Daniella Galea 9977562 1

Learning Plan (Bachelor of Education Early childhood)

Topic: Caterpillars Date: 19
th
20
th
May 2014 Age group: 3-5 years
Title of experience: Painting The Hungry Caterpillar
Links to the Early Years
Learning Framework:
EYLF Learning Outcome 2: Children are connected
with and contribute to their world.

Content/ concepts
being explored:
Art: Panting, imagination
Science: Environment, caterpillars,
English: Vocabulary
Maths: Number counting
Rationale: Why did you choose this particular experience? (Community event, child/teacher/family interest, identified as missing from curriculum etc)
The children have communicated through informal discussions and play choices outside that they are very interested in the environment around them. Such
as bugs, leafs that have fallen and birds that fly over the top of them while playing. I have noticed while observing that the children play with and examine one
of the trees, which is positioned at the back of the outdoor play area. They can see through the fence to underneath the tree where they have told me about
bugs and different birds being under there.


Child/Childrens Background Knowledge: What is your starting point what does the child/children already know, what have they done before, how does
this experience connect to or build on their existing knowledge/ interests?
Children have communicated that they know a little bit about the animals in their environment, they are very excited when they see a butterfly flying past or a
bug crawling on the ground. Constantly saying, Look at this bug, Look there is a butterfly. Children are familiar with rocks and different leafs that are
around on the ground within the outdoor area. They are always picking leafs off the ground and picking up rocks asking if they can take them home.


Learning Objectives: What will the child/children learn?
For children to learn about how the life cycle of a caterpillar works as well as the life stages of a butterfly
For children to learn about the environment around them.
For children to understand the importance of not harming certain leafs, as they could be a bug or animals food to survive.
For children to be able to extend their vocabulary by engaging in play and painting, when using words such as life cycle.

Teacher Focus/ Intentionality: What areas will you concentrate on eg; teaching strategies, EYLF practice principles, interests, equity?
During this experience I will focus on children finding ways of enabling children to care for and lean from the land (2.4.3. p29). As well as sharing information
and providing children with access to recourses about the environment and the impact of human activities on environments. (2.4.5) Each child will have a
different understanding of the environment and how things come to life my teaching strategy will be to ask them questions while looking for rocks and leafs to
create The Hungry Caterpillar and its food about what other foods they think animals can eat in the environment and what would happen if we took that away
from them.

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Environment and Resources: What resources and materials will you need to have collected? Where will the experience take place? Considerations for
time, space and teacher support? How will the environment be prepared?
Some recourses and materials I will have to collect will be a copy of the book The Hungry Caterpillar to be able to read to the children. Green paint so we
are able to paint the body of the caterpillar. Red paint to paint the face of the caterpillar. Paint brushes, plastic pockets, PVA glue, blank paper and buckets to
collect rocks and leafs in. I will also buy some flat rocks just incase we cannot find any for the face. Activity sheet with a butterfly on it. This activity will be
taken inside to start of with reading the book, but then completed outdoors searching for the rocks and food such as leafs that caterpillars eat. The painting on
the rocks will also be done outside on the deck. I will need two days for this activity, spending one day picking the rocks and the second day painting the
rocks. Teacher support would be a must to each group of children, as they will need to help children outside collecting rocks and leafs from the environment
asking questions.



Assessment Strategies: How will you identify what the child/children have learnt and how will you record this?
I will take written observations recording childrens play and conversations while we are looking for the rocks and food that caterpillar eat. These observations
may demonstrate the intended learning outcomes from the EYLF and of my goals for the children. I will stand from a distance while children are creating their
caterpillar and talking to the children in their groups about how they are doing it as well listening to the conversation topics they are having.
I will also record down key points from a child that really stands out they are making a massive improvement in their social and emotional wellbeing with the
other children.


Stage
Plan for all stages
of the experience
Approx.
Time (full
day?
Morning?
Specific time?
Eg 12-1pm)
Pre-Service Teachers Actions
What will you do during this time? What prompting
questions might you need to prepare? How might you
assess and record learning? How will you cater for
individual differences?
Child Actions /Tasks
What will the children be doing during this time?

Stage 1
Introduction
How will you
introduce the
experience/concept(s)
and engage the
interest of the
child/children?



