Pathfinder

=Title: Flutters=


 * Introduction:** The Pathfinder I developed is for the Second Grade teachers to use with our Butterfly Life Cycle Unit.The goals for this Pathfinder are to (1) Provide a resource for the hands-on Science Life Cycle unit. (2) Show other teachers in our school the usefulness of Pathfinders for integrating technology into lesson plans.


 * Key Terms:** Entomology, Insects, Lepidoptera, Butterflies, Moths, and Skippers


 * Search Strategy:** I began my search with the Meta Search engine [|www.dogpile.com] .This gave me results from Google, Yahoo, and Bing.I narrowed my search from “insects and butterflies” to “butterflies”.The sites that appeared on at least two General Search engines were the sites I investigated first.Next, I went to [] and [] to find sites that were safe for students to investigate on their own.I thoroughly reviewed all the sites and investigated them on [|www.easywhois.com] before I included them in my Pathfinder.


 * Resources:** The resources are listed in the order I would use them for the Butterfly Life Cycle Unit.

on the link provided to go to the site.Once on the site click the “Videos” button.It   will navigate to the Videos page.At the top is the “Video Player” tab, click it to    open up the “Kid Video” page.Use the Menu on the left hand side to go to the “Animals & Pets” page.Choose “Bugs” from the new menu and click on the “Butterflies” video to watch it.This is a colorful video that sparks the interests of   students and introduces some of the key terms for the unit.
 * 1.**[] Start the Unit with an introduction video.Click

** 2. ** [] This site is useful for teachers and students.Teachers can use it for informational purposes or on a SmartBoard for instruction.Upper elementary students can access it in a computer lab setting. The site is easy to navigate and the “Web Links” portion of the site takes student or   teachers to ad free reputable sites.The site has a membership side to access print material, but you don’t have to join to access information.

** 3. ** [] Great resource for teachers to show the life cycle with photographs. The Photographs page is organized by Families and Geographic Regions.There is also a Teaching and Learning Tools page with Lesson plan links.

** 4. ** [|http://butterfliesandmoths.org] Searchable database organized by Taxonomic Groups Map Search, Species Search, and Image Gallery.The Glossary links to an easy to   navigate Entomological Terms page.The site is regularly updated.

** 5. ** [|http://butterflywebsite.com] Easy to navigate site for teachers to use for ClipArt, stories, and gardening tips to attract butterflies.The Articles page has a Kids’ Stuff page with stories and articles about kids’ experiences with butterflies.

** 6. ** [] A fun website for kids to use on    their own or in a computer lab setting.The online games use Java and are fun for primary students.The “Butterflies in My Garden” section has photographs of   of different plants that attract butterflies.

** 7. ** [] A website dedicated to Monarch Butterflies. A great website for studying Monarch migration, tagging, and conservation. Students and teachers can get involved by planning and building Monarch “Way stations” or habitats that Monarchs can use as stopping places during their migration.The “In the Classroom” section has links to lesson plans and class that have built websites to showcase their butterfly studies.

** 8. ** []A great entomology website an alphabetical listing of insects and links to insect websites.The Butterfly section contains global links that teachers can use to study butterflies worldwide.The Painted Lady butterfly section has beautiful photos and an information section that teachers can use alone or in conjunction with projects that use live caterpillars and painted lady butterflies.

** 9. ** []This website is a very good entomology website.Teachers or students take a virtual tour of an   entomology museum to investigate butterflies and other insects by clicking by clicking on a display case to reveal the insects.A Primary grade teacher could use this for discussion.Upper grade students could access it for themselves.

** 10. ** []This is a good website to investigate insects up    close.The site has a page called “Bugbios” that students can use to learn about insects.The Lepidoptera section contains the bios of butterflies, moths, and skippers.By clicking on a picture older students or teachers can read about the insect.Click on the picture to enlarge it so students can see the fine details.