Mini-Unit Topic: Insects

Ophelia R. Griffin

EMail: ophelia@prairienet.org

Year Long Project

University of Illinios, Urbana-Champaign
Curriculum & Instruction 237
Fall 1994

 

Table of Contents

A. Overview of Unit

Grade Levels

This unit was developed as an introduction to the world of insects for grades two to three. Although insects may be covered in greater depth in these grades, this unit is intended only to introduce children to insects in order for them to learn about insects in as many fun ways as possible. Suggested extension ideas are listed at the end of each lesson for those interested in developing this unit into an actual unit to be covered over an extended period of time, such as over a period of three to four weeks.

Although I "borrowed" some of the ideas for the art lesson from my first eight-week cooperating teacher, who taught an entire unit on insects, most of the ideas for the other lessons are my own. In addition to the four lessons required for this assignment, I have also made an entirely different lesson (partly based on one of the mini-unit lessons) for a fifth grade class, my second eight-week placement. This lesson may also be used in second or third grade classes, but I strongly suggest to postpone the lesson until fourth or fifth grade due to its rather complex nature.

 

Chosen Subject Matter/Theme

As mentioned earlier, this unit covers an introduction to insects for grades two to three. Insects are explored through reading of children's literature, classifying insects versus non-insects, drawing and painting various insects, and learning how to clap to certain rhythms while reciting insect names.

 

Broad Goals of the Unit

The children will be able to explore insects in many fun ways. They will learn about insects in four subject areas: Language Arts, Science, Art, and Music. For Language Arts, the children will read stories with insects as main characters, then do a writing activity based on the story they read. For Science, the children will brainstorm animals they think might be insects then later examine actual specimens of insects versus non-insects. For Art, the children will use their imagination and creativity to paint pictures of insects using only primary and secondary colors. Finally, for music, the children will learn how to clap to rhythms using insect names.

 

Reasons for Choosing Topic/Structure of Unit

One of my reasons for choosing insects as a topic is my personal interest in the topic. I have found insects a fascinating topic since taking a course in entomology (both lecture/discussion and its accompanying laboratory) last semester, and I know that children are naturally curious about insects as well. It is also important for children to learn about insects since insects are numerous and share the world we live in.

This unit is structured so that the students will explore insects in four subject areas in a logical sequence. First the children will explore insects through literature, then after forming some hypotheses on what insects are based on their readings and real-life knowledge, the students will brainstorm as well as come up with a way to classify insects versus non-insects. After identifying insects, the children will be able to choose an insect to paint for their art activity. Finally, the students will be able to learn about rhythm and sing an insect song.

B. The Four Lesson Plans

I have arranged the lessons in the order in which they are to be taught. Note that the lesson that was modified for the fifth grade class is included as an attachment to the art lesson. In order to teach this unit, the class schedule should be rearranged if this is not the order in which the subjects are normally covered in the day. In order to get the most out of it, these lessons should be done over a period of several days. For example, for language arts, choose a different story each day for at least five days before even starting the science lesson. The art lesson may also cover a period of several days to allow the children time to paint other insects as well as take time to do a careful job.

  1. Language Arts:
    • lesson plan with extension ideas
    • attachments- copy of lined paper for writing, bibliography
  2. Science
    • lesson plan with extension ideas
    • attachments- worksheet, bibliography
  3. Art
  4. Music
    • lesson plan with extension ideas

Lesson 1: Language Arts

 

Objectives:

The students will read a book with an insect as a main character and demonstrate appreciation for the literature read by drawing a picture of their favorite scene from the story and writing a paragraph about why they chose that particular scene.

 

Materials:

 

 

Procedure:

  1. The teacher will start the lesson by rounding up the class on the carpet area or meeting area.
  2. Multiple copies of each of the above stories will be on hand for easy distribution.
  3. The children will listen to booktalks of each of the books from which they will choose to read on their own.
  4. After booktalking, the teacher will instruct the children to move back to their seats quietly. Each group of four to five children (depending on seating arrangement) will decide which book their group chooses to read for this particular day. This is when the teacher will explain the procedure for the lesson.
    1. read silently
    2. when finished, you may discuss story within group
    3. choose a favorite scene, draw and color it, and write a paragraph about it
    4. if you still have time, you may choose another scene to draw
  5. Following a set plan for the order of who gets first priority for choosing (for example, first group to decide on a book, first group to arrive quietly, or random order), the teacher will distribute the books to each group.
  6. Within the groups, the children are expected to read silently and discuss the story silently.
  7. The children will share their work in front of the class near the end of the class period.