11am-12pm
Just before
lunch time.
I will read the book The Hungry Caterpillar to the
children in the morning before lunchtime. Having a
discussion on caterpillars and butterflies life cycle.
Children will be sitting in the book corner quietly while the book
is being read. Once it has finished they will be able to ask any
questions that they may have.






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Stage 2
Main Body
Describe the
experience; what will
children be doing?
How will concepts/
issues be explored?
List at least three
focus questions
relating your learning
objectives to be
asked of the children.



After lunch

2pm start













Continue
painting
following
day.
Placed children into groups of 5 depending of the
number of children they have within the class that
day.
Give them a bucket and plastic pocket, where they
will place the 11 rocks they find for the caterpillars
body as well as the food such as leafs.
Allocate a staff member to help within the group to
lead them in the findings.
Let children outside where they will go through the
outer garden to find rocks.
Watch on and observe while they are looking and
showing their findings

Questions that will be asked will be:
What sort of food would a caterpillar eat?
What happens if there were no trees?
What happens when the caterpillar eats healthy?
When children show the teaching what they find for
food a question would be asked, why is that good for
a caterpillar?

These questions give children an understanding as
to why and what they are learning about by creating
a caterpillar.

Set up a table with paint and sit on and watch and
assist when needed while children paint their rocks
to create the caterpillar.




Children will be working together to find rocks and food such as
leafs in the environment. They will be walking around in a group
and showing the teaching what they have found and placing it in
the bucket or plastic folder they have with them.


Children will then sit at a table together and paint 10 rocks green
and one rock red to create The Hungry Caterpillar.
They will then each stick a piece of food they have collected
onto a piece of paper.



Stage 3:
Conclusion
How will you conclude
the experience?
Reflect on learning
with children? How
will you encourage a
smooth transition to
the next experience


Asking children what they have learnt about The
Hungry caterpillar and about the life cycle.
Concluding all observations that have been created
of what has happened through this lesson.
Then continue to talk about other animals and food
they eat



Children will each talk about what they have found out and learnt
about The Hungry caterpillar, completing a activity sheet where
they colour in a butterfly that the caterpillar turns into.





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Evaluation and Self Reflection: Did your experience meet your learning objectives? Why/ why not? What aspects of the experience worked most
effectively? What aspects could be improved and how could they be improved? E.g. flow, resources, teaching strategies, environment, assessment of
learning etc
Yes my experience met my learning objectives that I had set earlier. Children loved the idea of playing outside looking for food that the caterpillar ate during
the story as well as different rocks. Children learnt the life cycle of caterpillars and butterflies and they were able to answer the questions I had set for them.
Reading the book and looking for leafs worked most effectively, as well as the painting of the rocks. Although we had a little trouble getting all the children to
paint all rocks as well as finding the right rock that would look like a body of a caterpillar. Also the time and routines throughout the day ran into each other
and there just was not enough time to complete the activity.
Aspects that I would improve would be the material that we use to create the caterpillars body; I would use something a little easier such as egg cartons and
pipe cleaners and get the children to paint them. This would take less time and could also be used as an indoor activity if weather does not work with you.
During this experience children did learn to understand how to care for and lean from the land (2.4.3. p29). As well as we talked about how human activities
can affect the environment.
Over all I think maybe the use of different and easier materials to find would make this creation perfect.


Follow-up: Are there any areas that you would like to follow up on? Emerging interests/concepts to explore further?
I would like to follow up that children do understand the importance of the environment and they know the life cycle of different animals they are surrounded
by each day in their lives.


Mentor Teacher Comments:
Was delivered really well to the children.
Time management needs to be worked on.
Changing a few materials such as rocks maybe bring in the certain rocks
we need to use to create a body for the caterpillar.
Pre-service Teacher final reflection:
Over all I think this lesson plan can be used within primary school early years
as well. Its a good plan for children to gain the concept of life, and different
animal life cycles. Understand what certain animals eat, and if they harm the
environment how these things wont develop.
I would maybe change the activity a little by using it in summer and actually
finding caterpillars and then creating image through the use of cartons and pipe
cleaners.
When asking children what do caterpillars eat, they knew the answer as well as
asking them what do they turn into, the said butterfly straight away.