The Very Hungry Caterpillar Written and Illustrated by Eric Carle

Key Concepts

Nutrition Growth Taking care of ourselves Change (metamorphosis)

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Vocabulary cocoon chrysalis (a caterpillar inside of a

cocoon, in the process of transforming into a butterfly)

hungry slice nibbled metamorphosis (a series of major

physical changes that some animals go through to transform into very different-looking adults)

Days of the Week Monday/ lunes Tuesday/ martes Wednesday/ miércoles Thursday/ jueves Friday/ viernes Saturday/ sábado Sunday/ domingo

Food Vocabulary apple pear plum strawberry orange chocolate cake ice cream cone pickle Swiss cheese salami lollipop cherry pie sausage cupcake watermelon

Related BooksWaiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert

In brief, simple verses and large type, Ehlert traces the life cycle of the butterfly, from egg through caterpillar and chrysalis to glorious emergence and flight to the garden.

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The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric CarleA grouchy ladybug who is looking for a fight challenges everyone she meets regardless of their size or strength.

The Very Busy Spider by Eric CarleThe farm animals try to divert a busy little spider from spinning her web, but she persists and produces a thing of both beauty and usefulness. The pictures may be felt as well as seen.

The Very Clumsy Click Beetle by Eric CarleA clumsy young click beetle learns to land on its feet with encouragement from various animals and a wise old beetle. An electronic chip with a built-in battery creates clicking sounds to accompany the story.

The Very Lonely Firefly by Eric CarleA lonely firefly goes out into the night searching for other fireflies.

Ten Little Caterpillars by Lois Elhert

A colorful counting book with added scientific information about the life cycle of ten species of caterpillars and their characteristics.

A Field Guide to Eastern Butterflies (Peterson Field Guides) Although this is an adult guide, it is a very useful reference for children.

Photographs and facts help children connect storybook illustrations to reality. There are many other helpful butterfly guides; this is just one good example.

Peterson Field Guide Color-In Book – Butterflies Colored stickers aid children in coloring in the realistic pages depicting dozens of

butterfly species. The black-and-white pages are copy-friendly and especially suited for older children.

We heard the story:

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The Very Hungry Caterpillar 4

By Eric Carle

A tiny caterpillar pops out of its egg. He eats one apple, two pears, three plums, four strawberries, and five oranges. He becomes a big fat caterpillar and wraps himself in a cocoon.

Ask me about what the caterpillar turns into when he pops out of his cocoon.

Let’s talk about fruits we like to eat in our family. Tell

me your favorite fruit and I’ll tell you mine.

Nosotros oímos el cuento:

La Oruga Muy HambrientaPor Eric Carle

The Very Hungry Caterpillar 5

Una diminuta oruga salió del huevo. El comenzó a comer una manzana, dos peras, tres ciruelas, cuatro fresas y cinco naranjas. Entonces él comenzó a ser una oruga grande y gordo.

Pregúntame acerca de en qué se convirtió la oruga cuando salió de su capullo.

Vamos a hablar de las frutas que nos gusta comer en nuestra familia.

For the TeacherAbout the book

About the Story

Eric Carle’s very hungry and very lovable caterpillar has eaten its way into the hearts of millions of children worldwide. First published in 1969, it has been translated into more than 20 languages. In 2009, the 40th anniversary edition came out with a hand-written letter from Eric Carle in its pages. In response to the question of where the idea for this book came from, he explains that “one day, with a hole-puncher, I playfully punched some holes into a stack of papers. Looking at the holes I thought of a bookworm. Then I changed the bookworm into a green worm. With the help of my editor

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Ann Beneduce, the green worm became a caterpillar. That was the beginning.” Each page of the book features the caterpillar’s increasingly large daily meal. Holes through the pages represents the caterpillar’s page as he eats each piece of food. Finally, after a massive feast, the caterpillar wraps himself into a cocoon. When he emerges, he has transformed into a beautiful butterfly, depicted in a wonderful two-page spread. This book is a great way for teachers to talk about metamorphosis, healthy eating, and taking good care of one’s self.

