north. En route, these tiny nomads lay their eggs on milkweed plants, leaving it to the new generation of butterflies hatched from these eggs to continue the journey. While migrating the monarchs live only two to six weeks, and therefore it often takes several generations of newly hatched monarchs to complete the journey north to their final destinations in the northern U.S. and Canada.
Monarch populations living in the western parts of northern Canada and the northern U.S. have a slightly shorter journey. Most of them head south to the California coast for the winter, stopping at well-known spots to wait out the cold. When spring comes, they disperse across California and other western states.
How do monarchs make such a long journey?
They use the sun to stay on course, as well as a magnetic compass to help them navigate on cloudy days. In addition, they have highly efficient muscles that allow them to travel vast distances.
For more information visit the National Geographic page on Monarch butterflies: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/m/monarch-butterfly/
Or the National Park Service site: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/pollinators/migratingmonarchs.htm
Some videos chronicling their amazing migration: https://youtu.be/3njFNmc-W2k; https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/0000015a-94a4-d61d-a37a-9dfd81e70000; https://www.atlasobscura.com/videos/gaze-upon-a-million-monarch-butterflies-in-mexico; https://www.pbs.org/video/the-mystery-of-the-worlds-greatest-butterfly-migration-vdc0fl/
Butterfly Migration Song: (by Ms. Eleana and her friends Agustina & Martin, who can be heard on the recording)
Lyrics below:
Activities (see PDF documents provided at the top of the blogpost and/ or the listed website link):
Monarch Butterfly Journey: First, print the Monarch Butterfly Journey map. Next, color and cut out the monarch butterflies at the bottom of the page. Then, trace the migration routes with a colored pencil. Lastly, paste the butterflies over the black stars on the map, showing the Monarch Butterflies’ starting points and destinations.
Letter Tracing and Butterfly Paths: Print the appropriate PDF worksheet. Trace the letters and then trace the path of each butterfly.
Color your own Monarch Butterfly: Print the appropriate PDF. Follow the lines and trace the outlines of the butterfly. Then color it in.
Art Projects:
Toilet paper roll butterflies: https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/butterfly-craft-for-kids-4129195
Paper Plate Butterfly: https://iheartcraftythings.com/paper-plate-butterfly-craft.html
Various projects: Coffee Filter Butterfly & Handprint Butterfly & Bowtie Pasta Butterfly
Book Idea: Gotta Go! Gotta Go! by Sam Swope (author), Sue Riddle (illustrator) https://images.app.goo.gl/7fYgzVh37ij6MvQZ6
Tuesday, April 28
Main Lesson: The Anatomy of a Butterfly
Butterfly: Is an insect. It has a slender body and four broad, colored wings.
Eyes: A butterfly has two compound eyes (each eye made up of many little eyes grouped together). Each eye sees only a part of what the butterfly is looking at.
Antennae: Are skinny sensory appendages with little knobs on the end. Butterflies use their antennae to smell flowers, plants, and other butterflies as well as to balance themselves.
Legs: Butterflies have six legs, and they taste with their feet! That’s how they find flower nectar and the best plants on which to lay their eggs.
Proboscis: Is like a long tongue or drinking straw emanating from the head. The butterfly uncoils its proboscis and uses it to sip flower nectar and fruit juice.
Head: The part of the insect that contains the brain, two compound eyes, and the proboscis.
Thorax: Has strong muscles that help the butterfly move its legs and wings.
Abdomen: Contains the butterfly’s heart and stomach. The butterfly also breathes through small holes on the side of the abdomen.
Hindwings: Butterflies have two hindwings.
Forewings: Butterflies have two forewings.
Video highlighting the various parts of a butterfly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkLcv78b6Ig
Activities (see PDF documents provided at the top of the blogpost and/ or the listed website link):
Butterfly Puzzle: See relevant PDF and build your own butterfly puzzle by cutting along the vertical black lines.
Make your own Butterfly Anatomy Book: Print the relevant files listed below. Either use the document where the body parts are already labeled and highlighted or the document with the blank butterflies and the traceable labels to make your own butterfly anatomy book. Use the provided butterfly book (see link below) as an example and to learn more about the butterfly’s different body parts.
Butterflies with body parts already labeled and highlighted in color (see provided PDF document at the top of the blogpost)
Blank butterflies, with labels for tracing (see provided PDF document at the top of the)
Butterfly Anatomy: Cut out the words describing the butterfly’s body parts and paste them into the appropriate spaces. Alternatively, you can write the words in the provided spaces yourself.
Butterfly Anatomy Fill-in-the-Blank: Print the relevant PDF worksheet. With help from a parent/ adult, fill in the blanks on the worksheet.
Butterfly Count and Write Worksheet: Print the relevant PDF worksheet. Count the dots on each butterfly and write the appropriate number in the circle below.
Book Idea: A Butterfly Is Patient by Dianna Aston (author), Sylvia Long (illustrator) https://youtu.be/gOFW0Pk9uNY
Wednesday, April 29
Main Lesson: Different Types of Butterflies & How Does it Feel to be a Butterfly
Video about the ten most beautiful butterflies on the planet: https://youtu.be/2ZFBUr4vrD0
How to differentiate between the ten most common butterflies of North America:
Activities (see PDF documents provided at the top of the blogpost and/ or the listed website link):
Count the Butterflies: Print the appropriate worksheet and count and circle the correct number of butterflies pictured. Don’t forget to color the butterflies!
