Butterflies and Moths - Lesson Plans

About the Book

Text Type: Nonfiction/Informational
Page Count: 20
Word Count: 1303

Book Summary
Butterflies and Moths outlines the difference between butterflies and moths. Students learn about the body parts, life cycle, and behavior of each type of insect. Photographs and charts complement the learning experience.

About the Lesson

Targeted Reading Strategy

Ask and answer questions

Objectives

Ask and answer questions to make sense of text
Find details to compare and contrast butterflies and moths
Identify antonyms for content vocabulary
Alphabetize and define content vocabulary

Materials

Book -- Butterflies and Moths (copy for each student)
Chalkboard or dry erase board, thesauruses, dictionaries
Compare and contrast, antonyms, alphabetical order worksheets

Indicates an opportunity for student to mark in the book. (All activities may be completed with paper and pencil if books are reusable.)

Vocabulary

Content words: antennae, caterpillars, chrysalis, cocoon, exoskeleton, insects, invertebrates, larval, metamorphosis, molting, predators, pupal, species

Before Reading

Build Background

Ask students if they have watched butterflies fly, land on something, and then fly away. Encourage students to describe the butterflies they have seen. Ask how they knew that the insects they saw were butterflies and not moths. (Accept any answers students can justify.)
Have students share what they know about the differences between butterflies and moths.

Preview the Book

Introduce the Book

Give students a copy of the book. Show them the front and back covers and read the title. Have students discuss what they see on the covers and offer ideas as to what kind of book this is and what it might be about. Discuss the title. Ask students if they think they will discover how to tell the difference between butterflies and moths.
Explain that Butterflies and Moths is a nonfiction book that provides information about the topic.
Show students the title page. Talk about the information on the page (title of book, author's name).

Introduce the Strategy: Ask and answer questions

Explain that asking questions about a topic before reading, and looking for the answers to the questions while reading, helps a reader understand and remember important information in text.
Preview the table of contents. Remind students that the table of contents provides an overview of what the book is about. After reviewing the table of contents, model using it as a way to think of questions.
Think-aloud: The title of the second chapter is "What Are Butterflies and Moths?" I wonder if I will learn the differences between butterflies and moths so I can tell them apart when I see them. The third chapter is "Life Cycle." I wonder if there is a difference between the life cycles of butterflies and moths. I wonder if their life cycles are similar to those of other insects. (Write these three questions on the board.)
Have students look at the other chapter titles. On the board, write any questions students have about butterflies and moths based on the book's covers and table of contents. (Precede each question on the board with the words: I wonder)
Have students preview the rest of the book, looking at photos and sidebar text. Point out the boxes titled Do You Know? and Spotlight On.., and the map and charts. Explain that these references provide additional information. Encourage students to use these references to generate new questions to add to the list on the board.
Add any new questions students have to the list.
As students read, encourage them to use other reading strategies in addition to the targeted strategy presented in this section. For tips on additional reading strategies, click here.

Introduce the Vocabulary

As students preview the book, ask them to talk about what they see in the photographs. Reinforce the vocabulary words they will encounter in the text.
Model how to apply word-attack strategies. Have students find the bold word invertebrates on page 5. Model how students can use the context clues within the sentence to figure out the word's meaning. Ask a student to read the sentence aloud and to tell the meaning of invertebrates. Have students further confirm the word's meaning by looking in the glossary or using a dictionary.
Remind students that they should always check whether a word makes sense by rereading the word in the sentence in which it appears.
Preview other content words, such as exoskeleton and metamorphosis, before students begin reading.
For additional tips on teaching word-attack strategies, click here.

Set the Purpose

Have students read the book to find answers to their questions about butterflies and moths.

During Reading

Student Reading

Guide the reading: Have students read to the end of page 12. Tell them to look for information that will answer the questions on the board. Have students go back and reread the chapters if they finish before everyone else.
When students have finished reading, ask if they found answers to any of the questions on the board. Ask them to share the answers they found. Circle the questions on the board that were answered by reading and add any new questions you or students may have.
Think-aloud: I wondered if the author would teach the differences between butterflies and moths and she did. I also wondered about their life cycles and the author explained this, too. I also learned that there are differences in the life cycles of butterflies and moths during the pupal stage.
Have students read the remainder of the book. Remind them to look for answers to the questions on the board, and/or to think of new questions to add to the list.

Encourage students to write additional questions in the page margins of their books or on a sheet of paper.

Have students make a question mark in their books beside any word they do not understand or cannot pronounce. Encourage them to use the strategies they have learned to read and understand the word.

