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Curriculum Connections Wild Wisdom Through
Butterflies' Eyes 
For students, it can also provide a lens for examining the natural history of the area in which they live, and how humans have altered it over time. Have your class seek archival photos, sketches, or written descriptions of what your region looked like through the eyes of Native Americans and/or western historians, and compare it to the present landscape. Next, as a class, list elements that people have built over the years (houses, roads, farms, dams, playgrounds, golf courses). Then challenge their thinking with the question, How different would our town look if butterflies had been part of the “planning commission” all along? Using what we know about butterflies' needs, how might we redesign our town to accommodate them as well as humans? For instance, to reduce butterfly traffic fatalities, they might come up with "butterfly crossing" signs, erect nets over all the highways, or equip automobiles with "butterfly radar". Invite the class to rewrite history, or compose fictional stories or newspaper articles, and illustrate them with pictures and maps. Bring your lesson back to the present with a discussion of who they think represents wildlife when it comes to planning building projects (e.g., state wildlife departments and environmental protection agencies, nonprofit wildlife organizations). You might invite a speaker from one or more of these agencies to your class to discuss the issue and answer questions about how they advocate for the needs of butterflies and other creatures. Caterpillars
Up Close Explore Food Preferences. As they plan the butterfly garden, students will learn that butterflies have cosmopolitan tastes compared to their offspring. Most caterpillars have very specific host plants. Might this reflect a requirement, or a preference? After all, it was mom who chose where to lay the egg! When your caterpillars arrive, plan to offer them a couple of new salad bar options along with their known host plant(s), and have students record their observations.
Exploring
Butterfly Behavior If students wish to pursue butterfly color preferences, here's one approach. First, ask if your classroom scientists' observations corroborate those of other scientists (i.e., butterflies will sip from flowers of many colors, but certain species tend to have favorites). Encourage students to ponder what's behind this preference (e.g., nectar flavor, nutrient value, learned habit). Plant scientists tell us that nectar from different flower species has different concentrations of high-energy carbohydrates (sugars) and amino acids (for building proteins). And entomologists have discovered that captive butterflies can quickly learn to change their color preferences to take advantage of more nutritious nectar. Challenge older students to come up with a way of testing some feeding variables (see, Feeding Butterflies in the Classroom, at right). For instance, do their butterflies prefer certain colors, or nectar with a specific sugar concentration? Can they learn or recall a color, nectar mixture, or feeder location?
Art
in the Wings
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Pg. 1: Pollinator Garden Enticing
Butterflies Caterpillars
Up Close Wings
Across the Curriculum Butterfly Goods from the Gardening with Kids Store
Milkweed
Mavens Courtyard
Allure
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Test
environmental variables.
To spur a discussion, pose this question: How might the classroom
caterpillars' environment compare to that of their wild cousins? (This
might include differences in temperature, light, moisture, predators,
disease, food availability,
and so on). If you have the opportunity, experiment
with
two rearing chambers, one inside and one
outside,
and have students record as many environmental variables and other
observations as they can. Or, set up a controlled experiment
in the classroom with a single
variable,
such
as temperature (even a difference of
2 or 3 degrees
can affect these cold-blooded insects), and chart
the rate of development of two or more groups of caterpillars.
There's
so much about butterflies that stimulates creativity
in observers: their brilliant colors, lilting grace,
fragile appearance,
and stunning metamorphosis. For thousands of years, people
have recognized butterflies as symbols of transformation, and expressed
admiration for their beauty in art and words. Students
excited by what they see in their own butterfly garden should be
primed for writing
poetry or
prose inspired by their
experiences. You might have them warm up to the exercise
by brainstorming adjectives and similes as a class, and then composing
individual pieces. You can also use focused observation
to help kids draw, paint, or sculpt what they
see. Why not publish an illustrated
book of youngsters'
works to share with others?
