A Very Hungry Caterpillar Play

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“I can” statements:
• I can write the beginning, middle and ending of a story.
• I can act out the characters and events of a written story or script.
• I can perform a story during a read aloud.
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Standards
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.5
Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the
ending concludes the action.
Michigan Standards, Benchmarks, and Grade Level Content Expectations for Visual Arts, Music, Dance,
and Theater:
ART.T.11.2.1
Describe characters, environments, and situations that support the creation of a classroom dramatization.
ART.T.111.2.2
Convey elements of character, setting, and events after reading a story or script.

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Grade level: 2nd
Time: 56 minutes
Source material: Zielinski, Natalie
MSU TE Student 2016
Supplies: Hungry Caterpillar Outline, Story roles, pencils and paper
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Introduction before the lesson:
• My name is Natalie!
• I am from Milford, MI, and I am a student at MSU.
• I am here in your classroom today because I am preparing to be a teacher. For one of my classes I get
to design a lesson plan, and today I am going to teach you the lesson that I made!
• Today we are going to work together as a class to act out one of my favorite stories, and we will also
be working in smaller groups to create different versions of the story to share with the class.
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Engagement
Shape Up Caterpillars Grouping: Class 3 minutes
The students will spread out and each find their own space to move in. The teacher will demonstrate the
shapes to the class and have all of the students imitate the shape. Each shape will be assigned a number, so
when the students have mastered the shape, clap out a rhythm and call out the numbers in random order to
make a caterpillar choreography.
Shape 1: Caterpillar
Shape 2: Caterpillar in a cocoon
Shape 3: Butterfly
Internal Assessment:
• How did you feel when you were making the shapes? Did you put any emotion into your
caterpillar characters? Why or why not?
• How do these shapes represent the story of a caterpillar’s life?
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Building Knowledge
Part 1 - The Story Structure and Read Aloud Grouping: Class 10 minutes
Have the students gather together and go over the structure and elements of the story on the white board. Ask
the class to define:
• Beginning of a story (what is involved)
• Middle of a story
• End of the story (what is involved)
• Character
• Setting
• Conflict
After you are done reviewing and talking with the class, read The Very Hungry Caterpillar out loud,
showing the illustrations to the class.
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Internal Assessment/Check-in Grouping : Class 5 minutes
• Who was the main character of the story?
• Where did the story take place?
• What was the beginning of the story?
• What happened in the middle of the story?
• What conflict did the caterpillar have?
• How was the conflict solved? (What was the ending of the story?)
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Exploring and Sharing
Class Dramatization Grouping: Class 10 minutes
Give each student a story role and direct the students to their proper area of the circle to act out the story.
Have the fruits get in order of the sequence in the story, followed by the foods and the leaf. Explain to the
students how they will form a caterpillar train as the head of the caterpillar walks up to each food role and
“eats them.” While reading the story out loud, guide the caterpillar along the circular path and have the
students make a caterpillar train. For the cocoon, have the students roll the train together to make a cocoon,
and then have each student act out their butterfly role for the end of the story.
Run through the play again, giving the students more responsibility for their parts. To make it more
engaging, try having each student add a movement to their fruit/food, or have the caterpillar train do a dance
each time it eats a food.
Internal Assessment:
• Who acted out the beginning of the story? Who acted out the middle? The end?
• How did you feel when you were acting out your part?
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Closure
Story Writing Grouping: Individual or partners 20 minutes
After the class has modeled the story, have all of the students take a bow and applaud. Now the students can
partner up or work individually. Each group will work together to write a new beginning, middle, and end of
The Very Hungry Caterpillar using the outline attached.
The students will focus on including:
• A setting
• A main character (a caterpillar)
• Four foods for the caterpillar to eat
• A conflict
• An ending
Give the students time to write their new story, checking in with each partnership to see if they need help.
When all of the students are done, have them gather together to discuss.
Internal Assessment: Grouping: Class 8 minutes
• What was the hardest part to write in the story? Why do you think so?
• Who thinks they had some really good foods in their story?
• Who thinks they had a fantastic conflict and resolution?
• Who had a great main character?
*If time, have the students volunteer to read off their stories.
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Before or After the Lesson
• Students could create props to make a more advanced and interactive version of the play.
• Students could relate the story to the life cycle of a caterpillar, and research the different stages that
the caterpillar goes through.
• Students could draw the story roles and string them together to sequence the story.
• Students could create a new story together as a class through a guided story.
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Vocabulary
• Choreography
• Conflict
• Character
• Setting
• Resolution/Ending
• Cocoon
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Notes
• Praise students for their good work.
• Thank the classroom teacher for inviting you.
• Be sure the students are in their desks and quiet while awaiting instructions from the classroom
teacher.
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Beginning: includes the setting and introduces the character
Middle: Holds the details and conflict of the story
End: brings closure to the story, solves the problem
Character: main role in the story, and could be an animal, human, etc.
Setting: where the story takes place
Conflict: a problem that occurs in a story
Resolution: how a problem is fixed or solved
Cocoon: a silky case spun by an insect to protect itself
Choreography: a sequence of movements put together to make a dance
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 Write-a-Story Outline
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Setting: _________________________
Main Character: A caterpillar named _________________.
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Beginning
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In the light of the moon _________________________________________________.
On Sunday morning the warm sun came up and pop! The caterpillar
_______________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________.
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____________ started to look for some food.
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Middle
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On Monday ________________ ate through one _________________________, but he/she was still
hungry.
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On Tuesday _________________ ate through two ____________________________, but was still hungry.
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On Wednesday ________________ ate through three ______________________________, but was still
hungry.
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On Thursday ___________________ ate through four __________________________, but was still hungry.
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After eating all of that food, the caterpillar
_______________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________. (create a conflict here)
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On Friday the caterpillar ate through one big green leaf,
_____________________________________________.
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End
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Now __________________ wasn’t hungry anymore, and the caterpillar was no longer little. Now, the
caterpillar was a big caterpillar.
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The caterpillar ________________________________________________________________.
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And then the caterpillar
_______________________________________________________________________________________
________.
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The End.
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