About the Author and Illustrator

Eric Carle, who is perhaps most recognized as the author of the celebrated classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar, was born in Syracuse, New York in 1929. At age six, Carle moved with his parents to Germany, where he graduated from a prestigious art school. In 1952, he returned to America and he began working as a graphic designer for the New York Times. When Bill Martin Jr. approached Carle to illustrate Brown Bear, Brown Bear, Carle’s illustrious career as an artist of children’s books began. Soon, Carle was writing in addition to drawing; his first original book was 1,2,3 to the Zoo, and his subsequent work included the famous book The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Carle prepares his own brightly colored tissue papers by brushing, splashing, and splattering pigments and finger painting. These layered papers become his palette as he tears or cuts them into shapes and glues them onto an illustration board. Sometimes he will have painted part of his image directly on the board before he adds the collaged components.

*Official Eric Carle Website: http://www.eric-carle.com/

For the TeacherReading the Book

Getting Started

If you are emphasizing letter recognition in your class, pull out a letter H and a letter C from your Story Time Mystery Bag and tell the children: “These letters are a clue to two important words in the title of the book I am going to read today.” Have children say the letter you are showing them. Then hold up The Very Hungry Caterpillar and ask if they see the special letters (H and C) in the title of the book. Read the title of the book, the names of the author and the illustrator, and begin! You can also pull out flannel board figures from the Story Time Mystery Bag to get the children interested.

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As You Read

Note: The following suggestions and questions are not necessarily meant to be used the first time you read a book, or to be used all at once. Often it’s best to read through a book once and then reread it on subsequent days, taking into account the children’s attention span and interest. Repeated readings and incorporating story-related activities into multiple classroom areas can turn a story into a far-reaching learning experience.

The inside cover has a tissue paper collage with hole-punched paper, which is how Carle found his inspiration for the book (see About the Story). The title page shows another collage, this time of the holes that were punched out of the hand-painted paper. Ask children, “What do these look like to you?” They might answer gumballs, marbles, etc.

The dedication page shows another iconic Eric Carle image, a smiling sun. Children may recognize it from other favorite Carle books. Make sure they see the eyes, nose, and mouth.

The first page starts with a moon shining down on a tiny egg. Ask children, “Can you see anything in the moon?” (it has a face). Tell children that many people like to imagine that the shadows on the moon represent a person or an animal, or make it look like it’s made of cheese.

Place your finger beside the tiny caterpillar on the next page. Ask children to watch how the caterpillar becomes bigger as the story progresses.

As the pages of fruit appear, cover all but the first fruit that the caterpillar eats, the apple (use a sheet of paper). Give children clues so they can guess what fruit will come next, asking, “What do you think he ate next? It was something green...”. Point to and count each fruit as you read; have children join in.

Point out the holes in each fruit. Ask children, “Is that how you eat fruit?” You could talk about how there is still a lot of fruit left to eat after the caterpillar makes his hole. You can also make a caterpillar out of a green pipe cleaner (fold it in half and twist together) and push it through the holes as you read about the caterpillar eating each food.

Emphasize each day of the week with your voice as you read. You can hold up cards with the names of each day as you get to them, and you can ask, “What day comes after ______?” to help children predict the next sentence.

When you get to the picnic foods on Saturday, take a deep breath and read them very quickly or with a lot of drama as you point to each one. Then point to the caterpillar and ask “How does the caterpillar’s face look?” (Sad, sick).

“That night, he had a stomachache.” Ask children, “When you get a stomachache, what do you do?” (lie down and rest, parent gives medicine, etc.). “Why do you think eating a leaf made the caterpillar feel better?”

When you get to the illustration of the big, fat caterpillar, turn back to a previous page and compare their sizes.

The next page shows the caterpillar’s cocoon. Children may think it looks like a sleeping bag. Ask children, “What do you think the caterpillar will do inside?” Before you turn the page, ask children, “What do you think will come out of the cocoon?”

This is a good opportunity to introduce the word “chrysalis,” which is fun to say. The chrysalis is a caterpillar inside of a cocoon, in the process of transforming into

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a butterfly. Have the children join you in making a dramatic “pop” when the caterpillar comes

out of the egg. At the end, have children predict what will happen, then open and shut the last page of the book so that the butterflies wings appear to be flapping. This is a “Ta Dah!” moment.

Reinforce What’s Learned/Open-Ended Questions

Ask the children to respond to all or some of the open-ended questions below. As they share, write down the children’s responses on a large sheet of paper or a whiteboard (a mind map works well). Use one of the questions as your small group activity, prompting the children to draw a picture and write or dictate their responses.

& Draw and Write: If you had a picnic with the Very Hungry Caterpillar, what would you eat?

The Very Hungry Caterpillar grows up to become a beautiful butterfly. What do you think you’ll grow up to become one day?

