Technology Module on Butterflies

Butterflies
Grade 2 Unit
By Sarah Gaffney

Rationale of Technology Use
• In today’s culture, technology is used in
everyday life by both children and adults
worldwide. The frequency in which
technology is utilized continues to grow, and
incorporating it into classrooms will benefit
children for many reasons.
• Because children are so attuned to using
technology outside of school, making the
connection between everyday and classroom
technology is easier and adds to their sense
of consistency.
• Technology, when approved for quality and
effectiveness, can assist students with
grasping material more as a result from a
different media representation.
• This PowerPoint will explore the ways in
which technology can be utilized for
elementary lessons through research.

Internet Content
• While the internet can be a beneficial wealth of
information, it can also lead to untrustworthy or
unqualified sites giving false information. Because
of this, it’s important to ensure websites being
used within the classroom are high quality and
have been assessed for accuracy.
• The next few slides will show examples of
different types of informative websites that add
to the content of lessons and an overall
understanding for the concepts.

YouTube Content
Video 1: National Geographic Kids is a
great resource for obtaining quality
information in a format that is easy to
understand and entertaining for
younger grades.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1
b87rwtXGzA
Video 2: Kids Education Online allows
students to follow the journey of a
Monarch butterfly through its stages of
life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT
6UsQwZyy0

Online Blog
• This online blog-site is an interactive choice
for young students in the classroom setting.
The site provides descriptions of butterfly
types, information on their life cycles and
anatomy, and visual examples of the many
different types of butterflies.
http://mrnussbaum.com/insects-
play/butterflies/

Internet Podcasts
• PBS Kids is a great source for audio and visual
technology tools to incorporate into elementary
lesson plans. This website includes a podcast and
written blog to go along with the questions that
arise during the podcast. These questions/text
can be a reinforcing technique that helps with
absorption of material.
• http://pbskids.org/dragonflytv/show/butterflywi
ngs.html

Internet Resources
• National Geographic Kids is a resource that allows
for a detailed overview of specific animals, such
as butterflies, while also providing key facts that
correlate to the species.
• National Butterfly provides a large amount of
information about butterflies answering topics
such as “How did the population grow?” to
“Monarch Wing Patterns.”
• Nature Mapping consists of butterfly information
in an easy to read format with fun facts to keep
children engaged and entertained.

Teaching Materials 1
This worksheet allows
for my 2nd graders to
apply their online
research into a visual
form. The activity will
have them think about
the many different
factors of animal species
and how they are similar
and different to others
that they know.

Teaching Materials 2
• Another way to incorporate technology into a lesson on
butterfly migration is an interactive life-cycle activity.
• This activity has
students not only type,
but drag, drop, and
interact with the
pictures that are
presented. This keeps
their attention in an
organized, yet
informational approach.

Subject-Specific Website
• Kids Growing Strong
(kidsgrowingstrong.org/mon
arch)
• In this in-depth,
informational website,
children can both read and
see visuals that pertain to
the specifics of the plant that
Monarchs feed off and need
most: Milkweeds.

Uses of the Internet
• Research Information
 There are many different types of informational
websites that allow kids to retain quality information
in many different formats. With some being more
textual, some having more direct facts, and some
obtaining many visuals, research can be enormously
beneficial with technology.
• Interactive Activities
 These aspects of technology are what allow the
students to process information in a fun way, while
getting their minds working in a way separate from
mundane paper work.

Web 2.0
• Facebook is the source for information on one
of the most popular activities regarding
butterflies: the monarch watch.
• This page allows for children to witness the
conversation surrounding butterfly migration,
see statistics for the topic, and follow along
with the rest of the country as butterflies
make their trip across the land.

Technology Module on Butterflies

More Related Content

Viewers also liked (20)

Similar to Technology Module on Butterflies (20)

Recently uploaded (20)

Technology Module on Butterflies

Editor's Notes