After Reading

Reflect on the Reading Strategies

Ask students what words, if any, they marked in their books. Use this opportunity to model how they can read these words using decoding strategies and context clues.
Read a few more of the questions from those listed on the board. Ask students which questions they were able to find answers for in the text.
Have students share other questions they thought of while reading. Reinforce how asking questions and looking for the answers as they read keeps students actively involved in the reading process and helps them understand and remember what they have read.
Explain that if students have questions that were not answered in the reading, they can consult other resources, such as the Internet or the library for answers to their questions.

Teach the Comprehension Skill: Compare and contrast

Discussion: Ask students if now, after reading, they feel as though they know the differences between butterflies and moths.
Introduce and model the skill: Explain that one way an author helps readers understand a book is to tell how topics in the book are alike and different. Show students two objects, such as two different pieces of paper or two different chairs. Show students how one set of objects is alike (both are pieces of paper) and how they are different (one has lines and holes along the side; one has lines but no holes--whatever is appropriate). Have students tell how the other set of objects is alike and different. Ask how knowing how things are the same and different helps them understand the topic.
Check for understanding: Have students turn to pages 15 and 16. Ask volunteers to read the four paragraphs of text aloud. Create a two-column flow chart on the board titled Same and Different. Invite students to tell and/or write on the board how butterflies and moths are similar in the Same column (most feed/suck up nectar; do not have jaws or teeth; have sense organs in their antennae, mouth parts, legs, feet, and other body parts to help them find food, mates, and plants on which to lay eggs). Have students tell and/or write how butterflies and moths are different in the Different column (Butterflies: good sense of sight, poor sense of smell, land and walk on brightly colored flowers sucking nectar; Moths: feed on light-colored flowers that can be seen in moonlight, strong sense of smell, often hover above an object rather than land on it). Discuss how comparing and contrasting details can help readers understand and remember what they read.
Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the compare and contrast worksheet. (Note: Students do not need to include the information discussed in the lesson or found on pages 15 and 16.)
Extend the discussion: Discuss the stages of butterfly and moth life cycles. Have students use a two-column flow chart like the one used in the lesson to compare and contrast the two life cycles.

Build Skills

Grammar and Mechanics: Antonyms

Ask students to define an antonym (a word that means the opposite of another word). Have students name four or five antonyms.
Give students a thesaurus or dictionary. Have them turn to page 4 in Butterflies and Moths and find the word attract. As a class, look up the word in the thesaurus or dictionary. Have students tell the definition and provide examples of antonyms. Encourage them to try the various antonyms in the sentence to decide which would work best.
Check for understanding: Write the following sentence on the board. More than 165,000 species of butterflies and moths exist. Underline the word exist. Invite students to brainstorm definitions (live, survive, be present) and then antonyms (die, cease to exist) for this word. Then ask students to look up the word in the thesaurus or dictionary and decide which antonym(s) would work best in the sentence.
Introduce, explain, and have students complete the antonyms worksheet. Discuss student responses.

Word Work: Alphabetical order

Have students turn to the glossary on pages 19 and 20. Ask them in what order the words are written (alphabetical). Have a student read the three words that begin with the letter c. Write them on the board. Ask a volunteer why these three words are written in this order (the second letters determine the alphabetical order). Ask a student to read the words that begin with i (write the two words on the board). Ask a volunteer to explain why the word insects is written before the word invertebrates (the third letters determine the alphabetical order).
Check for understanding: Ask a volunteer to find and read the dictionary rules for finding words (using guide words, looking at the second and third, etc., letter in the word). Write the following words on the board: pupal, order, predators, metamorphosis, prevention, and odor. Ask volunteers to write the words in alphabetical order and explain their ordering choices.
Introduce, explain, and have students complete the alphabetizing worksheet. Discuss student responses.

Build Fluency

Independent Reading

Allow students to read their books independently or with a partner. Partners can take turns reading parts of the book.

Home Connection

Give students their books to take home to read with parents, caregivers, siblings, or friends.

Extend the Reading

Writing and Art Connection

Have students work in pairs to write a story about an imaginary butterfly or moth. Encourage them to use details from the book to make the insect's adventure somewhat realistic. Allow students time to create a likeness of their insect using a variety of art supplies, such as torn paper, watercolors, glitter, and finger paints. Have students share their stories and artistic creations with the class.

Science Connection

Provide print and Internet resources for students to research regional butterflies and moths. If possible, take a nature walk to look for examples of the butterflies and moths researched. Have groups of students share what they learned about butterflies and moths that live near them by making posters for display in the classroom.