Create your own children’s book, entitled The Very Hungry ________. Make one page for each day of the week; write the day on the top and have each child tell what he or she would eat every day of the week. This can be a group project for the whole class or an individual project for Small Group Time.

Discuss the idea of beginning/middle/end in the book and in real life. In the book, the caterpillar starts out as a caterpillar; in the middle, he is in a cocoon; and in the end, he becomes a butterfly. Ask children to think of other examples of beginning, middle, end (morning: get up and eat breakfast; middle of day: go to school, have lunch; evening: eat dinner, go to bed; etc.).

Songs and Finger-Plays The Butterfly Song to the tune of “Up On the House Top”

Apples and Bananas (FLRC Songbook) Today is Monday (FLRC Songbook) The Itsy-Bitsy Spider Song (FLRC Songbook)

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In the Classroom

Nutrition Experience Saturday Sandwich on a Stick (recipe card) Fruit Kabobs (recipe card) Ants on a Log (recipe card)

*Send home the bilingual recipe card when you Use the fruits in the book as a snack of the

week (Apples on Monday, etc.).

Library Area Check related book list for other stories to have

on your bookshelf. Give the book list to your librarian to reserve copies of these books in advance or check with the Family Literacy Office).

Family Literacy Office has flannel board figures.

Math Graph

“Would you let a caterpillar crawl on your hand?” Have these children draw around each other’s hands and cut out the hand shapes. Children who answered yes can draw a caterpillar on the hand, and children who answered no can leave theirs blank. Place the cutout hands on a piece of paper with columns for yes and no.

Caterpillar Measuring Activity Use the activity page with a caterpillar measuring strip to find out and record the sizes of things in the classroom.

Science If possible, have a real caterpillar or

cocoon in your room. Use the realistic photo kit and fact

sheet for this book (FLRC) to explore the life cycle of a caterpillar. You can add life cycle photos for a frog, etc.

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Dramatic Play Act out the story by

having children imagine that they are a tiny egg curled up on a leaf. Have them “pop” out of the egg and wriggle on their tummies around the room pretending to eat until they have a tummy ache. Then roll up like a cocoon until teacher counts down when they can push their way out. Finally, fly around the room like butterflies.

Hang up hammocks and have children pretend they’re in cocoons.

Instead of hanging up a hammock, you can use a Lycra Tube, which is lycra sewn into a loop.

Art Area Coffee Filter Butterfly

Make a coffee filter butterfly with clothes pin body and pipe cleaner antenna.

Wall MuralMake a wall mural with children representing each stage of metamorphosis. They can use easel paints or collage. Use the book as a guide.

Egg Carton Caterpillars Use die-cut circles of colored

paper for children to make “name caterpillars.” One letter of the child’s name per circle. Add googly eyes and pipe cleaner for antenna or feet if desired.

Book Worm Caterpillars Make “book worm” caterpillars. Child decorates paper plate to represent a favorite book. Adult places plates on the wall in the shape of a giant caterpillar.

From left to right: paper chain caterpillars and hole punch leaves; clothespin caterpillar (can have children write their names on each pin); chia pet caterpillars; symmetry butterfly painting

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Block Area Attach the laminated fruit shapes to

blocks (one per block). Children can sequence these in the story’s order or make a block tower, etc.

Music/Movement Use wrist ribbons for children to fly like butterflies

in a large open space to soft music. Stop the music occasionally for the butterflies to curl up and rest.

Have children hop from hula hoop to hula hoop, imagining that the hula hoops are flowers and they are butterflies sipping nectar.

Sensory Table Put plastic insects,

rocks and twigs in the sensory table.

Each child can take a twig and wrap a paper mâché cocoon around it. After it dries, they can paint it. Make a coffee filter butterfly to hang from the same branch.

Small Group Activity Sequence the life cycle of the butterfly using the

Activity Page for The Butterfly Song (FLRC). Make a minibook using the template and either the

instructions for making it into a Ziploc bag book or a twig-bound book (FLRC).

Using realistic photo kits, create matching, sequencing, and bingo games from FLRC. You can make them using this website: http://www.eslactivities.com/picturebingo.php#The FLRC has a photo kit specific to Eric Carle insects.

& Draw and Write: If you had a picnic with the Very Hungry Caterpillar, what would you eat?

Field Trip or Special Guest Olbrich Botanical Gardens Annual Summer

Butterfly Exhibit. Free entry for children who participate in the summer reading program and receive a free pass.

