Butterfly Life Cycle

Students in 2nd grade learned about life cycles by raising their own Painted Lady Butterfly.  They received the eggs and each adopted their own to nurture into an adult butterfly.  They took pictures of each stage and captured it with photography.

While the butterflies cycled through the stages, the students researched the science of metamorphosis.
During this research, students were also learning about nonfiction text features.  They used their nonfiction butterfly books to identify the different features.

After all of the research was completed, students took their information  and wrote their own nonfiction book using the features that they learned about.  They chose to use the iPad app "Book Creator" to create their book.

Cait is recording her book

Releasing the Butterflies

Book Creator project:

Massachusetts Common Core Standards 2nd Grade RI.2.5  Know and use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently. W.2.2  Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section. W.2.6  With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers. SL.2.5  Create audio recordings of stories or poems; add drawings or other visual displays to stories or recounts of experiences when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.