The science of butterflies:science is more than a one-hour lesson in a 3rd grade classroom!

Many educators view butterfly lessons as short, one-hour activities focused solely on the life cycle, arguing that they are not multipurposeful. Thus, a simple activity where children build a paper plate model of the stages may take place in an hour-long lesson. McTighe and Brown believe that the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) provide a framework that emphasizes teaching for deep understanding rather than covering a wide range of topics superficially. Specifically, the disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts represent three interconnected dimensions that support teachers in facilitating and students in developing deep conceptual understanding of science. The primary argument of this article is that achieving depth of learning in science requires sustained instructional time rather than brief, one-hour lessons. We’ve designed a multi-month lesson on butterflies that incorporates the 5E (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate) model of instruction. This unit directly aligns with 3-LS1-1 and 3-LS4-2 Next Generation Science Standards for grade 3.