Insects and Spiders Lesson Plan

If you have insect or spider specimens you could show us, please bring them.

1. Stretch & pray.

2. Read & discuss Proverbs 6:6-8

3. Quickly review classification & invertebrates. Sing the first verse of
The Six Kingdom Song (Tune: Battle Hymn of the Republic)
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
Six Kingdom Song

4. Give each child a toy spider and toy insect (or use pictures). What are the differences?
MOM 1: YOU WILL NEED: 10 toy spiders & 10 toy insects

5. Read most of "Amazing World of Spiders" by Janet Craig about spiders. Discuss main characteristics of arachnids.

6. (Optional) Paint an orb web using white paint and black construction paper. You can use the pattern shown here. We had the children draw the non-sticky lines in white crayon and then paint the sticky lines. Note that the stide makes a straight line across, goes back half way and drops to make a Y. Then she makes radial lines and then 5 circular non-sticky lines with plenty of space between them, going from the middle to the outside. Then she works her way from the outside inward with the tightly-spaced circular sticky lines.
MOM : YOU WILL NEED: 10 pieces of black construction paper (half or quarter sheets), white paint, white crayons, & paintbrushes

7. Ahead of time, tie 4 pieces of yarn between 2 areas. The lines can overlap. (We used a table legs and chairs.) Divide children into 2-3 groups. Have 1 person acts as the insect and tug at the line. Another child will act as the spider and close her eyes and lay a finger on a line. She will be able to feel the vibrations on the line. No matter what line is tugged, the spider can still feel the vibrations travel through the line. This is how a spider can judge when something flies into her web, and she can even tell the size of what flew into its web by the amount of force on the line.

MOM : YOU WILL NEED: 4 pieces of yarn (about 3 feet long)

8. Look at spider web threads, egg sac, legs, and/or head under a microscope. You can also use magnifying glasses. Meanwhile, let children look at any additional specimens you may have. (We also had some dead spiders and scorpions. The scorpions had been pressed between 2 pieces of clear packaging tape so they weren't dangerous to handle, and you could see both sides of it.)

MOM 2: YOU WILL NEED: microscope and/or magnifying glasses and spider web threads, egg sac, legs, and/or head

9. (Optional) Make antennae. Give each child 2 full-size pipe cleaners and 2 5-inch pieces, all of the same color. Have them twist the full size pipe cleaners to make a circle. Then have them attach each of the cut pieces to the front by twisting the bottom. Have them bend the top of each cut piece so that they resemble antennae. Wear your antennae as you read about insects.

MOM 3: YOU WILL NEED: 28 pipe cleaners & 28 5-inch pieces of pipe cleaners

10. Read "Bugs Are Insects" by Anne Rockwell about insects.

11. Quickly discuss how insects are classified & look at insect specimens we've collected. You can use the last page of "Insects: Six-legged Animals" by Laura Purdie Salas which has the scientific classification breakdown and shows pictures on each line. We selected one specimen and flipped through "National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders" to show children how to identify insects using a field guide. Tip: If you want to collect dead insect specimens, foam egg containers are a great way to hold them.

12. (Optional) Pass out mealworms. They don't bite and tolerate lots of handling. Let children each hold one as you discuss their life cycle and care requirements. Let each child take one home in a sandwich bag if their mom would like. This is a great way for children to observe the life cycle of insects.
MOM 4: YOU WILL NEED: 10 mealworms (purchased at pet store) & 10 sandwich bags

13. Look at insect legs, antennae, wings, and tongues under microscope.
MOM 3: YOU WILL NEED: at least 1 microscope or magnifying glasses & insect specimens

14. Test out types of mouths. Pretend like the juice is a flower filled with nectar. Tape a leaf to the "flower" filled with nectar. Use the scissors to rip off the leaf like the sharp jaws of a grasshopper. Use the straw to jab into the "plant" like a mosquito or spittlebug. Butterflies and bees have tongues like the party blowers. Let children demonstrate. After they uncurl their tongue, they suck in nectar like a straw. Take the straw out and put the blunt end in. Children can suck some juice. House flies have sponge-like mouths. Let children pour a bit of juice on the paper towel and have them use the straw to try to suck up some juice. Let them finish the juice in their preferred manner as you review the types of mouths.
MOM 2: YOU WILL NEED: 8-10 Caprisun-type pouch drinks, 8-10 leaves (can be from a bush outside), 8-10 party blowers, 8-10 sheets of folded paper towel, & scissors or pliers

15. (If you have extra time) Go outside and observe some insects & try to classify based on character traits.

