Third graders learn that living things have life cycles — stages of birth, growth, reproduction, and death — and follow the amazing transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly through metamorphosis.
Students will be able to…
A caterpillar and a butterfly look nothing alike — yet they’re the same animal! Every living thing goes through a life cycle. What are the stages, and how does a caterpillar become a butterfly?
Project this and have students put the butterfly’s life cycle in order — from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly!
Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.
A caterpillar and a butterfly look so different — yet they’re the same animal! How?
Students investigate.
Students explain.
Students elaborate.
Students conclude.
Aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (Grade 3 / Elementary Science).
Develop a model to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles — birth, growth, reproduction, and death.
Explain how traits are inherited.
Explain how animals form groups.
Developing and using models.
Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.
Have students compare the butterfly’s life cycle with a frog’s (egg → tadpole → froglet → frog) and find what’s alike and different. A printable life-cycles sheet is in the Science library.
Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.
A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.
A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.