CHDV 150 I ntroduction to Curriculum

Small Group Activity Form

Name of Activity:

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Curriculum Area:

Language and Literacy

Length of Activity:

15-20 minutes

Learning Objectives:

The child will be able to discuss the story including what happened in the beginning, middle and end.
(LLD1: Comprehension of meaning)
The child will be able to recreate the story through art, dramatic play or through conversations with
others. (LLD5: Interest in literacy and LLD3: Expression of self through language)
The child will be able to discuss vocabulary related to the story. (LLD6: Comprehension of age-
appropriate text presented by adults)




Material/Equipment Needed:

The book The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.
Popsicle sticks
Construction paper
Glue
Scissors (left and right handed)
Yarn
Hole puncher
Glitter
Green, red and yellow pom poms
Pencils
Paper
Pens (non toxic felt pens, multi colors and black)
Poster board
Green socks
Plastic eyes
Pillows and cushions
Large Television box
Bed sheet
Clothesline






Preparation (What do you need to do beforehand?):

Before hand I need to find a copy of Eric Carles The Very Hungry Caterpillar and check it out from a
library, purchase the book (which seems a much more sensible route since it will come in handy should
the children want to borrow it to read at home with family), or I need to borrow the book from the
schools library.
I need to gather my supplies: popsicle sticks, glitter, pom poms (in green, red, and yellow), construction
paper, scissors (ambidextrous), yarn, pencils, pens, poster board, green socks, plastic eyes, hole puncher,
and glue.
I will also need to prepare a space in the language arts center for the children to gather so everyone can
see the books illustrations and hear the words of the story.
I will also have to make sure that the children will be seated comfortably so they can fully maximize
their engagement in the story.
I also need to find a stool or chair that I can use so I can be elevated enough for all the children to see
the book.
I will also need to create some demo items for the children to use during the story, such as our hungry
caterpillar, the food it will eat and some yarn to tie the story together.
I will set aside the paper, pencils, and pens near the circle area in case any of the children feel the need
to write anything down related to the story or if they want to contribute ideas to the discussions.
I will also need to create a stage for my actors using a large television box, or clothesline and a bed
sheet.











Procedures (step by step) Be Specific

*Beginning (How will I introduce activity?)

To start I will make sure I designate an area where the book can be introduced and where children can
gather around close enough to hear and see the book. This is the most important part for me before
anything else begins since if even one child is too far enough to see or hear then they will be disengaged
and miss out on a chance to learn.
I will introduce this story through a sock puppet of the main character of the book that I will have made
before hand during circle time to catch their attention right from the get go.
I will ask them scaffolding questions to get the children to think about what the new friend in the class
could be by asking (for the slow to warm up child, this would be a great activity to have him or her
model the puppet for the class and allow them a chance to integrate into the class):
What does our new friend look like?
What does he make you think of when you see him?
What do you think he has to do with our story?
I will then bring the story we will be reading to the class attention and introduce them to the character
of the story. This will also be the opportunity where I encourage the children to discuss what they
already know about caterpillars, such as colors, characteristics and sizes that they may have heard, seen
or felt.
I will also ask some critical thinking and foreshadowing questions to foster discussions about the books
plot such as:
What do you believe will happen in the book?
When do you think it will happen?
How does our puppet compare to the character from the book? How is the puppet different?
I will then set up a curtain (either through the use of clothesline and a bed sheet or a large television
box) for my student volunteers to use as a stage for the theater.







*Middle: (How will I support/enhance/scaffold?) The person reading your lesson plan should be able to
identify what you are saying or doing to support your stated learning objectives. THIS IS VERY
IMPORTANT.

