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Patricia NewmanPatricia Newman
Sibert Honor Children's Book Author & Environmentalist
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butterfly life cycle

LitLinks: Cycles in Life Science and Language Arts

August 7, 2019 LitLinks, LitLinks-Grade 3-5, LitLinks-Grade 6-8 No Comments

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GUEST BLOGGER: HEATHER L. MONTGOMERY

Cycles – they’re all around us. A pattern so common – day/night, birth/death, problem/product, idea/publication – we often don’t even notice it. When I started paying attention to cycles in nature, what struck me were the commonalities in life cycles. Everyone knows about the life cycle of a frog or butterfly, but what about the starfish, the jellyfish, the giant clam? They have fascinating life cycles too. That’s where my recent book, Little Monsters of the Ocean: Metamorphosis under the Waves, came from. This kind of thinking can lead your students to inspired writing, too.

Little Monsters of the Ocean cover

A “Larger” Look

When I took a larger look at metamorphosis and lifecycles, I was amazed. As an educator, I was well aware that many organisms experience changes as they grow, but I never thought about it. I never explored the greater complexities of this seemingly simple pattern.

Mental blinders had focused my mind solely on the “what” question: What animals go through metamorphosis? Opening my eyes wider, I started to compare lifecycles I knew (butterfly, salamander, etc.) to ones I didn’t (slipper lobster, gnathiid, zombie worm). That’s when the questions came rolling out: Why do animals morph? How can they change so rapidly? When do they change? Where do they spend their “childhood?”

And then I swung back to an even larger “what” question: What else has a life cycle? A person, a computer, a tree, even a book. What happens when students take a larger look at life cycles around them? Their minds expand. Compare/contrast, critical thinking, and metacognition kick in. Here’s an activity to get you started.

Pre-reading

  • In front of the class, draw a large circle and sketch the life cycle of a butterfly. Students can label the stages. 
  • Ask students to sketch (on their own) the life cycle of something else (leave this open-ended by not saying “another animal”).
  • Draw a second life cycle circle on the board and sketch in the egg and adult stages of the blue crab. Ask students to predict other stages of the blue crab life cycle.
cycle diagram

Dive In!

  • Read aloud pages 6 and 7, the beginning of the first chapter, “Monster Madness,” from Little Monsters of the Ocean: Metamorphosis under the Waves. Add the zoea stage to the diagram.
  • Read aloud pages 8 and 9. Let students guide you in adding the megalops and juvenile stages.
  • Read aloud pages 10 and 11 to complete the chapter.
zoea 256px-Carcinus_maenas,_zoea_larva
Zoea

Do it Your Way

  • As a class, brainstorm a list of living (bird, ladybug, flower) and nonliving (rock, aluminum can, video game) things that have a life cycle.
  • Draw another circle and as a class label the life cycle of a book, emphasizing the writing process. Use a T-chart to compare and contrast the life cycle of a book with that of a blue crab. (How are an egg and an idea similar? How do books reproduce?)
  • Have students self-select one item from the class list and create their own T-chart to compare/contrast the life cycle of their item with that of the blue crab.
  • Have students apply their new knowledge through creating a piece of writing. They may write a compare/contrast expository text or a narrative text that illustrates the life cycle of their chosen item.

Cycles – just another way to bring life science and language arts together!


Heather L. Montgomery photo

Heather L. Montgomery writes for kids who are wild about animals. An award-winning science educator, Heather uses yuck appeal to engage young minds. During school presentations, petrified animal parts and tree guts inspire reluctant readers and motivate reticent writers. She has published fifteen books, including Little Monsters of the Ocean: Metamorphosis under the Waves, Bugs Don’t Hug, and Something Rotten: A Fresh Look at Roadkill. – www.HeatherLMontgomery.com @HeatherLMont

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  • Home
  • Books
    • Sharks Unhooked: The Adventures of Cristina Zenato, Underwater Ranger
    • Giant Rays of Hope: Protecting Manta Rays to Safeguard the Sea
    • A River’s Gifts: The Mighty Elwha River Reborn
    • Planet Ocean
    • Eavesdropping on Elephants
    • Neema’s Reason To Smile
    • Zoo Scientists to the Rescue
    • Sea Otter Heroes: The Predators That Saved an Ecosystem
    • Plastic, Ahoy! Investigating the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
    • Ebola: Fears and Facts
    • Jingle the Brass
    • Nugget on the Flight Deck
    • Surviving Animal Attacks
    • Elite Operations series
    • Energy Lab series
    • QuickReads Fluency Library
    • Books for English language-learners
    • Writers write all kinds of things
  • Author Visit Programs
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