Rationale

This text set about butterflies is intended for children in the second grade. Students at the age of nine years old “look hard (often anxiously) for explanations of facts, how things work, why things happen as they do; a good age for science exploration, according the Yardsticks (2015). In this text set, students will be able to explore how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. This text set offers factual books about the butterfly life cycle, as well as books that have value towards morals and life lessons. Students in second grade tend to very self-critical, so a few of these books offer life lessons on appearance.

- Fiction Stories -

Summary

The Very Hungry Caterpillar beings as a small egg lying on a leaf. The egg hatches and the caterpillar comes outside. As the caterpillar grows throughout the week, his appetite becomes larger and larger. He begins by eating an apple on Sunday to eating a piece of Strawberry cake, one piece of ice ream cone, one lollipop, and one slice of watermelon. After the caterpillar develops a stomachache, decides to eat a leaf and forms himself into a cocoon where he then turns into a beautiful butterfly.

Teaching Points

• Reading First: Comprehension
• Standard: RL.2.5 – Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.
• Area of Language Arts: Critical Thinking
• Objective: Students will be able to describe the life cycle of a butterfly.
• The students use critical thinking when reading the story to comprehend how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. This book allows for the children to be engaged by looking at the colorful pictures, while learning the butterfly life cycle. While reading the book students will answer questions about what is happening to the butterfly's growth throughout the book. After reading the book, students will create a drawing to represent each stage of the butterfly life cycle, including one sentence describing each stage.

Additional Resource

Learn more about Eric Carle and his stories: http://www.eric-carle.com/home.html

Summary

Charlie is a caterpillar who struggles with the idea that he is ugly. Charlie decides he wants to venture out and make friends. Along his way, Charlie is constantly turned down and told his is too ugly to play with anyone. This makes Charlie feel extremely sad and left out. Once winter arrives, Charlie turns into a cocoon, which eventually turns into a butterfly. Charlie is now beautiful and everyone is starting to ask for Charlie to play with them because he is so beautiful.

Teaching Points

• Reading First: Comprehension
• Standard: RL.2.3 – Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
• Area of Language Arts: Reading
• Objective: Students will be able to compare their lives challenges to Charlie's life challenges.
• Students will describe how Charlie changes throughout the story, from a caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly. The students will discuss the challenges Charlie faces throughout the book. In order to best comprehend the storyline, students will compare their life challenges with Charlie's challenges throughout the book.

Additional Resources

Listen to the reading of Charlie the Caterpillar! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_m_bmrCUeM

Summary

A young girl finds a caterpillar while enjoying time outside. She decides to bring the caterpillar inside to her grandfather. The young girl and her grandfather work together to create a house for the caterpillar. They carefully design the house including all the essentials a butterfly may need. As days go by the caterpillar goes inside the house and becomes a butterfly!

Teaching Points

• Reading First: Comprehension
• Standard: RI.2.8 – Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in a text.
• Area of Language Arts: Reading
• Objective: The students will be able to outline specific points throughout the story.
• When reading this story aloud, I would first tell the students to watching a listen for what happens to the caterpillar through out the story. In addition, the students should think about how the butterfly house is created by the young girl. Students will then create their own outline showing the growth of the caterpillar into a butterfly and how to construct a butterfly house.

Additional Resources

This is a great read aloud video to help students learn about butterflies and how to create a butterfly house: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYYRb4ok5H8

- Non Fiction Stories -

Summary

This story takes place in an elementary classroom. One day the teacher brings a caterpillar in a jar. The students observe as the caterpillar grows. As the days go by the caterpillar eats and grows and then turns into a chrysalis. Eventually the chrysalis cracks and the caterpillar is now a butterfly. The students learn facts and new vocabulary about how the caterpillar grows into a butterfly. The students then release the butterfly into the outside.

Teaching points

• Reading First: Vocabulary
• Standard: W.2.7 – Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., read a number of books on a single topic to produce a report; record science observations).
• Area of Language Arts: Writing
• Objective: Students will be able to compose a report by reading non fiction books about the butterfly life cycle.
• By reading this book, students will learn the process of a caterpillar changing into a butterfly. This book's storyline will also keep student's engagement while learning facts about a butterfly's life cycle. Students will use this book to write a step by step report on the butterfly cycle.

Additional Resources

Here is some additional information about author Deborah Heiligman: http://deborahheiligman.com/

Summary

This non fiction butterfly book gives an unique take on various facts about butterflies. Some of these facts include how a butterfly is patient, creative, protective, and even poisonous. The book first quickly describes the butterfly life cycle and then provides facts about how a butterfly different types of butterflies and how butterflies help other insects.