I will then read the story aloud asking the children details about the story as we progress through it for
example:
What are some qualities of the caterpillar in the story?
What do you think the caterpillar likes to eat?
What doesnt the caterpillar like to eat?
As the caterpillar interacts with different items in the story, I will have each one of my volunteers hold
up the corresponding food item and have the puppet eat the food. Eventually making its way to the
end of the book and turning into a butterfly.
If the children who are on stage have a problem associating food items with names I will scaffold them
by encouraging the group to identify which food item it is that the caterpillar is eating. If no one can
guess it, I will mention the name of the item in the story, then ask scaffolding questions to help them
associate the word with the picture through such questions as:
An apple, what does an apple look like?
Does an apple look the same as an orange or a piece of pie?
Do they taste different or similar?
Once all the food items are up successfully and as I wrap up the story, I will check in on the child with
the puppet and then I will help him or her add wings (using tape and construction paper) to our hungry
caterpillar (unless she or he can accomplish this on their own in which case I will just give the child an
alert to bring up the puppet).
Then I will ask the children scaffolding questions about the ending and the outcome of the story:
What did you think was going to happen in the beginning?
Is what happened in the end different from what you thought was going to happen in the end?
How did the character change from the beginning to the end of the story? Did the caterpillar change or
stay the same?
What did you think of the outcome of the story?
With what time is left I will pull out some of the equipment I used to create my own sock puppet and
have the children come up to learn about how to make the puppet on their own using green socks and
plastic eyes.
Then I will allow them use of the stage, the book as well as crayons and pencils to see if they want to
write about anything they liked/ or would have changed in the story.









*End: (How will I bring this activity to a conclusion and transition to the next activity? Be very specific
in how you will transition the children.)

As the children play and reenact the story, I will prepare the next activity in advance, a math or science
related activity related to the caterpillar (this would be a great transitional activity to introduce the new
class pet which would be an actual caterpillar).
For the children that are shy or find the activities uninteresting, I will ask them to help me set up my
next activity and will ask them some questions about the story presentation to find out why they didnt
enjoy the activity or why they did not feel it was interesting. Some good scaffolding questions in mind
include:
I see you didnt really care much for the story? Do you have any ideas that would have made it more
fun?
Did you have any parts of the story that you thought could have changed? How would you have had the
story end?
I will then alert the children halfway through the prep process that we will be transitioning to a new
project and that I have a special surprise in store for them. I will then dismiss my volunteers first to get
cleaned up while the others who didnt get a chance to examine the props can now have a chance to
examine everything.
Then I will dismiss smaller groups of three or four students to the circle time area by having them move
at a caterpillars pace from one station to another. I will also make use of the song Pretty Butterfly
(sung to the pattern of Up on the Rooftop) to introduce not only a fun song the children can listen too
but will also get them ready to be introduced to the next activity planned: which will be the introduction
of the caterpillar to the class.















Throughout the day/week, what opportunities will the children have to reflect back on this activity?

As the children learn more about the caterpillar through the live demo with a caterpillar class pet and
more books related to the caterpillar they will have opportunities to use the books information as a
reference to guide them in understanding what the caterpillar.
I will also use this book to create several arts and crafts projects, having the children develop their own
caterpillars to take home with them.
They will also have background information into the miraculous chrysalis stage and the eventual
transformation the caterpillars will undergo as they progress through the week.
I will also use the books information to encourage a discussion about the differences and similarities
between the caterpillars in the classroom and the character in the book.
Some scaffolding questions I would make use of include:
Do the caterpillars in our class look like the caterpillar in the book?
What kind of food do you think we can feed the caterpillars to help them be healthy?
They will also be writing about the caterpillar and will learn how to spell caterpillar by hearing the word
over the week.
The children will also be able to associate the different stages of the caterpillars development cycle with
the proper terms and will learn how to spell them properly.
Also when we go on a field trip to the Los Angeles Natural History Museums butterfly pavilion as well
as interact with our own caterpillars the children will have an opportunity to compare the knowledge
they learned in the book to what actually happened with the caterpillars.
I will also encourage the children to make predictions on some of the changes that will occur to the
caterpillar over the course of the thematic unit such as:
When do you think our caterpillars can change?
What stage do you think the caterpillar will be in tomorrow?
The knowledge and verbiage that the children learned through reading will also come in handy as
reference tools for future activities like reading Dr.Seuss My My A Butterfly or Stephanie Turnbells
Caterpillars and Butterflies (which will be available in the literacy center and will be books I can read to
the children as the week continues). This will encourage discussion by giving them two different takes
on the caterpillar to compare which is more accurate to the class and their own perceptions of a
butterfly.
I can encourage this discussion of comparison and contrast by asking important questions like:
What did you think of this book?
How did the information in this book match the information in the other book we read?
If you could ask the author about the book, what would you ask him/her?
I will also ask them to compare different aspects of the books we examine throughout the week by
comparing color, author, illustrations, and content to help the children understand the different aspects
of books. This information will come in handy when they are determining which book they felt gave the
most accurate and easy to understand information related to the caterpillar in the story.