15. Discuss molting. Show clothing in various stages (baby, children's, & adult) to demonstrate how we grow out of clothing sizes and "discard" the old ones. Pass around an exoskeleton. Show a balloon and tell them that is the nymph or baby cricket. Wrap tissue paper around it and tape near the hole of the balloon. This is the cricket's exoskeleton. Slowly blow up the balloon to show the cricket growing. As it becomes bigger the tissue paper will tear and break off. This is molting.

MOM 1: YOU WILL NEED: clothing of different sizes, a balloon, tissue paper, exoskeleton, & tape

17. Read some of "Ant Cities" by Arthur Dorros.

18. Follow an "ant trail" to food. While mom is reading the book, wind yarn ("pheromone chemical trail") around a few rooms (under the table, between chairs, etc.) and have it end at a treat. Have children follow the train in a single file line to get the treats. Have them use their "mandibles" (mouths) to carry the food back to "ant pile" to eat it. You can also have 2 children work together to carry the entire container back to the ant pile using only their "mandibles." If desired, you can leave one ant in the living room ("ant pile") to act as the queen. She can have some of the food brought back by the 2 worker ants who worked together to bring back the container.
MOM 2: YOU WILL NEED: a long piece of yarn, a snack (like a bag of pretzels), and hand sanitizer

19. (If you have extra time) Go outside and observe ants.

20. Make ice cream ants. At some point during co-op, scoop 3 small scoops of ice cream each onto 8 plates. Set these aside in the freezer. These are the 3 main parts of an insect. Name them. (head, thorax, & abdomen.) They are soft and squishy. There are no bones, so what are they? (invertebrates) How many legs does my ant need? (Six) Does it have anything else? (Antennae and mandibles on the front of the head). Give each child a plate with ice cream, a spoon, three Skittles or M&M's candies (2 whole & 1 cut in half), and 7 pretzel sticks (1 stick cut in half). *If you want to make a clear distinction between the legs and antennae, use 2 pieces of string licorice for antennae. Let the children place the two whole skittles candies on the ant's head. Place the two halves just below the eyes as the mandibles. Insert the two half pieces of pretzel or strings of licorice for antennae just behind the eyes. Ants have six legs, three on each side. Insert three pretzel sticks on each side of the thorax (the middle scoop of ice cream). What protects the ant's body? (an exoskeleton). Pour a thin layer of Magic Shell topping over the entire ant. The Magic Shell topping will then harden over the ice cream.
MOM 3: YOU WILL NEED: 1 container of ice cream, 42 Skittles/M&M's/other round candy (14 cut in half), 98 pretzel sticks (14 broken in half), Magic Shell, 14 plates, 14 spoons, & ice cream scoop

21. As children eat their ants, do the below 2 activites:

a. Let each child select a phylum/class on which to present for our end-of-unit dinner and presentation evening. Also give directions for the presentations.

b. Sing part of the "Invertebrate" song (Tune: "Oh Susanna") from "Lyrical Life Science." We sang the 1st verse and the verses on arachnids and insects. We ended the song with:
Oh, phylum arthropod,
Keep the creepy crawlies from me!
With an exoskeleton to molt.
Oh no, here comes a bee!
MOM 4: YOU WILL NEED: Words to song printed out

Below are the lapbook pages you can print out and have your child complete to review the information we learned at co-op. Children will be able to show off their completed lapbooks at our co-op dinner. Feel free to add more or less than the below links.

Arthropods
Spiders
Ant Classification
Ant Life Cycle

Konos Curriculum
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