 

Evaluation:

The students will be evaluated on the quality of their written responses. They should be able to express why they like a particular scene from the book. The picture should relate to the written response, and the chosen scene must be from the book (no made up scenes). Though mechanics and spelling are important, the evaluation here will be heavier on the child's ability to express his/her appreciation of the story.

 

Extension Ideas:

The drawings and written responses of the children may be displayed around the classroom or out in the hallway, or they could be put together into a class book. If this lesson is done in five days, so that the children could read at least five of the six suggested books, the children could choose their favorite book and act out the story on the sixth day. Another idea would be to have the children write their own story, in the style of one of the books they read. For example, someone might write about a Very Solemn Praying Mantis.

Here is the lined paper for writing activity.

 

Bibliography for Language Arts Lesson

Genre: Picture Books
Carle, Eric. The Very Quiet Cricket. New York: Philomel, 1990.
This is a beautifully illustrated book with a wonderful surprise at the end (a chirping sound of a cricket) that children would enjoy reading over and over. It tells the story of a young male cricket that meets other insects but is unable to find its voice. Finally, upon meeting a female cricket, the young cricket is able to chirp the most beautiful chirp of all.

 

---.The Very Hungry Caterpillar. New York: Philomel, 1969.
This is another beautifully illustrated book by Eric Carle. It tells the story of a caterpillar that eats its way through the book until it turns into a beautiful butterfly. Children would love reading this story over and over.

 

---.The Grouchy Ladybug. Hong Kong: HarperCollins, 1977.
A wonderful tale about a ladybug who was so grouchy. The little bug always tries to fight with other animals but learns a valuable lesson in the end. It is full of beautiful colored illustrations and is a funny book to read aloud.

 

Kent, Jack. The Caterpillar and the Polliwog. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1982.
A humorous story about a caterpillar and her friend polliwog who turn into something different at the story's end. The caterpillar boasts about becoming a butterfly and becomes one, while the polliwog tries to become a butterfly too, but turns into a frog instead. This is a good story to tie into a science lesson about life cycles of insects or frogs.

 

Maxner, Joyce. Nicholas Cricket. Harper & Row, 1989.
This is the story of a banjo-picking cricket named Nicholas. He plays in his "Bug-a-Wug" Cricket Band. It includes beautiful poetry and describes the grandness of the cricket's melodious tunes. This is a good story for children to read, though they need to know that Cricket Nick is no ordinary cricket.

 

Genre: Multicultural Literature
Baker, Betty. Rat is Dead and Ant is Sad. New York: Harper & Row, 1981.
Written as a cumulative tale, this story is one that children will most definitely enjoy. It is a Pueblo Indian tale about an Ant who thinks his friend Rat is dead, which leads to everyone's mourning. Only a horse is able to put an end to the mourning.

Lesson 2: Science

Objectives:

The children will be able to identify insects versus non-insects by examining actual specimens of insects and non-insects from the teacher's personal bug collection (or one could be borrowed from a science resource center) and classifying the specimens according to various characteristics.

 

Materials:

Procedure:

  1. This lesson begins by having the children brainstorm animals that they think might be insects. Have them recall some of the animals they read about in language arts.
  2. List the ideas on the blackboard, regardless of whether the animal is an insect or not. Keep these on the blackboard until the lesson is over. Go back to the list at the end of the period to see if the children can classify the animal given as being an insect or not. (Some ideas given may not be readily verified--might need another day to examine a specimen or find out through research, e.g., mites--these are not insects, they are arachnids).
  3. After brainstorming, the children will examine preserved specimens from the teacher's personal collection (or one that is on loan from a science research center). There should be enough specimens per group of four or five children (depending on seating arrangement).
  4. The children will fill out worksheet based on their observations of the insect/non-insect. They may use magnifying glasses when necessary. Show children how to use this in case they do not know.
  5. When children are about done with their worksheets, start discussing what the children noticed about the specimens. Any similarities or differences among the specimens?
  6. Discuss the worksheet. On the blackboard, list the responses that the children have. In case of disputes, examine the specimen again. For example, does it have six legs or seven? Perhaps the child miscounted.
  7. Have children come up with reasonable classifying characteristics for insects. They should come up with: 1. insects have six legs, 2. insects have three body parts, 3. they may or may not have wings, though they usually do. Prompt the children to think about these things. Have children take a closer look at each insect as they are being discussed.
  8. Give the children more time to finish the worksheets or to draw an insect of their choice on another blank sheet of paper. Others may choose to examine the specimens more closely. Yet others may choose to use the time to browse through the insect book collection (see bibliography). The insect book collection should be placed in a special "insect books" section of the reading corner/library of the classroom.

