Objective:  This lesson will demonstrate to students how camouflage helps insects and why it is important to their survival.

Introduction:  Many insects blend in with their surroundings because they are the same shape or color as their environment. Ask the students to give examples from their prior knowledge of animals or insects that use camouflage. Ask how this would help the animal to survive or live longer.

Teacher Preparation: Visit Eric Carle's Web site to learn about the author and see related lesson plans.

Materials:  Colored and white construction paper, pencils, books about insects, The Wonderful World of Insects, encyclopedias, scissors, crayons, computer with Internet and draw program, The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Vocabulary:  camouflage- the colors and patterns of an animal that blend in with the background and conceal it from predators and help it to ambush prey.

 Procedure:   
1. Students refer to their fact files.

2.  Students create an insect using paper, pencil, crayons.  Cut insect shapes out.

3.   Students then design a way for their insect to hide.  A great way to hide the insects is to create a mural on a bulletin board in the classroom.

4. After studying insects, students will draw and label insect parts using a draw program.

5. Discuss the parts of an insect: head, abdomen and thorax.

6. Have students draw large freehand  insect with basic features.

7. Draw a line to each basic part.

8. Type two- four sentences about each part.

9. Spell check and proofread.

10. Print.

11. Place in Insect Portfolio.

Home Learning:  Go on an insect safari around your house.  Make a list of the insects that you discover hiding.

Evaluation:  Draw a picture to demonstrate the ways that five insects use camouflage.

Extension:  Host a Caterpillar Day

• Read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and Where's That Insect? by Barbara Brenner. These books can be found in most school libraries or checked out of local library
• Read The Very Hungry Caterpillar to the class. Review what happened in the story. Have students brainstorm their own stories. Students write a draft and edit. Then use word processing to type story, add graphics and publish. These stories can be placed in a class caterpillar story book.
• After publishing their stories, students are ready to create butterfly slide shows using KidPix. Use Slide Show Storyboard Template.
• If students have email at home, they can email the slide show to their parents
• Students will participate in a sequencing activity using  The Very Hungry Caterpillar Coloring Book. Shrink the pages, then take these cards and mix up the entire story. Put the students into groups of two and let them work together to put the story back into the correct order. When they were finished have them to check each other's work.
• Reread the book, then ask students to graph the amounts of food that the caterpillar ate on each day of the week using a spreadsheet application. To extend this work, create a set of Hungry Caterpillar Word Problems. For example, on Monday 6 hungry caterpillars ate through 4 apples each. Students then  graph the amount of fruit the hungry caterpillars ate each day of the week.
• Prepare and eat: 
  
  A Very Hungry Caterpillar Fruit Salad

1 Apple
2 Pears
3 Plums
4 Strawberries
5 Oranges
Bunch of Mint Leaves

Peel, pare, seed, hull and section each fruit. Cut into bite-sized pieces. Then put them all together in a big bowl and chill. Garnish each serving with a sprig of mint. Serves approximately 8.