Teaching Points

• Reading First: Comprehension
• Standard: RL.2.9 – Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.
• Area of Language Arts: Critical Thinking
• Objective: Students will be able to compare and contrast facts from two non fiction books about butterflies.
• After the students have read "From Caterpillar to Butterfly" and "A Butterfly is Patient" the students will compare and contrast the two non fiction books. The students will be asked to list facts from each book and compare which facts are the same and which facts differ. This activity will help students better comprehend the facts and thing critically about the differences and similarities of the two books.

Additional Resources

Here are some great activities to incorporate with reading this book! http://blog.growingwithscience.com/2011/06/activities-to-accompany-a-butterfly-is-patient/

Summary

In Miss Dana's class, the students observe the life cycle of a butterfly. The teacher allows the students to watch every step of the butterfly cycle. While the children observe the cycle, Miss Dana explains to the children how the butterfly's body is changing and why. The children become impatient as the cycle goes on and they wait for the beautiful butterflies the appear. Eventually the butterflies appear and the students release the butterflies to fly on their own. The teacher explains to the children how the butterflies will travel and migrate around the world.

Teaching points

• Reading First: Fluency
• Standard: RF.2.4b – Read on-level text orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.
• Area of Language Arts: Reading
• Objective: Students will be able to demonstrate character's personalities by using expression while reading.
• The storyline in this book has conversation between the teacher and the students. Students will read this book aloud to practice fluency and expressive voice when reading the various conversation throughout the book. When appropriate, the students should give personality to each character talking throughout the book. Students can read to a partner or in a small group setting.

Addition Resources

Here is a read aloud to this story! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddTAdDydbWs

- Visual/Illustrated Stories -

Summary

Lucy is playing outside and finds a beautiful butterfly. She played and chased the butterfly around the yard. Suddenly the butterfly went missing. Lucy looked high and low for the butterfly, but could not find it. She began to play with other insects, such as a worm, spider, lady bug, and various other insects. Lucy begins to look for the butterfly once again, and the butterfly appears and Lucy is full of joy!

Teaching Points

• Reading First: Phonemic Awareness
• Standard: RF.2.3 – Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
• Area of Language Arts: Speaking
• Objective: Students will be able to apply phonics and decoding skills by reading a book with everyday common words.
• This book has common everyday words throughout the story. Students who may have trouble with phonemic awareness can read this book aloud to the teacher to practice decoding simple words. While reading the story, the teacher may prompt students to answer questions about the problem in the story and how Lucy may feel when the butterfly goes missing. This will help the student better comprehend what is going on in the story as well as decoding words.

Additional Resources

Learn more about the author here! http://www.petrhoracek.co.uk/

SUmmary

A little cricket finds himself self conscious for the way he looks. He is timid to be around others because he finds himself ugly and dreams of being a butterfly. The cricket decides to venture out and stumbles upon a dragon fly, a lady bug and various other friends. These friends talk to the cricket about how he feels self conscious about being ugly. The friends offer advice to the cricket to try and build up his confidence, but the cricket still wants to be a butterfly. Finally, a spider tells the cricket to look in the water at his reflection and soon the cricket's insecurities fade away.

Teaching points

• Reading First: Comprehension
• Standard: RL.2.3 – Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.
• Area of Language Arts: Reading
• Objective: Students will be able to compare their life troubles to the challenges the cricket has throughout the story in order to comprehend the book's meaning.
• This story holds a deeper meaning that students should take time to critically think about and learn from. The cricket's conflict can be very similar to what students feel on a regular basis. While reading the story students should reflect and compare their lives to the cricket's lives. This will allow for the students to better comprehend the deeper meaning of the story.

Additional Resources

This is a great lesson plan that aligns with this book! https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plans/teaching-content/i-wish-i-were-butterfly-lesson-plan/

Summary

A lamb and a butterfly were flying through the meadow. The lamb began asking the butterfly a series of questions, such as, "Why don't you have a mother?" and "Where do you sleep?" The butterfly explain to the lamb that he must be going on and leave this meadow. Suddenly a storm cloud came in and it started to rain. The lamb was sad the butterfly left, but the butterfly appeared on the lamb's back. After the storm went away and the sun began to shine, the butterfly explained to the lamb that he must leave the meadow and move south before the cold weather came. The lamb never asked anyone to join his flock again.

Teaching Points

• Reading First: Phonics
• Standard: RL.2.4 – Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song
• Area of Language Arts: Writing
• Objective: Students will be able to create a story using repeated lines throughout their writing.
• For this book, students should realize that the line "And with a zig and a zag and a ziggety zag." repeats throughout this story. The students will describe what this sentences describes. After reading the book, students will create their own writing, using a repeating phase just like the one used in this book. Students will have unique phrases and will be encouraged to share their stories with their peers.

Additional Resources

This a great read aloud by a student. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5D8mZJKsjU

Alternative Text

This video and song provides students with facts about a butterfly's life cycle. Students should be able to listen and be engaged while listening to the song. Students should also be encouraged to sing along, which may help them better remember the butterfly life cycle!