“Nooooo!” be elaborated here. An authentic, high-
I was thrilled watching my students dis- interest, inquiry-based exploration like
cover the complexities of interdependence this one lends itself to the doing of sci-
in the real world. ence, and not only are children learning
We transferred our larvae to organic key concepts, they’re directly experienc-
broccoli plants and our cabbage whites ing how those conceptions relate to one
continued to grow and molt. They com- another and persist across the natural
pleted their life cycles and began a world.
second generation on organic cabbage. About six weeks into this project, while
We witnessed painted ladies metamor- hiking with our class, eight-year-old galen
phose, mate, and lay eggs. Our sphinx turned over a rock and found something
moths amazed students by burrowing that looked like a brown flower bud. “Is
underground to pupate. We kept several this a pupa?” he asked excitedly. We all
in a dark box of wood chips to observe. ran over to have a look.
The anatomy of their chrysalis was pro- “Wow! This is a pupa, galen,” I said.
nounced; each part of the adult butterfly “Will it be a moth?!”
was clearly visible. They also wiggled vig- I smiled. “Nope. This one’s going to be
orously when held. There was no doubting a beetle.”
their vitality during this quiet stage. Wide eyes all around: “Beetles have
Our five surviving Brassica plants pro- metamorphosis too? Cool!” !
duced seventy-four seeds. And instead of
being sad when their few flowers died, the
children remained engaged for two more
Resources
weeks watching the ovaries enlarge, know-
ing they had played a special role in mak-
Arnosky, Jim. Crinkleroots’ Guide to Knowing
ing that happen.
Butterflies and Moths. New york: Simon and
Schuster, 1996.
Aston, Dianna H. A Seed Is Sleepy. San Francisco:
Chronicle Books, 2007.
The experience of science
Attenborough, David. The Private Life of Plants.
Video Recording. glasgow: BBC Books, 1995
Bunting, eve. Butterfly House. New york: Scholas-
Ultimately this project yielded more
tic Press, 1999.
opportunities for my students to explore
Burris, Judy, and Wayne Richards. The Life Cycles
our natural science concepts than can
of Butterflies: From Egg to Maturity, a Visual
Guide to 23 Common Butterflies. North Adams,
MA: Storey Publishing, 2006.
Fowler, Allan. From Seed To Plant. Danbury, CT:
Children’s Press, 2001.
godwin, Sam. A Seed In Need. London: Hodder
Wayland, 1998.
Heigilman, Deborah. From Caterpillar to Butterfly.
London: Collins, 1996.
Heller, Ruth. The Reason for a Flower. New york:
Putnam Juvenile, 1999.
Information on Sphinx moths: 72.41.49.149/
hummingbirdmoth.html
excellent photos of Sphinx moth larva, pupa, and
Sue Kidder loves exploring
adult: www.birds-n-garden.com/white-lined_
the natural world with her
sphinx_hummingbird_moths.html
husband, Paul, and eight-
Butterfly/moth images and information: www year-old son, Beck. She
.butterfliesandmoths.org teaches K–1–2 at the Gold
Hill School, a public, two-
room schoolhouse, serving
a small mountain commu-
nity above Boulder, Colo-
rado. Sue is the recipient
of Colorado’s 2009 Amgen
Caterpillar beginning
Award for Science Teach-
to pupate
ing Excellence.
© synergy learning • 800-769-6199 • March/april 2010 Connect • page 19
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