Camouflage Butterflies

While in the elementary classroom, I created a lesson based on the artist Cecilia Paredes and the Peppered Moth that was centered around camouflage with the use of the elements of art. Students were given a video of the science behind camouflage in regards to the Peppered Moth and examples of Cecilia’s work and information on how she became an artist and what she is doing now. Students would engage in a refresher game Eye-Spy with the elements of art (line, color, texture, shape, etc) where during the PowerPoint students were asked to pinpoint what animal is using camouflage and what elements of art it is using. The kids loved it!

After a fun refresher, students began their camouflaging using colored pencils and layering different colors to create their perfect camouflage. Students were given roughly 5-10 minutes where they could pick any spot in the room, within reach, where they were able to tape and color their butterfly to camouflage into its surroundings. With the last 5 minutes of class, the students came up with the idea of having their teacher come in and try and find their class butterflies like the bird in the Peppered Moth science video! This not only motivated the kids to try their hardest to make their butterflies blend in more but also encouraged the kids to help each other and make suggestions on how to make their butterfly hide better.