Submitted by: Hannah Hobbs
Grade level: ece,elementary
Core Competencies: critical-thinking,positive-personal-and-cultural-identity,social-responsibility
Subject Disciplines: earth-science-and-space-science,outdoor-education

This lesson is designed to be used with the Pacific Spirit Park EcoKit.

Suggested location: Camosun Bog, Pacific Spirit Park

Approaches to Learning: Impulse control, solving problems, evaluating, teamwork, critical thinking

Approaches to Teaching: Based on inquiry, child-led, environment as the third teacher, observation.

Responsibilities as Outdoor Educators:

• Respect our learning environment, ask permission to use the bog

• Discuss the boardwalk with children

• Talk about the sensitivity of the sphagnum moss and why we don’t walk on it

• Remind children where we can/cannot walk

• Safety around water (duck pond)

Safety aspects:

• Remind children how to safely use the boardwalk

• Discuss safety around water 

Session outline:

Read ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ By Eric Carle. 

• Elicit the stages the caterpillar went through

• Draw and use models as the children come up with the stages.

• Has anyone seen a caterpillar, butterfly, cocoon, egg before? Where have you seen them before? Make connections to humans. What is the difference between teacher and child? Does anyone have an older/younger sibling? What other life cycles of animals do you know about?

• Group children into pairs/threes and hand them the frog cycle models. Children work together to order the stages of the frog.

• Gallery walk- have children move around and view other groups ideas.

• Conclude and discuss as a group their ideas and reasoning. What other animals have similar/different life cycles? What animals might we find in the bog?

• Nature walk around the bog’s boardwalk looking closely for evidence of a butterfly or frog life cycle. Children may find or hear other animals during this time.

• Finish the session by reading ‘Frog in a Bog’ by John Himmelman. Elicit all the animals the frog encounters in the bog.

• Further learning-children go home and inquire and learn about the cycle of an animal of their choice. Perhaps they may choose an animal from the ‘Frog in a Bog’ book. 

Session resources: 

• ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ By Eric Carle

• Frog in a Bog’ by John Himmelman

• Butterfly lifecycle models

• Frog lifecycle models

• Big paper and pens

Resources for Educators: 

Pre-read ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ By Eric Carle and ‘Frog in a Bog’ by John Himmelman

Pacific Spirit Park Society Bog Kit