10 Children's Books for Theme Unit

1. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle 

*See literature/ vocabulary project 

2. Becoming Butterflies by Anne Rockwell

This book covers the whole butterfly life cycle in a way that the students can relate to. 

3. Velma Gratch and the Way Cool Butterfly by Alan Madison and Kevin Hawkes

This is the story about Velma Gratch trying to find something she is good at. 

4. Percival the Plain Little Caterpillar by Helen Brawley 

This story doesn't have the best theme or message in that Percival has to be beautiful to be worthy but it does have great illustrations and fun pictures for the students to see. 

5. Bob and Otto by Robert O. Bruel 

This story goes into the differences between and earthworm and a caterpillar and how they are so vital to each other. The worm digs into the ground so the tree can grow and produce leaves for the caterpillar to eat and turn to a butterfly. 

6. The Caterpillar and Polliwog by Jack Kent

This story is about the life cycle of butterflies and frogs and has the message of being comfortable with who you are. 

7. The Lamb and the Butterfly by Arnold Sundgaard 

This story is about the friendship of a lamb and butterfly and by helping each other they learn the differences of others and appreciate independence and freedom. 

8. Clara Caterpillar by Pamela Duncan Edwards 

This story is about Clara who turns into a cream colored butterfly and Catisha who turns into a crimson colored butterfly. During a run in with a cow, Clara proves that being colorful and conspicuous doesn't compare with being common, content, and courageous. 

9. Caterpillar Spring, Butterfly Summer by Susan Hood 

This story using rhyming and is fun to read for young readers. Beautiful story about a caterpillar's busy day. 

10. Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert 

This story follows the cycle of four common butterflies from tiny eggs, to caterpillars, to butterflies. Has butterfly and flower facts and comes with a guide on how to plant a butterfly garden. 

Winter Math Center

Rationale:

• This activity meets standards:

• K.1.1.1 Recognize that a number can be used to represent how many objects are in a set or to represent the position of an object in a sequence.

• K.1.1.2 Read, write, and represent whole numbers from 0 to at least 31.

Materials:

• Mittens with numbers 1-10

• mittens with ten frames of dots 1-10.

Motivation:

• "Kindergarteners today I have a new math center for you to go along with out winter theme! You will have mittens with numbers 1 through 10 on them and mittens with ten frames 1 through 10 on them. You will have to match the number with the correct ten frame. When you get this done, you and a partner can play memory with the mittens. You will flip the mittens over and can pick two mittens, if they match you get to keep them and if they don't match you will have to turn them over and it is your partners turn.

Steps:

1. Lay the mittens face up.

2. Count the dots on the ten frame mitten and then find the matching number.

Memory game

1. Get with a partner and flip all the mittens face down.

2. The first person will flip two mitttens over.

3. If they match that partner gets to keep them and go again.

4. If they do not match, flip them back over and it is the other person's turn.

Bibliography:

http://blog.maketaketeach.com/mitten-match/

Weather Literacy Center

Rationale:

• This activity targets the 0.3.0.2 standard of "demonstrating an understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).

Materials:

• Print outs of clouds, rain drops, and lightning bolts with digraphs and pictures.

Motivation:

• "Kindergarteners, I have a new center for you today. With this one you are going to pick a cloud and math the lightining bolt and rain drops that have a picture with that sound in their name. For example, if you pick the 'th' cloud you could match the rain drop with the 'three' on it because 'three' has a th in the name."

Steps:

• First you pick a cloud.

• Then you find lightning bolts and rain drops with that digraph in the name of the picture.

Bibliography:

http://ofprimaryimportance.blogspot.com

Communication Tool

Rationale:

• The use of this tool is to help the students remember and tell their parents or guardians about what they know about caterpillars and butterflies. This will also help the students on their oral communication skill because they will have to tell the class what they did with the caterpillar the night before.

Materials:

• sock

• newspaper

• rubberbands

• pipe cleaners

Motivation:

"Kindergarteners we are going to start learning about caterpillars and butterflies this month/week! I have a new friend to introduce to you! This is Kiki the caterpillar and, she is going to help us learn about caterpillars and butterflies. You will each get to take her home with you and then come back and tell us what you did with her."

Description of project nature and use:

• This caterpillar will be introduced at the beginning of the theme unit as "Kiki the caterpillar." The students will each get to take home the Kiki for one night. They will have to talk to their parents or guardians about what they have learned about butterflies and caterpillars. They will come to school the next day and tell the class what they did with the caterpillar.

Bibliography:

Idea for caterpillar and how to make it: http://love-and-lollipops.blogspot.com/2010/05/no-sew-caterpillar-and-butterfly.html

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Math Project

Rationale:

• This activity meets standard, K.1.1.3 Count, with and without objects, forward and backward to at least 20. It also fits with the theme of butterflys and caterpillars because the students are counting segments on the caterpillar.

Materials:

• Caterpillar picture and number matching cards

Motivation:

• "Kindergartners, since we have been talking about butterflys and caterpillars this week I have a fun math matching game for you."

