The Very Hungry Caterpillar Posted by: Bria Gayle

The Very Hungry Caterpillar 
Posted by: Bria Gayle

Title: The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Author and Illustrator: Eric Carle

Recommended Grade Level: Pre-kindergarten – 1^st grade

Common Core Mathematics Standard:

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.A.3
Write numbers from 0 to 20. Represent a number of objects with a written numeral 0-20 (with 0 representing a count of no objects).

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.B.4
Understand the relationship between numbers and quantities; connect counting to cardinality.

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.K.CC.C.6
Identify whether the number of objects in one group is greater than, less than, or equal to the number of objects in another group, e.g., by using matching and counting strategies.¹

Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practice:

CCSS.MATH.PRACTICE.MP4 Model with mathematics.

Summary: This story is about the life cycle of a caterpillar as it starts by coming out of its egg, all the way to becoming a butterfly.  He eats his way through several kinds of fruit and food.  For example on Monday he eats through an apple, on Tuesday two pears, on Wednesday three plums, and so on.  However, after eating all these fruits during the week he was still hungry.  By Saturday, he eats a bunch of human food and it gives him a stomachache.  On Sunday, he eats a green leaf making him feel better.  He builds a cocoon and eats his way out turning into a butterfly.

Rating: ***** I highly recommend this book.  It covers the life cycle of a butterfly from an egg.  Also covers the days of the week, colors, counting, and healthy eating.  This book has been a classic for years.

Classroom Ideas: Students can count out the foods that the caterpillar eats each weekday.  Teachers can give out visuals of the fruits and have them come up and place the fruits on a chart.  Then ask the students, how many things does he eat on Thursday?  How many more things did he eat on Wednesday than Thursday?  How many fruits in total?  This is where addition comes into play.  They can identify the days of the week and count how many days in a week.  They can also use math manipulatives on the table while the story is being read aloud. Lastly, students can act out and represent each food and do a count off.