Wiggly Math with SC Caterpillars

(1) Introduction (10 minutes):

Begin by showing pictures of different South Carolina caterpillars (e.g., Luna Moth caterpillar, Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillar, Hickory Horned Devil - all linked in the resources tab). Briefly discuss their unique features.
Introduce the essential question and explain that math can help us learn more about these creatures.

(2) Problem Solving & Direct Instruction (30 minutes):

• Remind students of helpful problem-solving strategies:
  Read Carefully: Understand what the problem is asking.
  Identify Key Information: What facts are given? What do we need to find?
  Choose an Operation: Will we add, subtract, multiply, or divide? (Focus on addition and subtraction for this lesson)
  Show Your Work: Write down your equations and explain your thinking.
  Check Your Answer: Does your answer make sense?

• Guided Practice: One-Step Problems

Problem 1 (One-step Addition): A Monarch caterpillar munched on 137 milkweed leaves on Monday and 96 milkweed leaves on Tuesday. How many leaves did it eat in total?

Direct Instruction: "First, we read the problem. What do we know? (137 leaves on Monday, 96 leaves on Tuesday). What do we need to find? (The total number of leaves). Since we want to find the total, we will add. Let's write our equation: 137 + 96 = ?"
Model solving the problem using a strategy like regrouping:
 137
+  96
------
 233
"So, the Monarch caterpillar ate 233 leaves in total."
 

Problem 2 (One-step Subtraction): A Pipevine Swallowtail caterpillar had 246 spots.  A bird ate 53 of the spots. How many spots were left?

Direct Instruction: "Let's read the problem. What do we know? (246 spots, 53 spots eaten). What do we need to find? (How many spots are left). Since spots were taken away, we will subtract. Our equation is 246 - 53 = ?"
Model solving:
 246
-  53
------
 193
"The caterpillar had 193 spots left."

• Guided Practice: Two-Step Problems

Problem 3 (Two-step - Addition then Subtraction):  A Black Swallowtail caterpillar ate 112 parsley leaves and 85 dill leaves. Then, it got full and stopped eating. If it had already eaten 25 leaves earlier in the day, how many leaves did it eat in all that day?

Direct Instruction: "This problem has two steps! First, we need to find the total number of parsley and dill leaves eaten. We add 112 + 85. Then, we add the leaves eaten earlier in the day to find the total: (112 + 85) + 25 = ?"
Model solving:
 112    197
+  85   +  25
------  ------
 197    222
"The caterpillar ate 222 leaves in all."

Problem 4 (Two-step - Subtraction then Addition): A Cecropia caterpillar spun 325 inches of silk for its cocoon.  It used 142 inches on the top half and 93 inches on one side. How many more inches of silk will it need for the bottom half?

Direct Instruction: "What are the steps here? First, we find the total amount of silk used so far by adding 142 and 93. Then, we subtract that total from the original 325 to find how much more silk is needed. The equation is 325 - (142+93) = ?"
Model solving:
 142     325
+  93   - 235
------  ------
 235    90
"The caterpillar needs 90 more inches of silk."

(3) Independent Practice (20 minutes):

Provide additional word problems for students to solve independently or in small groups. This can be from the original worksheet linked in the resources section.

(4) Wrap-up (10 minutes):

Review the essential question and discuss how addition and subtraction are used to solve real-world problems about caterpillars.
Have students share one thing they learned about South Carolina caterpillars and one thing they learned about math.

differentiation: Provide smaller numbers in the word problems or offer sentence starters to help them explain their thinking. Use manipulatives like counters or base-ten blocks to help visualize the problems.

extension: Include problems with three steps or larger numbers. Ask them to create their own word problems about South Carolina caterpillars. Have them research the lifespan of a specific caterpillar and create math problems based on that information.

Use the performance task linked in the resources tab to assess student learning outcomes.