Steps:

• Students match the number of body segments on the caterpillar with the numerical number.

• To make it more difficult, could play it like memory. They turn all cards over and have to flip two over and get them to match.

Bibliographic data:

• Ideas and materials were self-created. 

Art Project

Rationale:

• This art project is a wonderful way for students to make a butterfly. This is an art project and not a craft, so it allows the students to express themselves and choose their own colors and draw the butterfly how they choose. This project also teaches the students symmetry.

Materials:

• Paper

• Scissors

• Pencil

• Paint

• Painbrush

Motivation:

• "Kindergarteners we have been talking about butterflies this week. Today, I have an art project for you to make your own butterfly. I will show you how to make your butterfly and then allow you to go make your own!"

Steps:

• "First you will take your peice of paper and fold it in half the hambuger way."

• "Then you will draw your butterfly on one half of the peice of paper keeping part of the fold line in the drawing."

• "Next, using that same side you just drew your butterfly on, you will flip it over and paint that half of the paper on the side with no drawing."

• "Then, you will fold, on the fold line, the side that is painted together with paper. So the painted side will touch the other half of the paper."

• "You will rub the paper together so that the paint gets on the other half of the paper. Then unfold the paper and lay it flat to let it dry."

• "Once the paint is dry, fold the paper back in half and cut along the line of the drawing of you butterfly."

• "Then, unfold your butterfly and look at the finished product. Notice how both sides are the same? We can this symmetry."

Bibliography:

sharingkindergarten.blogspot.com

https://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view

Literature/Vocabulary Project

Title:

• The Very Hungry Caterpillar By Eric Carle

Rationale:

• By using a read aloud story with the students it engages them and helps them understand through a story what is being taught. By having the story to accompany them the students can learn vocabulary, rhyme, punctuation, sounds of letters, and can describe the pictures.

Materials:

• baggie with caterpillar picture on front

• pictures and words of things caterpillar eats in the story

• Sheet with blocks and the days of the week in separate boxes

• pictures or each student of the foods he ate

Motivation:

• "Kindergarten we have been learning about butterflies and caterpillars this week. I have a story for you called The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. I am going to read the story to you and I want you to put your thumbs up when you hear words that begin with the letter 'c'."

Vocabulary: days of the week, words with c, putting words in the caterpillar

• Students recognize words the begin with 'c'

• While reading the story have the students put their thumbs up when they hear a word that begins with the letter 'c'.

• Students get a sheet with the days of the week and pictures of the foods the caterpillar eats

• Read the part of the story again about what the caterpillar eats

• Have students put the images of what he eats in the corresponding boxes on their sheet

• For example: "On Monday he ate through one apple." The students will have to put a picture of an apple in the box that says Monday.

• Center Vocabulary work

• For a center activity, students would have a plastic bag with a picture of caterpillar on the front and pictures and words of things he ate in the story.

• The students will then have to say the word and then put it in the bag like caterpillar is eating it.

Bibliographic Data:

• Carle, Eric. The Very Hungry Caterpillar. New York, NY: Philomel, 1994. Print.

• Center Vocabulary Work: http://www.classroomfreebies.com/2012/04/hungry-caterpillar-activity-packet.html

• The other two vocabulary ideas were self-created.

Chart Project

Title: Butterfly

Author: Unknown

Rationale:

• This song is great for helping the students remember the steps of the life cycle of a caterpillar and butterfly. You could add in actions with the words like spin, lays, and comes out. There are also some difficult words in this song that you could discuss and help the children say.

Materials:

• Chart with the song

• pictures and letters for phonics matching

• dice

• word work sheets

Motivation:

• "Kindergarteners we talked about the life cycle of a butterfly yesterday, remind me of some of the things we talked about. Good! I have a song for you today about the life cycle of a butterfly. This will help you remember it. Also there may be some words in this song that are tough but I will help you with them and we will talk about them."

Text:

Butterfly

(To the tune of "Up On The Housetop")

First come a butterfly who lays an egg.

Out comes a caterpillar with many legs.

Oh see the caterpillar spin and spin,

a little chrysalis to sleep in.

Oh, oh, oh wait and see!

Oh, oh, oh wait and see!

Out of the chrysalis, my oh my,

out comes a beautiful butterfly!

Illustrations:

• See chart for illustrations. Illustrations hand drawn.

Literary Activities:

• Chart exploration

• Can you find the words with a capital letter?

• Can you find the words that begin with the letter 'c'? letter 'b'?

• Can you find the two letter words? three letter words?

• Are there any words that rhyme in the song?

• Phonics Matching

• Have pictures of objects and letters

• The students have to match the letter with the beginning sound of the object.

• Students play until they have all the pictures and letters matched.

• Word Work

• Students each get a dice and a sheet of paper with lines for writing and at the top there are pictures of the dots one the dice and for each face on the dice there is a word the students have to write. For example under the picture of the one dot is the word "the" and if the students roll a one the have to write "the" on the lines on their paper