Assessment

Monitor students to determine if they can:

use the strategy of asking and answering questions to understand nonfiction text
compare and contrast details in nonfiction text
identify antonyms for content vocabulary
understand how to alphabetize and define content vocabulary

Comprehension Checks

Go to Butterflies and Moths main page


Butterflies and Moths Level S About the Book Text Type: Nonfiction/Informational Page Count: 20 Word Count: 1303 Book Summary Butterflies and Moths outlines the difference between butterflies and moths. Students learn about the body parts, life cycle, and behavior of each type of insect. Photographs and charts complement the learning experience. About the Lesson Targeted Reading Strategy Ask and answer questions Objectives Ask and answer questions to make sense of text Find details to compare and contrast butterflies and moths Identify antonyms for content vocabulary Alphabetize and define content vocabulary Materials Book -- Butterflies and Moths (copy for each student) Chalkboard or dry erase board, thesauruses, dictionaries Compare and contrast, antonyms, alphabetical order worksheets Indicates an opportunity for student to mark in the book. (All activities may be completed with paper and pencil if books are reusable.) Vocabulary Content words: antennae, caterpillars, chrysalis, cocoon, exoskeleton, insects, invertebrates, larval, metamorphosis, molting, predators, pupal, species Before Reading Build Background Ask students if they have watched butterflies fly, land on something, and then fly away. Encourage students to describe the butterflies they have seen. Ask how they knew that the insects they saw were butterflies and not moths. (Accept any answers students can justify.) Have students share what they know about the differences between butterflies and moths. Preview the Book Introduce the Book Give students a copy of the book. Show them the front and back covers and read the title. Have students discuss what they see on the covers and offer ideas as to what kind of book this is and what it might be about. Discuss the title. Ask students if they think they will discover how to tell the difference between butterflies and moths. Explain that Butterflies and Moths is a nonfiction book that provides information about the topic. Show students the title page. Talk about the information on the page (title of book, author's name). Introduce the Strategy: Ask and answer questions Explain that asking questions about a topic before reading, and looking for the answers to the questions while reading, helps a reader understand and remember important information in text. Preview the table of contents. Remind students that the table of contents provides an overview of what the book is about. After reviewing the table of contents, model using it as a way to think of questions. Think-aloud: The title of the second chapter is "What Are Butterflies and Moths?" I wonder if I will learn the differences between butterflies and moths so I can tell them apart when I see them. The third chapter is "Life Cycle." I wonder if there is a difference between the life cycles of butterflies and moths. I wonder if their life cycles are similar to those of other insects. (Write these three questions on the board.) Have students look at the other chapter titles. On the board, write any questions students have about butterflies and moths based on the book's covers and table of contents. (Precede each question on the board with the words: I wonder) Have students preview the rest of the book, looking at photos and sidebar text. Point out the boxes titled Do You Know? and Spotlight On.., and the map and charts. Explain that these references provide additional information. Encourage students to use these references to generate new questions to add to the list on the board. Add any new questions students have to the list. As students read, encourage them to use other reading strategies in addition to the targeted strategy presented in this section. For tips on additional reading strategies, click here. Introduce the Vocabulary As students preview the book, ask them to talk about what they see in the photographs. Reinforce the vocabulary words they will encounter in the text. Model how to apply word-attack strategies. Have students find the bold word invertebrates on page 5. Model how students can use the context clues within the sentence to figure out the word's meaning. Ask a student to read the sentence aloud and to tell the meaning of invertebrates. Have students further confirm the word's meaning by looking in the glossary or using a dictionary. Remind students that they should always check whether a word makes sense by rereading the word in the sentence in which it appears. Preview other content words, such as exoskeleton and metamorphosis, before students begin reading. For additional tips on teaching word-attack strategies, click here. Set the Purpose Have students read the book to find answers to their questions about butterflies and moths. During Reading Student Reading Guide the reading: Have students read to the end of page 12. Tell them to look for information that will answer the questions on the board. Have students go back and reread the chapters if they finish before everyone else. When students have finished reading, ask if they found answers to any of the questions on the board. Ask them to share the answers they found. Circle the questions on the board that were answered by reading and add any new questions you or students may have. Think-aloud: I wondered if the author would teach the differences between butterflies and moths and she did. I also wondered about their life cycles and the author explained this, too. I also learned that there are differences in the life cycles of butterflies and moths during the pupal stage. Have students read the remainder of the book. Remind them to look for answers to the questions on the board, and/or to think of new questions to add to the list. Encourage students to write additional questions in the page margins of their books or on a sheet of paper. Have students make a question mark in their books beside any word they do not understand or cannot pronounce. Encourage them to use the strategies they have learned to read and understand the word. After Reading Reflect on the Reading Strategies Ask students what words, if any, they