Evaluation:

One purpose of this lesson was to get children to learn how to identify insects versus non-insects. In doing so, the children are engaged in scientific processes, i.e., observing, classifying, predicting. The children will be evaluated on how well they were able to fill out the worksheet as well as how actively they were able to participate in the class discussion. The teacher should try his/her best to get everyone active in the discussion by calling on each person to share what he/she found out through his/her observations.

 

Extension Ideas:

The children could choose an insect to study and give an oral report of the insect chosen. The children could work in groups to collect insects and create their own insect collection.

 

Here is the science worksheet.

 

Bibliography for Science Lesson

Genre: Non-fiction (Informational Books)

 

Allen, Gertrude E. Everyday Insects. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co.
A good introduction to everyday insects common to young children, including the grasshopper, ladybug, bumblebee, dragonfly, wasp, and butterfly. It describes the physical features of these insects, how they move, eat, and reproduce. It's written in easy language so that children can easily read this informational book on their own.

 

Arvetis, Chris and Carole Palmer. What is a Butterfly? Middletown: Checkerboard Press, 1986.
This is a "Just Ask" Book, that answers the question "What is a butterfly?" in simple words so that even preschoolers could understand. Children in grades 2 - 3 would enjoy reading this book on their own and younger kids would enjoy the colorful drawings. The story is a non-fiction, informational book, yet written in a story form. A squirrel narrates the story about the life cycle of a butterfly.

 

Cross, Brian, et. al. Questions Kids Ask About Insects and Spiders. Danbury: Golier Educational Corporation, 1989.
A question and answer book for children with "inquiring" minds. It includes the answers to such questions as: What is an insect? Are spiders insects? Why do bees buzz? Is a bee sting dangerous? How is silk made? Do all insects fly? A good book for children who simply need to know the answers or are just curious about insects in general.

 

Earle, Olive L. Crickets. New York: William Morrow & Co., 1956.
This is a well-written book that introduces the child to the world of crickets. It includes wonderful drawings by the author that show realistically what a cricket and its environment look like. This would be a good resource for children who would like to do either a report about crickets or an independent study of the little creatures.

 

Fischer-Nigel, Heiderose and Andreas. The Housefly. Carolrhoda Books, 1990.
This book captures the housefly in detailed colored pictures and descriptive prose. The pictures are mostly close-up shots that could amaze the young child or "gross them out." The book explains almost everything a child would want to know about houseflies, and maybe even things some kids do not care to know (scientific jargon). A great resource for research or independent study.

 

 

---. Life of the Ladybug. Carolrhoda Books, 1986.
Like the Fischer-Nigel's The Housefly, this book captures the ladybug in detailed colored pictures and descriptive prose. It explains everything a child would want to know about ladybugs.

 

Hickman, Pamela M. Bug Wise. Reading: Addison-Wesley, 1990.
This is a great book to look for activities to do with children regarding insects and arachnids. It includes thirty investigatory activities that children would enjoy. Topics covered include: aquatic insects, insects in winter, insect survival, and insect impostors.

 

Lampton, Christopher. Insect Attack. Brookfield: Millbrook Press, 1992.
This book uses many scientific words that would probably be too difficult for the second grade, but it includes a glossary at the end, which is useful. It is full of beautiful, colored pictures both real and drawn, as well as great close-up shots. Children would love this book to copy drawings from. Topics covered in this book include: locusts in the Midwest, disease-carrying insects, insect plagues, and natural insect control.

 

McGavin, George. Discovering Bugs. New York: The Bookwright Press, 1989.
This is a book for children who do not really know much about bugs but would like to. It includes topics such as where bugs live, what they eat, how they reproduce, and what to do to learn more about them. A good book to use for doing independent study or a research assignment.

