Materials
file folder
plastic or paper cutout butterflies
color copier or camera
glue stick
child-safe scissors
Instructions
* Ahead of time, cut out nine caterpillars in different lengths ranging from
2" to 10".
* On the back of each, write the numeral showing how many inches the
caterpillar measures.
What to Do
1. Talk with the children about caterpillars, and how they are different lengths.
2. Teach the children the following song:
The Caterpillar Song by Susan Oldham Hill
(Tune: "How Much Is That Doggy in the Window?")
How much does this caterpillar measure?
I wonder how long it can be...
I put it beside my little ruler,
Now measuring is easy for me!
3. Show the children how to measure correctly by making sure the left end of the
ruler is even with the left end of the caterpillar.
4. Tell the children that once they have the edges even on the left, then they
should look at the right to see the numeral that is at the right edge. That will
tell them how many inches the caterpillar measures. Then they can turn it over
to see if they are right.
5. Ask the children to line the caterpillars up in order from shortest to longest.
Assessment
Consider the following:
* Ask one child at a time to measure caterpillars and to put them all in order by
length.
* Can the children count aloud each caterpillar's length in inches?
