Butterflies by Seymour Simon

Butterflies

Written By Seymour Simon

Published by Collins

2011

Reading Levels Grade Level 4-5

“butterflies, science, caterpillar, insect, garden”

Butterflies are beautiful, inspiring, amazing insects. Did you know that butterflies . . .have eyes that can look in all directions—up, down, forward, backward, left, and right—all at the same time? taste with their feet? can migrate 3,000 miles every year? Award-winning science writer Seymour Simon invites readers to explore the world of butterflies and moths with fascinating facts and stunning full-color photographs.

Suggested Delivery: independent reader to be paired with science lesson

Electronic Resources:

http://www.seymoursimon.com

This is Seymour Simon’s personal website which show cases all of his books and provides information on the author, his books, links to his blog, and resources for children. This website can be useful to teacher, students, and parents who are looking for further information about and from the popular children’s non-fiction author.

http://www.thebutterflysite.com

This site is completely dedicated to information and facts about butterflies. The site provides articles on any topic ranging from the life cycle of a butterfly, to pictures of different species of butterflies, to how to raise butterflies in a farm. Students could use this research to further investigate butterflies or build schema.

Teaching Suggestions:

1. Vocabulary:

• Monarch: a large migratory orange and black butterfly that lives mainly in North America
• Migration: seasonal movement of animals from one region to another.
• Pollinate: to collect or deposit pollen on a flower or plant to allow for fertilization
• Antennae: either of a pair of long, thin sensory appendages on the heads of insects
• Pulverize: to defeat utterly
• Chrysalis: a moth or butterfly pupa that is enclosed in a hardened protective case
• Imago: an adult butterfly
• Thorax: the middle section of an insect
• Abdomen:
• Probiscus: the posterior section of and insect
• Mimic: to copy or imitate
• Pheromone: a chemical produced and released into the environment by an animal that affects the behavior or physiology of others in its species

2. Before, During, and After Reading Strategies

Before Reading:

Since much of the vocabulary in the text is content related vocabulary and most students will be unfamiliar with it, have the class create vocabulary flashcards of all the words listed above. Ask students to write the term on the front of the index card, and the definition and any synonyms or visual representation on the back of the card. This activity will pre-teach the academic vocabulary from the text and give students a reference for vocabulary during reading.

During Reading:

To enhance comprehension during reading, set up a Directed Note-Taking Activity for students to use while teaching. Have students split a piece of paper into two columns, and label the left column “Topics,” and the right column “Notes.” Ask students to keep track of main topics and points being made in the text (ie. The life cycle, different species of butterflies, moths etc.) and use the right hand column to write down any interesting facts or details that belong to the topic. Students can also use the right column to write down any questions they have from the reading or things they’re interested in learning more about.

After Reading:

Using one of the after reading ideas Simon suggests in the last couple pages of his books, a fun and meaningful extension activity from the reading would be to raise butterflies in the classroom. It’s fairly inexpensive and easy to order a butterfly garden kits online which typically includes a netted enclosure, larva, and food. Using a kit like these can bring an interactive and real world scenario of the butterfly life cycle into the classroom for students to observe. Ask the students to use what they learned from the text to write brief observation reports on what stages the butterflies are in during their life cycle, what type of butterflies they are, etc.

Writing Activity:

The text mentions a number of rare, interesting species of butterflies from all over the world. Ask students to choose a butterfly that they think is interesting and have them choose 5 topics to research further about them (ie. Habitat, diet, appearance, etc.) Once the students have researched more information about their butterfly and organized it into the appropriate sub-topics, student can assemble their own butterfly book. Students can create a page for each subtopic that includes a paragraph about the subtopic for their butterfly as well as illustrations, or photos found online. Encourage students to publish their work and share with the rest of the class or their family.