Bus Curriculum Remember to bring a copy of the book with

you on the bus. Bring the FLRC Songbook and sing

Apples and Bananas and Today is Monday. Bring the Activity

Page for The Butterfly Song (FLRC) to the tune of “Up On the House Top.”

Adaptations of Activities

Assessments

Social / Emotional Needs

Child’s

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Infant / Toddler Point out the holes in the foods, which are great for little fingers to poke through.

Make a caterpillar out of a green pipe cleaner (fold it in half and twist together) and push it through the holes as you read about the caterpillar eating each food.

Create palm-print caterpillars. Guide children in crawling through a play tunnel

(cocoon) like a caterpillar and then pop out the other end, flying away like a butterfly.

School-Age Use book related Word Search (FLRC) Introduce a science study about metamorphoses and go through the life cycles

of animals such as the butterfly, frog, and salamander. Have students cut out pictures from grocery store ads and paste onto a paper

plate. Have students label the foods on their plate. In a group discussion, have students share the foods they chose.

Make The Very Hungry Caterpillar Board Game with the FLRC templates. Visit a preschool classroom and teach the children how to play the game.

Cultural Adaptations

Change the Saturday foods to fun foods from a different culture. Examples: tamales, dumplings and arroz con leche, etc. You can make this into a class book.

Invite parents to come in to prepare a special food from their culture.

Show pictures of butterflies native to different parts of the world.

Get out a map and learn about how butterflies that migrate from WI to Mexico.

Activities for Volunteers

Read the book using the tips in the “As you read” and “Reinforce what’s learned” portion of the teachers’ curriculum.

Have the child/children retell the story using flannel board pieces or stick puppets (available from the FLRC).

& Draw and Write: If you had a picnic with the Very Hungry Caterpillar, what would you eat?

Fun Fact: Eric Carle’s caterpillar and butterfly are imaginary. In terms of appearance, the bristly rose slug comes closest to the very hungry caterpillar, with its red head and green body, but it turns into a sawfly, not a beautiful butterfly!

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For the Parent-Child Activity

Group Read Aloud

Gather plastic fruits, veggies, and other foods (or use laminated flannel board figures) and place them in baskets on each table. Have family members bring up the foods as they’re named in the book and place them in a food pyramid category (dairy, fruits and vegetables, grains, meats; have a separate section for junk food such as sweets and fats) at the front of the room.

If you’re in a large space and want to include more exercise in your presentation, play music and have family members move from one side of the room to the other while carrying the story props. While they move, have them copy movements such as salsa dancing, butterfly flying, etc.

Take Home or Table-Based Activity Ideas

Make a minibook using the template and either the instructions for making it into a Ziploc bag book or a twig-bound book (FLRC).

Sequencing cards activity using the Activity Page for The Butterfly Song (FLRC). Hand Butterfly

Trace your child’s hand to make a butterfly shape (thumbs together). Parents and other family member are invited to do the same. Write special things about your child on the butterfly wings. To extend the activity, tear small pieces of colored paper. Write special things about your child, including abilities or features and talk about what you are writing and why. Glue the paper to the wings of the butterfly and hang it in a special place where you can both see it.

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Examples of Metamorphosis

For Parenting Education

Parenting Message

Children are constantly changing. When observing a cocoon, it looks like nothing is happening. Children also go through periods where it is also frustrating for parents because it doesn’t look like they are progressing or maybe they are regressing. Although your children sometimes seem like they’re not making progress or maturing, they may be like the caterpillar in the cocoon: metamorphosis is taking place, it’s just not visible until the new being emerges. Getting the right foods and enough rest helps children grow healthily.

Home Visit Bring a copy of the book, the related Parent Book Letter and recipe card. You may wish to bring materials for stick puppets or for making a zip lock bag

book (FLRC).

Parent Group Note: One of the best ways for parents to learn is through sharing their strategies with each other, because the most relevant and useful ideas often come from the parents themselves. Be sure to listen and record ideas from the group itself, giving the majority of the time to their thoughts; they will usually bring up the points you want to mention naturally, and you can just fill in any gaps at the end..

What kind of transformations is your child going through? At home, look at pictures with your child from infancy to the present. Ask your child questions such as “How have you changed and grown?”

How have you transformed as a parent? Talk about all the wonderful changes you are looking forward to as both you and your child get older.

What do you do to take care of yourself everyday like the caterpillar? Why is taking care of yourself important?