 

Phillips, Sarah. What's Inside? Insects. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 1992.
A beautiful book that includes illustrations of the anatomies of various insects. Each picture includes labeled parts and detailed descriptions. This is a must-read book for anyone who is curious about the insides of insects.

 

Retan, Walter. Armies of Ants. New York: Scholastic, 1994.
This is book all about ants, appropriate for children in the second and third grades. It is written in easy language and includes beautiful color illustrations. The book covers the historical facts about insects, their social life, and the variety of ants living around the world.

 

Souza, D.M. What Bit Me? Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, 1991.
For children who would like to know more about insects that sting or bite, this is a great book with lots of colored close-up pictures and detailed descriptions. The book explains the habits, life cycles, and physical characteristics of biting or stinging insects.

 

Lesson 3: Fine Arts

 

Objectives:

The children will experiment with mixing the primary colors, and they will use these colors to create a painting of an insect of their choice. They will learn that red and yellow mixed together makes orange, yellow and blue mixed together makes green, and red and blue mixed together makes purple, and that varying shades of each new color can be obtained by mixing different amounts of each.

 

Materials:

Procedure:

  1. Before beginning the painting procedures, review the different insects that the children are familiar with. This will allow the children to refresh their memories and give them an idea which insect they would like to paint. List the different insects on the board. Some useful insects for this project are: butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers, and crickets.
  2. Ask the children what they think will happen if they mix red and yellow. Discuss. What about red and blue? How about yellow and blue?
  3. Show children by doing a mini-demonstration of how to mix varying amounts of each color together. Ask children to explain what happens.
  4. Go over directions and then have one person per group help distribute the materials.
    Directions:
    1. Prepare painting area by laying out newspapers on table. Gather materials to be used: paper, paints, brushes, plastic cup with water, palette, and put on paint shirt.
    2. Begin experiment. First choose any two of the three primary colors and squeeze out little amounts of the chosen color on the palette. Then with the other color, squeeze out varying amounts on the palette and mix with the first color. What happens to the colors?
    3. Paint a picture of any insect you want using the colors obtained. Use water in cup to rinse out brush when necessary. Suggested insects for red, yellow, and orange: butterflies; red, blue, and purple: beetles; yellow, blue, and green: crickets or grasshoppers.
    4. Let painting dry, clean up work area. It is everyone's responsibility to clean up!
    5. Those who are done early may use the time to paint another picture.
  5. Share at end.

Evaluation:

The children will share their work at the end of class period. See if the children can explain what happened to the primary colors when mixed together and have them tell the class about their pictures. The children will be evaluated on having completed the requirements for this assignment: 1. mixed colors properly, 2. painted an insect, 3. participated in share time.

 

Extension Ideas:

The children's art works could be displayed on a bulletin board or decorated around the classroom. The children could write up a paragraph about the insect they chose to paint, which would also be displayed with their paintings.

Modified Art Lesson For Fifth Grade

Objectives:

There are two parts to this lesson. 1) The students will review the three primary colors and the three secondary colors, as well as show understanding of how the secondary colors are created. 2) The students will create a mosaic of a butterfly composed of crushed eggshells dyed in various primary and secondary colors.

 

Materials:

Procedure:

Note: Before class, a couple of volunteers should have helped the teacher clean out and crush the eggshells, as well as premix the food coloring dips for the eggshells in the plastic containers.

 

  1. Set up the classroom: table in front with materials arranged for the children's easy access.
  2. Ask the class if they know what the three primary colors are. Discuss.
  3. Ask the class if they know the three secondary colors. Discuss.
  4. Ask for a volunteer to help demonstrate the color mixing with paper towels. Need three volunteers. One for Y + R = O, R + B = P, B + Y = G, with Y=Yellow, R=Red, B=Blue, G=Green, O=Orange, P=Purple.
  5. Show the class the paper towel "color wheel." Discuss.
  6. Have one of the volunteers from before class explain to the rest of the class what was done with the eggshells and food coloring.
  7. Discuss mosaics, definition, brief history, instructions to mosaic activity. Show samples of mosaics from the book The Art of Ancient Rome, pages 12-13. Also show examples of butterfly mosaics from Easy Crafts, pages 46-47.
  8. While waiting for the eggshells to dry, have one person from each group come up to help hand out materials to everyone in their group. Need construction paper, paper towels, newspapers, glue, sticks. Eggshells last.
  9. Have the kids draw in pencil the outlines of their butterflies. Remembering that there is only a limited number of eggshells, the kids will probably want to make either smaller butterflies or partner up with someone in their group to make bigger butterflies. The children may move to the outer desks if they would like more room. They need to remember to respect others and not fight over table spaces.
  10. Work on projects.
  11. Allow time to share at the end.

