Butterfly: A Life Lesson of Metamorphosis

Grade Level: 9

Academic Areas: Science/Living Environment

Duration of service: 2.5 – 3 months

Character Virtues: Caring and Giving, Civic Virtue and Citizenship

Service Areas: Education/Tutoring, Human Services (serving children with special needs)

Materials Needed: butterfly kits (including larvae and food), habitat (netting), paper for charts and graphs, art and craft materials for celebration

Total Cost of Project: $350 – 500

Time Needed for Project: 2.5 – 3 months in spring (ideally mid-April to mid-June)

Time Needed for Teacher Preparation: 5 hours/week

Experience Needed in CE: moderate

Experience Needed in SL: moderate

Service Learning Project:

Students will raise butterflies at a school-based hospital site for acutely ill children K-8 grade. The project will begin at the end of March and last through the end of May. Students will prepare hospitalized children for the arrival of live butterfly culture. Preparation begins with tutoring a biological curriculum on the life cycle stage of the Painted Lady butterfly, but also includes art forms of each stage of life cycle as well as student-written poems and essays dealing with metamorphosis . The students will be in charge of managing a budget for the project, ordering supplies, maintaining live cultures with proper light, temperature, food and habitat. Students will design template charts and diagrams to help children monitor the stages of growth from caterpillar to full grown butterflies. Students and children alike will design a “releasing ceremony” culminating the end of the project. Celebration will include instrumental music and song as well the presentation of art forms, recitation of poems and essays on the project. Project students as well as ill children will reflect on not only what was learned on a scientific level, but explore the moral and life issues of transformation and metamorphosis. Teacher will need assistance from professional sources for this final aspect of the project.

Goals and Objectives

Academic

Learning Goal: Students will develop an understanding of the life cycle of butterflies that they will raise, maintain & release.

Standard: MST, 4

Learning Goal: Students will demonstrate an understanding of the morphological details of all stages of the butterfly by charting and graphics.

Standard: MST, 4

Service

Community need: Hospitalized children with acute illnesses are somewhat isolated. Their educational facility lacks resources and opportunities for science projects.

Possible Community Partners: environmental centers; local zoos; community-based organizations that deal with children with special needs

Objective: Students will share their knowledge of life cycle of butterfly serving children with special needs as partners rather than recipients.

Objective: Students will view the life cycle of butterfly as a metaphor for real life issues that ill children are dealing with

Character

Virtue: Giving

Objective: Students will donate time, talents and energies to share their knowledge and resources with hospitalized children.

Virtue: Caring

Objective: Students will gain compassion and sensitivity for those who are acutely ill

Virtue: Civic virtue and citizenship

Objective: Students and children will work together as team toward a common purpose.

Key Activities

Key Planning Activities

1. Students will research & design project templates for ill children dealing with life cycle from caterpillar to full grown butterfly.

2. Students will explore and establish (with the help of teacher) collaborations with local environmental centers and local zoos seeking assistance in acquiring resources and professional assistance for project.

Key Service Activities

1. Students will assist children in monitoring stages of growth relative to light, temperature, food and habitat. Students will also provide, maintain and plan all stages from culture cups to full grown butterflies. Students will strive to maintain “partnership” status and a reciprocity between student and child.

2. Students and children will plan the transference of chrysalides to butterfly pavilion until they emerge as butterflies. Students and children will prepare for end of project when butterflies are released and the moral implication of metamorphosis and hope of wellness.

3. Students will construct a more permanent habitat for the butterflies with the addition of a living environment to include plants, rocks, small shrubs and the like so that the ill children can observe the butterflies more extensively.

Key Reflection Activities

1. (oral) Students and children served will engage in discussion before, during and after each phase of project sharing their knowledge gained, feelings and perspectives on the efforts of their teaming and working toward a common purpose. (Civic virtue)

2. (written) Students will translate experiences of compassion and sensitivity in dealing with children who are acutely ill into literary form, poetry or prose. (Caring)

3. (performance) Students will reflect on use of musical selections both musical and instrumental, various art forms, recitations as they explore the moral implications of metamorphosis and transformation in the life of these children with acute illnesses.

Celebration Activity

Students, teachers, parents and community members including collaborative CBOs will come together at the releasing ceremony. Students and children will take a lead role in demonstrating and displaying to all what they learned by using musical selections, recitations, art, slide-show, charts, and diagrams made by students and children before, during and after project.