ALEX Learning Activity

  

Impatient Caterpillars Code the Life Cycle

A Learning Activity is a strategy a teacher chooses to actively engage students in learning a concept or skill using a digital tool/resource.

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  This learning activity provided by:  
Author: Leann Bryan
System:Calhoun County
School:Calhoun County Board Of Education
  General Activity Information  
Activity ID: 3029
Title:
Impatient Caterpillars Code the Life Cycle
Digital Tool/Resource:
“Butterfly and Moth” accessible by clicking on “Elementary” then “Britannica School.” Search for “butterfly and moth.”
Web Address – URL:
Overview:

Students will read about the life cycle of a butterfly and moth. Students will discuss the unique characteristics of each stage of the life cycle. Students will then use algorithms to code robots through the various stages of the life cycle of a butterfly. 

 

This learning activity was created as a result of the ALEX - Alabama Virtual Library (AVL) Resource Development Summit.
  Associated Standards and Objectives  
Content Standard(s):
Science
SC2015 (2015)
Grade: 3
6 ) Create representations to explain the unique and diverse life cycles of organisms other than humans (e.g., flowering plants, frogs, butterflies), including commonalities such as birth, growth, reproduction, and death.

NAEP Framework
NAEP Statement::
L4.5: Plants and animals have life cycles. Both plants and animals begin life and develop into adults, reproduce, and eventually die. The details of this life cycle are different for different organisms.

Unpacked Content
Scientific And Engineering Practices:
Developing and Using Models
Crosscutting Concepts: Patterns
Disciplinary Core Idea: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
Evidence Of Student Attainment:
Students:
  • Create representations to explain the unique life cycles of organisms other than humans.
  • Create representations to explain the diverse life cycles of organisms other than humans.
  • Identify relevant components (organisms, birth, growth, reproduction, and death) of their representations.
  • Describe relationships between components in their representations.
Teacher Vocabulary:
  • Create
  • Explain
  • Representations
  • Unique
  • Diverse
  • Commonalities
  • Life cycles
  • Organisms
  • Birth
  • Growth
  • Reproduction
  • Death
Knowledge:
Students know:
  • Organisms are born, grow, reproduce and die in a pattern known as a life cycle.
  • Organisms have unique and diverse life cycles.
  • An organism can be classified as either a plant or an animal.
  • There is a causal direction of the cycle (e.g., without birth, there is no growth; without reproduction, there are no births).
Skills:
Students are able to:
  • Create representations to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death.
  • Explain the unique and diverse life cycles of organisms other than humans.
  • Explain commonalities of organisms such as birth, growth, reproduction, and death.
Understanding:
Students understand that:
  • Patterns of change can be used to make predictions about the unique life cycles of organisms.
AMSTI Resources:
AMSTI Module:
Heredity and Diversity
Alabama Alternate Achievement Standards
AAS Standard:
SCI.AAS.3.6- Observe and recognize the major stages (birth, growth, reproduction, and death) in the life cycles of organisms other than humans (e.g., flowering plants, frogs, butterflies).
Learning Objectives:

  1. Students will identify stages of the life cycle of a butterfly. 

  2. Students will work collaboratively to create an algorithm that codes their robot through the various stages of the life cycle.

  Strategies, Preparations and Variations  
Phase:
During/Explore/Explain
Activity:

  1. Teacher will post the Britannica Elementary article in their learning management system (Google Classroom, Blackboard, Canvas, etc.) prior to class or direct students to AVL and give directions on how to access the article.

    • Teachers must access Britannica through the Alabama Virtual Library. “Butterfly and Moth” is accessible by clicking on “Elementary” then “Britannica School.” Search for “butterfly and moth.”

  2. To begin class, have students visit the Britannica Elementary article about butterflies and moths. Give students 8-10 minutes to read the article and look at the pictures.

    • Teacher will say: When a caterpillar first hatches it is a _______? (larva or caterpillar)

    • Teacher will ask what the next stage after the caterpillar is. (pupa)

    • Teacher will say: Pupas make a special case called a ______to protect them during a period of inactivity. (cocoon)

    • The teacher will ask: What is the last stage in a caterpillar’s life cycle? (butterfly)

  3. After the teacher has had a class discussion and feels confident that the students know the stages of the life cycle, they will begin the robot activity. 

