The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Grade Level: Pre-K –K
Classroom Time: 2- 45 minute periods

Language Arts skills:

Discuss the title and roles of author and illustrator of a book in teacher directed activities.
Learn that illustrations could be made using different techniques

Art skills:

Recognize basic colors and experiment with colors, forms and lines.
Place forms in an orderly arrangement to create one design.
Study and learn an artist’s “style” (Eric Carle)

Process:

Note:
The teacher will (have) read the book “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”, by Eric Carle to the students, letting the students “read aloud” with her/him.

Day 1:

The teacher introduces the concept of illustrator by telling students that an illustrator is the person that creates the pictures in a book, and that the author is the person that writes the story. The teacher tells them that sometimes they are two different people, but sometimes the same person may create the story and the pictures of the book.
The teacher asks the students: “Can you tell me who wrote this book?” “Yes, Eric Carle is the author. Now can you tell me who the illustrator is?” The teacher explains to the students that Eric Carle is both, author and illustrator.
“Today we will start creating a caterpillar the same way that Eric Carle did it in his book. Do you want to see how he created the illustrations?”
The teacher lets the students brainstorm how they think he created the illustrations (crayons, markers, printing in a computer, painting, etc.) by looking at the book.
“Now, we are going to see how he made the illustrations.” Go to the website: http://www.eric-carle.com/home.html and click in: Photo and video Gallery: “ How I paint my tissue papers.”
After the students watch the short video, in small groups they will paint small pieces (aprox.10”x 10”) on cardboard or white art paper (tissue paper is probably too difficult for this age) in the style like Eric Carle. They will paint mostly with green paint (with some spots) but teacher will need some red paint for each group of 5 students (for the caterpillar head).

Music-Movement extension:
During circle time the class will imitate The Very Hungry Caterpillar with movements, and sing the song : “I have a little apple-En esta manzanita”:
                                   I have a little apple, apple, apple
                                   I have a little apple just for me
                                   It makes a very nice house, nice house
                                   It makes a very nice house just for me.
                                   It has a little chimney, chimney, chimney,
                                   It has a little chimney, just for me.
                                   This apple makes a good house, good house, good house
                                   This apple makes a good house just for me.

                                    En esta casa roja , casa roja
                                    En esta casa roja vivo yo.
                                    En esta manzanita, manzanita
                                    En esta manzanita vivo yo
                                    Tiene una chimenea, chimenea
                                    Tiene una chimenea color café
                                    Yo se que es muy bonita mi casita
                                    Yo se que es muy bonita, ya lo se.

Day 2:

The teacher asks the students: “Who can tell me what we did yesterday? How did Eric Carle paint his pictures? Today we are going to see what comes next.”
The teacher goes back to the same website: http://www.eric-carle.com/home.html and clicks on: “How I create my pictures”.
The teacher shows the students how to trace circles or ovals on their painted papers, cut them, and explains that later “We are going to combine them to create our Caterpillar”. The teacher explains: “Now we are going to work as a team at each table. We are going to share the different pieces that we painted yesterday, and also the ovals (Stencils) of different sizes we are going to trace”.
Working in small groups with teacher supervision, students will trace oval and circle shapes on the painted papers, cut them and pass the stencil or tracing implement to the next student (rotate between the table), until all students have 5 or 6 ovals (or circles).One of these shapes will be RED (for the head) and the rest will be combinations of green.
On a big piece of construction paper the students will combine their traced pieces and will paste them. The Teacher asks the students to paste the pieces “from bigger to smaller”. “What oval are we going to paste First?”
When the students finish the caterpillar they will be able to draw the legs and antennas with marker, crayon or oil pastels.
The teacher guides the students to create a class Big Book: “What would your Caterpillar eat?” Let the students come up with ideas and dictate them to the teacher for the class book: “My caterpillar will eat……”

National Language Arts Standards:

Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment.

Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

Students use a variety of technological and information resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.

National Visual Arts Standards:

Lesson created by Silvia Romano, bilingual PreKindergarten teacher at Ketelsen Elementary in Houston, Texas.

The mission of Project GRAD is to ensure a quality public education for all students in economically disadvantaged communities so that high school and college graduation rates increase.