BY ALMA HAMMOND
The Book Behind the Lesson
In Book 2 of Catterfly, “Catterfly Grows a Garden,” our kitty with wings who has just sprung from her large, furry, and striped chrysalis in Book 1, “Catterfly is Born,” is super thirsty. She and her butterfly friend go in search of sweet nectar from brightly colored flowers nearby. But they soon find a a few challenges along the way. Together they meet up with every obstacle and unknowingly create a garden of their own. But how? Read on to learn how this sweet tale will be the perfect instructional picture book for a lesson plan on pollination for young children.
The book is a great introduction to the magic of pollination for children ages kindergarten to second grade. The easy to understand graphic at the end reinforces exactly how the process works to produce flowers and plants that we as humans need to live.
Pollination Lesson Plans for K to Second Grade:
Objectives In this lesson, students will:
- Learn what ‘pollination’ means
- Learn that many winged creatures depend on nectar for food.
- Learn that the act of carrying pollen from the stamen* (male) to the pistils* (female) of flowers allows them to produce seeds.
- Learn that seeds that fall from the ground or are planted by farmers allow other flowers/plants to grow.
- Learn to identify and respect differences in others.
- Learn many fun facts about butterflies and pollination.
*Note: You can choose to include/exclude depending on age of children. Catterfly Grows a Garden does not mention these.
Materials for each child:
“Catterfly Grows a Garden” by Alma Hammond
For information about the book and reviews, go here:
https://sweetbeetbooks.comcatterfly-grows-a-garden/
Photocopy of Fun Facts from the back of the book
Pipe cleaners with curled tips, 2 in one color for male plant (stamin) and 2 in another color for the female plant (pistil)
(1) Construction paper butterfly
(2) Construction paper flowers
(1) Large piece of construction paper
Markers
Sunflower seeds in the shell.
Glue
A. Pollination Graphic Craft Project:
- Read Catterfly Grows a Garden and go over fun facts and graphic on pollination at the end.
- Discuss vocabulary: pollination, nectar, pollen, stamen, pistil, and seeds
- Create a simple graphic of how pollination works by arranging the art in three layers on the large piece of construction paper::
At the top of the large piece of construction paper, paste the butterfly. Have each child decorate the butterfly with the markers.
Underneath, paste the two flowers side by side. Have each child decorate the flowers.
Glue two pipe cleaners to come out of the center of each flower. Each flower should have different pipe cleaner colors.
Underneath, at the bottom part of the paper, glue a scattering of sunflower seeds.
Have each child draw a line from the butterfly to the first flower, then to the next flower, and finally to the seeds. Explain the process that the butterfly takes the pollen from the male flower (stamen) and transfers it to the second flower, (pistil). The female flower (second flower) than can produce seeds which fall on the ground.
B. Discssion and Language Skills:
Discuss how Catterfly is different from the other butterflies and how she is the same.
Hand out the photocopy of the Fun Facts on butterflies and pollination and discuss which one each child finds most interesting and why.
Want more?
For more free activities and lesson plans for kids, join my group on Facebook!