Process
Picking a Butterfly:
First you must pick your butterfly from The Butterfly List. These butterflies all live around New Jersey, so you might have seen them during the summer! Some of these butterflies will be easier to study than others. The monarch butterflies will be the easiest because we'll have them in class. The swallowtail butterfly also is easy to research. Once you are ready to begin this step, look at the Resources page.
Organizing Your Information: Next you should fill out a Butterfly Information Sheet so that you can remember everything you need to talk about in your diary. If you want an example, click here here.
Writing Your Diary: Finally you get to start your diary! You should use words and pictures to create your diary. You should make 10 diary entries, but you can make more if you have time. Each entry must have at least one butterfly fact (just like Diary of a Worm had a lot of worm facts).
Each stage of the butterfly's life should get at least one entry. This means there must be an egg entry, a caterpillar entry, a pupa entry and a butterfly entry.
The only other rule is be creative! What is your butterfly's family like? Who are its friends? Where does your butterfly go when it travels? What is its favorite food? Your butterfly's life is up to you!
Checking your Work: You should also do a rough draft first so that you can check your spelling and grammar. Don't forget to make sure you have complete sentences in every entry!
Remember, Ms. West will collect all your work, including your drafts and Butterfly Information Sheet. Please make sure you have these ready for her. If you are not sure about what you need to put in your diary, check the rubric for the Butterfly Diary.