A presenter about nutrition can be a good tie-in to this story.

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For Adult Education

ESL Subject: food, transformation, days of the week, numbersKey Parts of Language: past tense,Summary: Each day of the week, the caterpillar eats more and more, until he binges on all kinds of junk food. Then he spins himself a cocoon and transforms into a butterfly.

Days of the Week Food: apple, pear, plum, strawberry, orange, chocolate cake, ice cream cone,

pickle, Swiss cheese, salami, lollipop, cherry pie, sausage, cupcake, watermelon caterpillar, cocoon, chrysalis, hungry, slice, nibbled, butterfly

Grammar:This book, written in the past tense, contains the days of the week and multiple sentences containing “he ate...”.

Practice the past tense of to eat. Have students discuss what they ate when they were little, as opposed to what they eat now.

Talk about what foods are healthy and what foods are unhealthy. Is it better to eat ice cream or apples? Which food will help you grow?

Practice using the word “still” in various contexts (“he was still hungry”). Have each student write a sentence that contains “but I was still...” (I ate three pizzas, but I was still hungry”).

Discussion/Journal Questions:

& Ventures Basic: Unit 2, At School teaches the day of the week

GED Nutritional values in food. Daily requirements/recommendations of various nutrients. How does the transformation from larvae to caterpillar to cocoon to butterfly

happen? Subjective Pronouns (But he was still hungry), Past tense (But he was still

hungry)

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Financial Literacy/Personal Development

Discussion about nutrition and healthy habits for healthy families.

Vocabulary from The Very Hungry Caterpillar

B D G R O E Y W C Q F X U R MZ A L U I D G A V O S V A J OT U E S D A Y N D Y C E K B NQ P L U M O C K A S P O S C DR L P L R T A D N R E N O M AY G P U X W R F T S O N Y N YA A A F W U R Y T X C T D A ZD W U M T I O R O P I E J E HS F V A D Y A D N U S R Y Y WR X S A S W S I L A S Y R H CU B Y Z B W W A I O X Q M G WH E X E H Z G N T U O Q Q S FT V R W Q T N E Y I I J T A BX R G O S P M B U S H K Y F M

The Very Hungry Caterpillar 17

Y J S C I L S L H S X I V W CFind the following words and circle them:

APPLE CHRYSALIS COCOONFRIDAY MONDAY ORANGEPEAR PLUM SATURDAYSTRAWBERRY SUNDAY THURSDAYTUESDAY WEDNESDAY

Solution+ + + + + E Y + C + + + + R M + + + + + + G A + O + + A + O T U E S D A Y N D Y C E + + N + P L U M + + + A S P O + + D + + P + + + + D + R E + O + A Y + P + + + R F + S O N + N Y A + A + + U R + T + + + D + + D + + + T I + R + + + + + E + S + + A D Y A D N U S + + + W R + S A + W S I L A S Y R H C U + Y + B + + + + + + + + + + H + + E + + + + + + + + + + + T + R + + + + + + + + + + + + + R + + + + + + + + + + + + + Y + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

(Over,Down,Direction) APPLE(3,7,N)

CHRYSALIS(15,10,W)COCOON(9,1,SE)FRIDAY(8,6,SW)MONDAY(15,1,S)ORANGE(11,6,NW)PEAR(11,4,NE)PLUM(2,4,E)

SATURDAY(3,10,NE)

The Very Hungry Caterpillar 18

STRAWBERRY(10,6,SW)SUNDAY(11,9,W)

THURSDAY(1,13,N)TUESDAY(1,3,E)

WEDNESDAY(15,9,NW)

ReferencesCrafts for All Seasons, Coffee Filter Butterfly. http://www.crafts-for-all-seasons.com/coffee-filter-butterfly.html

Kid’s Printableshttp://www.dtlk.com/

Frank Schaffer Publications, Inc. Literature Notes for The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Pack O’ Fun Very Hungry Caterpillar Gamehttp://www.pack-o-fun.com/patterns/october09/hungrycaterpillargame.pdf

Rains, Shirley C. & Canady, Robert J (1989). Story S-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-r-s: Activities to Expand Children’s Favorite Books. Gryphon House.

The Official Eric Carle Website http://www.eric-carle.com/home.html

Reading Rockets. www.readingrockets.org

Teachers and Staff of Dane County Parent Council, Inc.

Schmitt, Nikki - Red Arrow Head Start Teacher