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submitter: Valle Imperial - Project in Science
description:
  1. Our Opinion: Practical Learning 2/9/99
  2. Educators Hail SDSU Science Program 2/1/99
  3. Innovative science project attracting national interest 1/13/99
  4. Mexican educators get first glimpse at innovative approach 11/4/98
  5. Mexico hopes to learn from U.S. formula 10/28/98
  6. Educators Meet To Learn Theory And Practice In Science Education, Calexico Chronicle, (summary) 8/27/98
  7. Science Grant 6/98
  8. Some summer learning activities 6/98
  9. Principals get look at innovative science program 5/21/98
  10. Life science unit culminates with release of butterflies 5/17/98
  11. Our Opinion: Opening the lab door wider 5/8/98
  12. El Centro school board approves first phase of Kennedy project
  13. Local schools winners with $3.3 million grant for 'Project in Science' 4/29/98
  14. Pupils thrill to world of science: Program develops spirit of inquiry 10/19/97
  15. Caltech, E.C. school district unveil science project 6/21/96
published: 12/02/1998
posted to site: 12/02/1998
Reproduced with permission from the Imperial Valley Press. Originally published 5/17/98.

Life science unit culminates with release of butterflies

By CANDY T. CUENCO
Staff Writer

After weeks of taking care of her butterflies "Speedy" and "Lazy," second-grader Kendra Singh was happy to release the insects Friday.

"I'm not sad to let them go. They have to live free like we do," she said.

Some second-graders from Hedrick Elementary School in El Centro culminated their life science unit on butterflies by giving their subjects freedom last week.

The activity is one of the hands-on strategies utilized by the highly successful science program implemented in three El Centro elementary schools -- Hedrick, McKinley, and Sunflower.

The program, called Valle Imperial Project in Science, or VIPS, consists of four eight-to-10 week hands-on science units at each grade level from kindergarten through six. The units emphasize exploration, experimentation, data- collection and recording. Students keep a science notebook in which they write or draw their observations about experiments done in class.

In Lillian Sidhu's second-grade class, each student received two butterflies. They observed how fast the butterflies grew by drawing their sizes each day in a calendar. They kept the insects alive by feeding them a mushy, ground-up brown substance called "malva."

Second-grader Taylor Anderson said taking care of his butterflies was easy. "We just fed them and watched them grow," he said.

Sidhu said her students are retaining more information since she began using the program's strategies.

"The hands-on experience makes them more interested. They watched the butterflies develop from caterpillars and they are so excited about setting them free," Sidhu said.

Several of Sidhu's students said they learned more about butterflies by observing them.

"I learned that they are just like us. They eat like us and they breathe like us. And they're small like us," Kendra said.

Jessica Moreno, a second-grader, disagreed.

"They're not like us because when they were caterpillars they walked differently. They eat different things and we don't fly."

Stephanie Fierro concurred.

"They are not like us because we don't have antennas like them. I also learned that when they are hot, they move a lot and when they are cold, they sleep," Stephanie said.

Added Sabrina Montoya, "I learned that butterflies are like us because you have to take care of them. You have to keep them in because if you move it around too much they die."

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