Week Three- Butterflies

 

What question are we investigating?

For the third week of Science Methods I, we discussed the question: "What do all life cycles have in common?" We did this through small groups in different stations to learn about butterflies. After this we would discuss are findings as a whole group and to create a list of what we learnt.

What did we do in lab to investigate this question?

The teacher started this lab by asking us to create a list of what we thought to be characteristics of a life cycle and questions we wanted to learn from the different stations we were going into. We would go into 6 total stations to get more information on the life cycle of a butterfly. An example of this can be station 4 and having children books that describe the different stages for butterflies. We would talk about how the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle wasn’t as realistic to show children these stages for children. It’s also important to see how the foods described of what the caterpillar was eating isn't realistic either. After doing all the different stations as a whole group we would talk about what we learnt from them. An example of this can be creating a list of a life cycle that was general for living things.

What did we figure out?

For our group discussion, we drew a picture of the different forms of life cycles that a living thing did. An example of this can be having a picture of a caterpillar to show the birth of a new creature. However, we weren’t sure what to draw for the birth because some living things aren’t created through eggs like plants. Another concept that I figured out through the whole group discussion was what complete and incomplete meant for insects. The complete is something that changes in adult form like a butterfly. When an incomplete is how grasshoppers look similar to their adult form when they are born. 

What are new or remaining questions after the investigation? 

This lab taught me about the differences between a life cycle and characteristics for a living thing. Before starting this lab I thought that they had similar information. However, this lab helped me to get a clearer answer between these two science concepts. I also liked how the teachers set up the room in different stations. It would show me how to set up this in my future classroom.