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Butterfly Life Cycle Worksheets

8 free PDFs4 more on the topic pagesUS Letter or A4Answer key includedNo login

Egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly: a detailed life cycle chart plus labeling, cut and paste, a spinning wheel, drawing, a journal and a read-aloud page.

Download the butterfly life cycle worksheets

Butterfly life cycle chart and labeling

A big life cycle chart to read together, then label the stages from a word bank.

Put the stages in order

Cut and paste the pictures around the circle, or number them with no cutting.

Butterfly life cycle wheel

Two pages to color, cut out and join with a brad. Turn the wheel to see each stage.

Draw and read aloud

Draw every stage, then listen to a short story and circle the answers. The journal is for watching real caterpillars change.

Print at 100% (actual size) for the cleanest tracing lines.

More butterfly life cycle worksheets

About these butterfly life cycle worksheets

The life cycle of a butterfly is one of the best first science stories for young children. A tiny egg on a milkweed leaf becomes a hungry caterpillar, the caterpillar hangs from a twig and turns into a chrysalis, and a monarch butterfly comes out. Four stages, big changes, and pictures children remember.

These butterfly life cycle worksheets use detailed line drawings of every stage: the egg on its leaf, the striped caterpillar, the chrysalis hanging from a twig and a monarch with veined wings. Children read the chart, label the stages from a word bank, cut and paste the pictures around the circle, build a life cycle wheel, draw the cycle and answer questions about a story read aloud. A no-cut version of the sequencing page is included, and an observation journal goes with a classroom caterpillar habitat.

Every page is in black and white, ready to color. Life cycles are formally taught in grade 3 (NGSS 3-LS1-1). These pages introduce the idea at a kindergarten level, with pictures, read-aloud text and no reading required.

Standards

  • NGSS 3-LS1-1Grade 3 standard, introduced here at a kindergarten level: develop models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death.
  • NGSS K-LS1-1Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.K.2Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1.APrint many upper- and lowercase letters.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.K.1With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.K.2Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not understood.

How to use them

  1. Start with the chart. Read each stage aloud and have your child point to the picture and follow the arrows back to the egg.
  2. Act it out: curl up small like an egg, crawl like a caterpillar, hang still like a chrysalis, then fly.
  3. Use the label page or the cut and paste page to practice the order and the words egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and butterfly. Answer keys are on page 2.
  4. Make the life cycle wheel: color, cut, join with a brad and turn it to tell the story.
  5. Finish with the drawing page or the read-aloud story and questions.

Teaching tips

  • Point out that the arrows go around in a circle: the butterfly lays eggs and the cycle starts again.
  • The word chrysalis is new for most children. Clap its three parts (chrys-a-lis) and say it together.
  • A caterpillar is a baby butterfly, not a different kind of bug. Ask, "What will this caterpillar turn into?"
  • If your child is stuck ordering the pictures, ask which stage is the smallest and starts everything (the egg).
  • Pair these pages with a picture book about caterpillars, or watch caterpillars change in a classroom habitat.

Questions teachers and parents ask

What are the 4 stages of the butterfly life cycle?

Egg, caterpillar (also called a larva), chrysalis (also called a pupa) and adult butterfly. Then the butterfly lays eggs and the cycle starts again.

Is the life cycle of a butterfly taught in kindergarten?

Life cycles are a grade 3 standard, but many kindergarten classes study butterflies in spring. These pages keep it to pictures, four simple words and text read aloud.

What is the difference between a chrysalis and a cocoon?

A butterfly caterpillar turns into a chrysalis, a hard case made from its own skin. Many moth caterpillars spin a cocoon of silk instead.

How do I make the butterfly life cycle wheel?

Print both pages. Cut out the two circles and the window on the cover, lay the cover on the picture wheel and push a brad through both centers. Turn the wheel to show each stage.

Do these worksheets have answer keys?

Yes. The label, cut and paste, number and read-aloud pages each have an answer key on page 2 of the PDF.