Home›Lesson Plans›Science›Life Science · Grade 2

Animal Life Cycles: The Amazing Change of a Butterfly

Students follow the life cycle of a butterfly — from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly — discovering that many animals change shape completely as they grow up.

Grade 2Life Science40 minutes1 class period5E ModelExplicit teaching4 StandardsCommon Core
Start the Lesson
Assign or share this lesson
Share to Google Classroom Share to Microsoft Teams

Copy link works with Canvas, Schoology, Moodle and any other LMS — paste it in as a resource or assignment.

Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Name the stages of a butterfly’s life cycle.
  • ✓Put the stages in order.
  • ✓Know that animals grow and change.
  • ✓Compare life cycles of different animals.
Essential Question

A caterpillar and a butterfly look nothing alike — yet they are the same animal! How does a crawling caterpillar become a flying butterfly?

0
Lesson Phases
0
Vocabulary Terms
0
Standards Aligned
0
Interactive Task
Life Cycle Order · Interactive

Order the Life Cycle

Project this and have students place the butterfly’s life-cycle stages in order — from egg all the way to butterfly.

🦋 Put the butterfly life cycle in orderTry it
Tap the stages in order — the egg comes first!
The Lesson · 5E Model

40 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Engage — Same Animal?!

5 min

A caterpillar and a butterfly — the SAME animal? How?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Show a caterpillar and a butterfly.
  • Ask how they can be the same.
  • Set the goal: life cycles.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Compare the two.
  • Wonder how it changes.
  • Predict the stages.
2

Explore — Order the Cycle

10 min

Students investigate.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Order the Life Cycle.
  • Have them order the stages.
  • Name each stage.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Order the stages.
  • Name each one.
  • Watch the change.
3

Explain — Egg to Butterfly

10 min

Teacher explains.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Explain egg → caterpillar → chrysalis → butterfly.
  • Note the big change (metamorphosis).
  • Show it is a repeating cycle.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Name the stages.
  • Explain the change.
  • See the cycle.
4

Elaborate — Other Cycles

10 min

Apply.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Compare to a frog’s life cycle.
  • Note some animals look like small adults.
  • Discuss growing and changing.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Compare a frog.
  • Note the difference.
  • Explain growing up.
5

Evaluate — Exit Ticket

5 min

Three quick checks.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Hand out the exit ticket.
  • Look for correct order.
  • Collect as formative data.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Order the stages.
  • Name a stage.
  • Explain the change.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core literacy. State-standard crosswalks available on request.

NGSS
3-LS1-1

Develop models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles.

NGSS
2-LS4-1

Compare the diversity of life in different habitats.

CCSS
RI.2.3

Describe the connection between a series of events or steps in a text.

CCSS
W.2.8

Recall information from experiences to answer a question.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Life-cycle picture cards to order.
  • Sentence frame: “First the ___, then the ___.”
  • Act out each stage.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with three stages.
  • Use large picture cards.
  • Provide the first stage.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Compare a butterfly and a frog cycle.
  • Draw and label the full cycle.
  • Explain why it is called a cycle.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Projector / board
  • 📓Science notebooks
  • 💻Order the Life Cycle
  • 🖼️Life-cycle cards
  • 🖍️Crayons
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

life cyclethe stages a living thing goes througheggthe first stage of many animalscaterpillarthe young, crawling stage of a butterflychrysalisthe case where a caterpillar changesbutterflythe adult flying stagestageone step in a life cyclemetamorphosisa big change in body shapecyclesomething that repeats
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
What are the four stages of a butterfly’s life cycle, in order?
Egg → caterpillar → chrysalis → butterfly.
QUESTION 2
What comes right after the caterpillar stage?
The chrysalis (where it changes).
QUESTION 3
Why is it called a life “cycle”?
Because it repeats — the butterfly lays eggs and the whole cycle starts again.

Going deeper? Compare two cycles.

Have students compare the butterfly’s life cycle to a frog’s (egg → tadpole → froglet → frog) and find what is alike. A printable life-cycle sheet is in the Science library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Animal Life CyclesFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
0

Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Animal Life CyclesQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
0%

Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

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.

🖨️ Animal Life CyclesPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: butterfly, caterpillar, chrysalis, cycle, egg, life cycle, metamorphosis, stage
  1. the case where a caterpillar changes
  2. the young, crawling stage of a butterfly
  3. something that repeats
  4. the adult flying stage
  5. one step in a life cycle
  6. the first stage of many animals
  7. the stages a living thing goes through
  8. a big change in body shape

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. What are the four stages of a butterfly’s life cycle, in order?
  2. What comes right after the caterpillar stage?
  3. Why is it called a life “cycle”?
Answer key — Part A: 1) chrysalis · 2) caterpillar · 3) cycle · 4) butterfly · 5) stage · 6) egg · 7) life cycle · 8) metamorphosis
Part B: 1) Egg → caterpillar → chrysalis → butterfly. 2) The chrysalis (where it changes). 3) Because it repeats — the butterfly lays eggs and the whole cycle starts again.