marked in their books. Use this opportunity to model how they can read these words using decoding strategies and context clues. Read a few more of the questions from those listed on the board. Ask students which questions they were able to find answers for in the text. Have students share other questions they thought of while reading. Reinforce how asking questions and looking for the answers as they read keeps students actively involved in the reading process and helps them understand and remember what they have read. Explain that if students have questions that were not answered in the reading, they can consult other resources, such as the Internet or the library for answers to their questions. Teach the Comprehension Skill: Compare and contrast Discussion: Ask students if now, after reading, they feel as though they know the differences between butterflies and moths. Introduce and model the skill: Explain that one way an author helps readers understand a book is to tell how topics in the book are alike and different. Show students two objects, such as two different pieces of paper or two different chairs. Show students how one set of objects is alike (both are pieces of paper) and how they are different (one has lines and holes along the side; one has lines but no holes--whatever is appropriate). Have students tell how the other set of objects is alike and different. Ask how knowing how things are the same and different helps them understand the topic. Check for understanding: Have students turn to pages 15 and 16. Ask volunteers to read the four paragraphs of text aloud. Create a two-column flow chart on the board titled Same and Different. Invite students to tell and/or write on the board how butterflies and moths are similar in the Same column (most feed/suck up nectar; do not have jaws or teeth; have sense organs in their antennae, mouth parts, legs, feet, and other body parts to help them find food, mates, and plants on which to lay eggs). Have students tell and/or write how butterflies and moths are different in the Different column (Butterflies: good sense of sight, poor sense of smell, land and walk on brightly colored flowers sucking nectar; Moths: feed on light-colored flowers that can be seen in moonlight, strong sense of smell, often hover above an object rather than land on it). Discuss how comparing and contrasting details can help readers understand and remember what they read. Independent practice: Introduce, explain, and have students complete the compare and contrast worksheet. (Note: Students do not need to include the information discussed in the lesson or found on pages 15 and 16.) Extend the discussion: Discuss the stages of butterfly and moth life cycles. Have students use a two-column flow chart like the one used in the lesson to compare and contrast the two life cycles. Build Skills Grammar and Mechanics: Antonyms Ask students to define an antonym (a word that means the opposite of another word). Have students name four or five antonyms. Give students a thesaurus or dictionary. Have them turn to page 4 in Butterflies and Moths and find the word attract. As a class, look up the word in the thesaurus or dictionary. Have students tell the definition and provide examples of antonyms. Encourage them to try the various antonyms in the sentence to decide which would work best. Check for understanding: Write the following sentence on the board. More than 165,000 species of butterflies and moths exist. Underline the word exist. Invite students to brainstorm definitions (live, survive, be present) and then antonyms (die, cease to exist) for this word. Then ask students to look up the word in the thesaurus or dictionary and decide which antonym(s) would work best in the sentence. Introduce, explain, and have students complete the antonyms worksheet. Discuss student responses. Word Work: Alphabetical order Have students turn to the glossary on pages 19 and 20. Ask them in what order the words are written (alphabetical). Have a student read the three words that begin with the letter c. Write them on the board. Ask a volunteer why these three words are written in this order (the second letters determine the alphabetical order). Ask a student to read the words that begin with i (write the two words on the board). Ask a volunteer to explain why the word insects is written before the word invertebrates (the third letters determine the alphabetical order). Check for understanding: Ask a volunteer to find and read the dictionary rules for finding words (using guide words, looking at the second and third, etc., letter in the word). Write the following words on the board: pupal, order, predators, metamorphosis, prevention, and odor. Ask volunteers to write the words in alphabetical order and explain their ordering choices. Introduce, explain, and have students complete the alphabetizing worksheet. Discuss student responses. Build Fluency Independent Reading Allow students to read their books independently or with a partner. Partners can take turns reading parts of the book. Home Connection Give students their books to take home to read with parents, caregivers, siblings, or friends. Extend the Reading Writing and Art Connection Have students work in pairs to write a story about an imaginary butterfly or moth. Encourage them to use details from the book to make the insect's adventure somewhat realistic. Allow students time to create a likeness of their insect using a variety of art supplies, such as torn paper, watercolors, glitter, and finger paints. Have students share their stories and artistic creations with the class. Science Connection Provide print and Internet resources for students to research regional butterflies and moths. If possible, take a nature walk to look for examples of the butterflies and moths researched. Have groups of students share what they learned about butterflies and moths that live near them by making posters for display in the classroom. Assessment Monitor students to determine if they can: use the strategy of asking and answering questions to understand nonfiction text compare and contrast details in nonfiction text identify antonyms for content vocabulary understand how to alphabetize and define content vocabulary Comprehension Checks Book Quiz Retelling Rubric Go to Butterflies and Moths main page
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