  4. Teacher should divide students into groups of four.

    • (If you only have one robot, this can be done as a whole group.)

    • Divide students into pairs if using the online emulator.

  5. If using the robot, show students the robot and demonstrate how the robot uses the arrows to move. Remind students that they must “clear” the previous code before entering more code.

  6. Have each group gather around their robot activity mat.

    • If using the online emulator, show the emulator on an overhead projector or an interactive whiteboard. 

  7. Instruct students to take turns entering code to make the robot bee travel to the various stages of the butterfly life cycle in order, following the correct algorithm.

    • Start

    • Egg

    • Larva/Caterpillar

    • Cocoon

    • Waiting

    • Butterfly

***Note: If you or your school does not have BeeBots or other programmable robots, Alabama Technology in Motion (ATiM) Specialists have BeeBots you can borrow. Reach out to your regional ATiM Specialist for access to BeeBots. https://sites.google.com/atim.us/atim/home 
Assessment Strategies:

Check for understanding with teacher observation:

  • Are students able to identify the stages of the life cycle in order?

  • Are they able to code the robot to each stage of the life cycle?

  • Are they working collaboratively as a team?

  • Was the group able to create an algorithm that advances the robot to each stage of the life cycle?
Advanced Preparation:

Approximate Duration: 30-45 Minutes

Materials and Resources:

  • Robots (1 robot to use this lesson whole group or one robot for each group of 4 students if using in small groups)

    • Or Bee-Bot Emulator https://beebot.terrapinlogo.com/  In the left-hand column, use the drop-down menu to change “Alphabet Mat” to “EXAMPLE: Bee-Bot Lessons mat: Butterfly.”

  • Printable Robot Activity Map: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mtAulfK3pRyp_y3QeqLoYQEfvXJnTpbE/view?usp=sharing 

  • AVL article: Teachers must access Britannica through the Alabama Virtual Library. “Butterfly and Moth” is accessible by clicking on “Elementary” then “Britannica School.” Search for “butterfly and moth.”

  • scissors

  • access to laminator

  • Internet access

  • Interactive whiteboard or projector

  • Students will need a device with internet to access the AVL link and to use the online emulator (if applicable).

Teacher Preparation:

Teacher will post the Britannica Elementary article in their learning management system (Google Classroom, Blackboard, Canvas, etc.) prior to class. The teacher will decide whether to use the online Emulator or a programmable robot. Teachers who would like access to programmable Bee-Bots may contact their regional ATiM Specialist https://sites.google.com/atim.us/atim/home. 

Teachers will need to be familiar with the robots and emulator. The following videos show how the robots and the online emulator operate:

Teacher using programmable robots will need to be familiar with how the robots operate. The following video may be used to introduce the robot to your class: https://youtu.be/7hHgZ4oVqh8.   Teacher should have robots charged, Bee-Bot mats printed, squares cut out, laminated, and put together so they are ready for student use. (See picture at the end of the Printable Robot Activity Mat link for an example.)

Student Preparation: Students should have some basic background knowledge of how a cycle works and that animals go through different stages of life cycles. 
Variation Tips (optional):

Acceleration:

Students could be given a stack of the Robot Activity Mat squares and they could be instructed to put their own mat together in order of the life cycle. Then proceed with step 7 in the activity. 

Intervention:

This activity could be done as a whole group. Teacher could call on students sitting around the mat on the floor to code the robot to each stage. Teacher can pause at each stage of the life cycle to discuss its characteristics. 
Notes or Recommendations (optional):

This task can be used as a stand-alone activity or in conjunction with Impatient Caterpillars (before activity) and Impatient Caterpillars Write the Life Cycle (after activity).

 

Cross-Curricular Alignment:

[DLIT](3) 11 :

5) Create an algorithm to solve a problem as a collaborative team.

Examples: Move a character/robot/person through a maze. List steps to build a sandwich.
  Keywords and Search Tags  
Keywords and Search Tags: algorithm, beebot, butterfly, caterpillar, coding, life cycle