We hope that you will be able to use the material in our Learn website to suit your teaching needs and that you will feed back to us any useful comments you may have.

We have divided the information into four main sections: Introducing Butterflies and Moths, Investigating Butterflies and Moths in their Habitats, Butterflies and Moths in the Web of Life, and the Ecology and Conservation of Butterflies and Moths.

We believe that there are (at least) four different ways that our Learn material can be incorporated into schemes of work.

Option 1.

DIY

You may prefer to design your own schemes of work using material from our Learn website, the accompanying activity sheets, the information pdf's and the recommended links, to produce a teaching plan most appropriate to your needs and those of your pupils.

Option 2.

Key Stages in the National Curriculum

Your scheme of work may be based on the targets set in the main topics of the relevant Key Stages of the National Curriculum. Click here to see how our Learn website fits into the targets within Key Stages 1-4 of two Science Topics 'Life Processes and the Variety of Life' and 'Living Things in their Environment'. At present our Learn website has been cross-referenced to the National Curriculum in England and Wales. In due course we plan to link it to the schemes in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Option 3.

Units of Work in the National Curriculum

Your teaching scheme may be based on the nine Units of Work which correspond to the years 1-9 of the education system. Loosely, Units 1-3 match with Key Stage 1, Units 4-6 with KS 2 and Units 7-9 with KS 3 of the National Curriculum. Click here to see how the material on our Learn website can be used with the appropriate Units of Work. At present our Learn website has been cross-referenced to the National Curriculum in England and Wales. In due course we plan to link it to the schemes in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Option 4.

GCSE syllabi

If you teach years 10 and 11, your plan of work will probably be largely dictated by the requirements of the GCSE board you are with, and we hope you will choose the sections of our Learn website most appropriate to your needs and those of your pupils.

How to use this website with pupils

We would recommend that you look at all the material first and select the elements which you feel are most appropriate to scheme of work you are doing.

Interactive whiteboard

We suggest that you use a digital projector to give a presentation as a short (say 15 minutes) introduction to the section of the website that you are aiming to cover. We have tried to make the website as pictorial and as un-wordy as possible. A number of the sections have 'Gallery' pages to illustrate particular aspects of the lives of these insects.We hope that the images projected in class will be large enough to have a good impact.

Activity and information sheets

Associated with each section of the website are activity and information sheets which can be printed out and used as the basis for class- or homework.

Games

Some of the 'games' require a degree of care and concentration, others are far more straightforward. You should be able to use these games as part of the classroom activities to support your teaching.

Field Visits

A visit to a nature reserve, nearby farm or other local wildlife site will always be a very valuable complement to the classroom studies of butterflies and moths (see section 2 of this website 'Investigating butterflies and Moths in their habitats').

Butterfly Conservation manages over 30 reserves in the UK and most of these are open to the public. Several have Educational Access arrangements in place. Look at the map of our reserves to find which are found in your area. Please telephone the local Butterfly Conservation contact to discuss access for your school group.