'Bittersweet' Lesson on Butterfly Life Cycles for Warren Students

Second-graders throughout Warren Township Schools have been engrossed in life science through their studies focusing on the life cycle of a butterfly, starting with caterpillars, which were named by some students. 

In early September, Woodland School students in Mrs. Rzasa and Mrs. Bell’s classes were eager to gain a host of new responsibilities, after classes each received two caterpillars. 

As exciting as it was to name them, the children immediately began to discuss and predict the next stage of the caterpillars' lives, working with their teachers and peers. 

Days passed with remarkable results; students watched each stage intently and were amazed at the rapid changes in their butterflies.

During this time, students developed strategies to gather information and recorded their observations as young scientists. Thanks to their teachers, they had a wealth of reading material at their fingertips, both non-fiction and fiction, which had been compiled over the years with grade level funds.  

The learning on the topic did not end with the school day, however. Students updated their family members about daily progress, and in one homework assignment, each took on the role of teacher to educate parents and friends about the difference between the spiracles, bristles and prolegs. 

Technology was not absent from this “experience of nature" either, as the teachers uploaded media via their classroom SmartBoards. 

Ultimately, the children learned about the needs of organisms, recognized that individuals differ within species, analyzed features that are attributed to success and survival, and investigated the interconnectedness that occurs between living things and the environment.

While the butterflies’ release this week was bittersweet for some of these young learners, students realized that the life cycle continues. The classes got eggs from their butterflies and are excited to raise a second generation of butterflies.

_ Information from Warren Township Schools