LuAnn Galvin
Butterfly Life Cycle
Introduction
Lifecycle
This web quest is a tool to help children learn the cycle of a butterfly.
Students will learn all about a butterfly and the different stages they go through in their life. Notice the
different changes in the life cycle of a butterfly.
Task
You will be able to:
•Work with one partner on each activity.
•Learn butterfly vocabulary words with virtual flashcards.
•Write an autobiography of what you would eat, see, and feel through the lifecycle of a butterfly, if you
were the butterfly.
•Make a poster of the life cycle of the butterfly with the sequence of stages shown.
Process
Task #1
To begin our study of the butterfly you will need to know each vocabulary word:
1.Egg
2.Larva
3.Pupa
4.Adult
5.Molt
6.Chrysalis
Flashcards may help you remember these words better (Go to Flashcards)
Task #2 Pretend that you are a butterfly and write an autobiography. Start from the beginning of
your life and describe some things you may see, smell, hear, and eat to survive. Remember, an
autobiography is written about your life.
Write your autobiography on this page- (Print out and put together)
Here are some websites to go to so you can see what happens during each stage of a butterfly's life.
1.Eggs
2.Larva
3.Pupa
4.Adult Butterfly
Task #3 Your final project is to make a poster that represents the life cycle you have learned about.
Print off each picture listed below and glue them on a poster board. Draw arrows showing the order of
the stages.
Pictures:
•Eggs- Picture 1, Picture 2, Picture 3
•Caterpillar (Larva)- Picture 1, Picture 2, Picture 3
•Pupa (Cocoon)- Picture 1, Picture 2, Picture 3
•Adult Butterfly- Picture 1, Picture 2, Picture 3
Evaluation
This is how your work will be evaluated.
Minimum
1
Better
2
Good
3
Excellent
4
I worked well
with my partner.
I did not work well
and share ideas
equally.
My partner and I
shared some ideas
but did not work
well the whole
time.
My partner and I
worked well
together on 2 out
of 3 tasks.
I worked well with
my partner on
each task and we
shared ideas
equally.
Task #1
I looked at the
flashcards but did
not provide
description for all
vocabulary words.
I provided
descriptions for
each vocabulary
word but did not
go into detail.
All descriptions
were provided and
looked at the
flashcards.
Each vocabulary
word was
described in great
detail and all of
the flashcards
were memorized.
Task #2
I only provided
one area of the
cycle in my
autobiography and
did not put the
butterfly together.
I put the butterfly
together and
provided an
autobiography for
two areas of the
cycle.
I provided an
autobiography for
each stage of the
cycle and put the
butterfly together.
I put the butterfly
together and
provided a
description for
each stage and
incorporated
vocabulary words.
Task #3
I included only 3
or less pictures of
the cycle on my
poster and forgot
to draw the
arrows.
I printed out the
pictures but did
not put them in
the correct order.
I printed out the
pictures and put
them in order but
did not draw
arrows.
I printed out the
pictures and put
them in order with
arrows pointing
from each phase
to the next.
Score
Conclusion
I hope that learning about butterflies was a fun experience for you and your partner!
If you enjoyed the activities in this lesson and would like to do more, here are some links to different
crafts you can do!
•Handprint Butterfly Craft
•Butterfly Card Craft
•Describe A Butterfly
•Butterfly Wordsearch
Credits
The images shown as icons were found on Roger Hall Scientific Illustration
The rest of the pictures used for the poster were found on Google Images.
The butterfly autobiography page was found on Unique Teaching Resources
Resources:
http://questgarden.com/112/27/6/101026113810/evaluation.htm
Permissions
We all benefit by being generous with our work. Permission is granted for others to use and modify this
WebQuest for educational, non-commercial purposes as long as the original authorship is credited. The
modified WebQuest may be shared only under the same conditions. See the Creative Commons
Attribution • Non-Commercial• Share-Alike license for details.