Thank you for visiting the National Butterfly Center’s Educational Resources portal. Here, you will find some of the lesson plans we have created for use here, during school field trips and for traditional field science studies, for grades Pre-K – 12.

We encourage you to poke around and check out all we have to offer for creative ways to implement learning with Nature, in your classroom. Many lessons offer opportunities for instruction across multiple subject areas and aim to illustrate and reiterate a variety of vocabulary words and concepts through practical application. For example, if you are teaching about Energy, why not incorporate ‘Predator and Prey’ materials to increase comprehension of the most critical form of energy: the calorie.

Lessons are intended to be scalable, so students may be engaged and challenged at every level. Many lessons will feature activities, discussion prompts and project suggestions that may be modified for age/grade appropriateness. In addition, we have included reputable supplemental resources to support lesson plans from trusted organizations, such as National Geographic, TED, The Smithsonian, esteemed authorities and universities around the world.

We hope you find our educational resources enjoyable and useful!

NOTE: Although most lessons will list Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills correlations to facilitate instructional integration, all plans also address the objectives listed below, in the event they are not specifically noted:

Other TEKS Objectives

K.1, 1.1, 2.1, 3.1, 4.1, 5.1, 6.1, 7.1, 8.1 – Conducts Classroom and Field Investigations

K.3, 1.3, 2.3, 3.3, 4.3, 5.3, 6.5, 8.5– Speaks Appropriately to Different Audiences for Different Purposes and Occasions

K.9, 1.9, 2.9, 3.8 – Needs of Living Organisms

K.12, 1.12, 2.12 – Generates Questions and Conducts Research Using Information from Various Sources

1.1, 2.1, 3.1, 4.9, 6.1, 7.1, 8.1 – Listens Actively and Purposely in a Variety of Settings

Bio. 12

TEXAS PREKINDERGARTEN GUIDELINES

VI.B.1. Child identifies and describes the characteristics of organisms.

VI.B.2. Child describes life cycles of organisms.

VI.B.3.Child recognizes, observes, and discusses the relationship of organisms to their environments.

VI.C.1.Child identifies, compares, discusses earth materials, and their properties and uses.

V1.C.4 Child demonstrates the importance of caring for our environment and our planet.

VIII.A.1. Child uses a variety of art materials and activities for sensory experience and exploration.