Bye-bye Butterflies Subtraction: Print the appropriate worksheet. Count the number of butterflies and cross-out the number you need to subtract/take away. Write how many butterflies you have left.
Memory Matching Game with Butterflies: Print two copies of the provided butterfly matching game PDF. Cut out all of the butterflies (you should have 12 matching pairs). Now play the memory game: turn all of the cards upside down and take turns turning over two cards at a time (if the two cards match, the player gets to go again, if the two cards do not match, it’s the next player’s turn).
Make your own Types of Butterflies Book: Using the provided memory matching game PDF, create a book of various types of butterflies. If you are practicing your writing, practice writing their names.
Butterfly Matching Puzzle Game: Cut the butterflies featured in the Puzzle PDF and make them whole again by matching both the left and right parts of each butterfly.
Butterfly Sipping Experiment: Make a butterfly headband (see following art project) and pretend to use your proboscis (straw) to sip some nectar from a flower (glass/ cup).
Art Project Ideas:
Learn about and color your own Blue Morpho Butterfly: https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/sites/default/files/2016-08/blue_morpho_color%20%281%29.pdf
Color your own California Dogface Butterfly, the official state insect of California: https://www.pacifichorticulture.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Calif-dogface-online1.jpg
as a reference: https://statesymbolsusa.org/symbol-official-item/california/state-insect/california-dogface-butterfly
How to make a butterfly headband https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hbL0jev-ISXNd2MmQmYQ3lbC5-UqXGNCrr_HvRSiEyY/edit?usp=sharing
Book: The Lamb and the Butterfly by Arnold Sundgaard (author), Eric Carle (illustrator)https://youtu.be/ZvCVz3WpZOo
Thursday, April 30
Main Lesson: Butterflies vs. Moths
Moths have a bad reputation. Some moths are considered pests because their larvae eat clothing or blankets, or because they damage crops, plants, and trees. Moths are fascinating and beautiful creatures, however.
Butterflies v.s. Moths:
Like other insects, both moths and butterflies have four wings, six legs, and a jointed body divided into three sections—head, thorax, and abdomen. One of the easiest ways to tell the difference between a butterfly and a moth is to study their antennas. Moth antennae are feathery or, in some species, threadlike. Butterfly antennae always have clublike tips. Additionally, the body of the moth is usually shorter and stouter than that of the butterfly. Other differences are highlighted in the following diagrams:
More information about the differences between moths and butterflies can be found on the website of the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary: https://australianbutterflies.com/8-differences-between-butterflies-and-moths/
Video about the differences between butterflies and moths: https://youtu.be/iblveeTDkXQ
Activities (see PDF documents provided at the top of the blogpost and/ or the listed website link):
Classifying Butterflies/Moths: Print the corresponding PDF. Cut out the various butterflies/moths as well as the words “butterfly” and “moth.” Place the words “butterfly” and “moth” next to each other, and categorize the cut-out butterflies and months correctly beneath them. Use the facts learned in the lesson and available on this blogpost to differentiate between butterfly and moth.
Moths v.s Butterflies Venn Diagram: Print corresponding PDF. Use what you have learned (and maybe with the help of a parent/ adult) to list the differences between moths and butterflies as well as what they have in common in the following venn diagram.
Moth v.s. Butterfly Labeling: Label each picture as either a moth or a butterfly:
Art Project: How to draw a Moth
Follow the instructions to draw your own lunar moth here: https://artprojectsforkids.org/how-to-draw-a-moth/
or a more elaborate moth here: http://kakleckyillustration.com/blog/2017/3/2/paper-moth-tutorial
Book: Reading Discovery's Nature Series: Butterflies and Moths by Kathryn Knight
Friday, May 1
Main Lesson: Cooking Day!
Tofu Caterpillars (Breaded Tofu Fingers)
(source: America’s Test Kitchen, The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook)
Ingredients:
14 ounces firm tofu, cut into about 3-inch long by ½ inch thick fingers
breadcrumbs (about 2 cups or so)
flour (about 1 cup or so)
2 large eggs (or your favorite egg substitute)
Salt and pepper
oil for frying (optional) but certainly for coating (I use avocado oil)
Baking sheet (either oiled or lined with parchment paper, a silicone baking mat, or aluminum foil) (or if you have an airfryer, I use mine to make these finger extra crispy)
Directions:
1. Spread the tofu over a paper-towel-lined baking sheet, let drain for 20 minutes, then gently press dry with paper towels.
2. Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. (Or if like me you have an airfryer, use it to make them extra crispy!)
3. Spread flour into a shallow dish, in another shallow dish beat eggs (adding some salt and pepper to taste), and in yet another shallow dish add breadcrumbs. (So you will have 3 separate dishes, each with just one of these ingredients: flour; eggs; breadcrumbs)
4. Take one of the tofu pieces and first dredge it in the flour, then dip it in the egg, and lastly coat liberally with the breadcrumbs. (Warning: your hands will get sticky. If you don’t like sticky hands, use a fork to maneuver the tofu.)
5. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat the breading process with the other tofu pieces.
6. Brush the tofu with some oil and bake for 15 minutes (depending on your oven) or until golden brown.
7. Serve with your favorite sauce (I like to mix avocado mayonnaise, some mustard and ketchup, and maybe some sriracha to make a fun, flavorful sauce)
Alternatively: You can fry the breaded tofu in batches in oil using a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until the tofu is light golden brown on all sides, about 4 minutes. Let the excess oil drip before serving.