Evaluation:

The teacher will have to pay close attention to which students are actively participating in the discussion (including share time). All students should be able recite together the color combinations. The end product, the butterfly mosaic, will not be evaluated on beauty, though beauty is expected. In art, beauty cannot be judged. Therefore, I would evaluate them on simply having had completed the project.

Here is an announcement sent home with the students.

 

Bibliography for Art Lesson

Genre: Non-fiction

 

Glubock, Shirley. The Art of Ancient Rome. New York: Harper & Row, 1965.
This book shows beautiful pictures of the art of ancient Rome, including examples of the floor mosaics. This is a good book to show children when covering mosaics and to provide them with some background information on the history of mosaic-making.

 

Jaeger, Ellsworth. Easy Crafts. Macmillan, 1947.
This book is an excellent resource for many easy and fun art activities to do with children. Beautiful, colored and black-and-white photos showing examples of each craft help the teacher visualize the final product. This is good for children in the elementary grades and older children who still love making easy and fun art crafts.

 

Study Prints:
The Life of a Monarch. The Child's World, 1969.
This set of study prints shows the step-by-step life cycle of the monarch butterfly. It could be used when studying the life cycle of the butterfly or for displaying in the classroom.

 

Moths and Butterflies. Society for Visual Education, 1964.
This set of study prints is excellent when doing art activities surrounding butterflies. The prints may be used to display in the classroom to remind children what butterflies look like and just for beautifying the classroom.

Lesson 4: Music

Objectives:

This lesson should wrap up the insect unit by allowing the children to use their insect knowledge in learning about rhythm. Selected note values: quarter note, eighth note. (Names not important at this time) The children will practice clapping to the two selected note values and reciting names of insects to match the beat. At the end, the children will learn how to sing a song called "Lullaby" (words and music by Carole King), which features a cricket singing.

 

Materials:

Procedure:

  1. Have the colored construction papers displayed on the board with a white background.
  2. Demonstrate the length between clapping that corresponds with each color strip on the board. For example, clap four times to the note value represented by the blue strip, and have the class repeat after the teacher. Make sure to have the correct number of strips on the board for the number of times you will clap.
  3. In order to enhance their understanding of the concept, introduce another way to look at the strips on the board. Repeating after the teacher, they will be able to read the note values by saying the following words: a "Yes" for the duration of the quarter note and a quick "Maybe" for the duration of two eighth notes. Have them do each one at least four times.
  4. Ask the children what they may have noticed about the length of each note. Did they notice that the yellow strip (eighth note) is half as long as the blue strip (quarter note)? They should have noticed this relationship, not only by the length of the strips but also by hearing the different corresponding note values.
  5. Play a sample of varied notes and have the kids guess what note you are playing.
  6. Now ask the children to brainstorm names of insects they know that can be said in place of Yes and Maybe. Perhaps they could say fly, bees, ants, or wasp for Yes and cricket or beetle for Maybe. List these on the blackboard.
  7. Practice saying these names with the children and clap to the beat while saying them. If you prefer, you may use the keyboard while the children clap and say the names.
  8. Divide the class into two groups, those seated to the left will be group one, and those seated to the right will be group two. Have group one do the clapping corresponding to the strip pointed to while group two says either fly or beetle (choose any appropriate insect) at the same time of the clapping. After they are through with all the strips on the board, switch groups.
  9. Using the same divided groups, experiment with the different lengths of the note values by having group one say the words to the yellow strip while the other group claps to the blue strip. There should be one clap for each "beetle" or "cricket" or whatever insect is chosen.
  10. After children have mastered the rhythm, the children are ready to apply what they have learned to a song. Teach them the words to "Lullaby" and review the strips on the poster as you go through the words.
  11. Play the notes on the keyboard so that the children can hear how it goes. They need to be quiet during this time so everyone can hear.
  12. Practice the song line by line, paying close attention to the rhythm.
  13. Have the children sing in pairs or small groups at the end.

Evaluation:

The children will be evaluated on their participation in discussion and the clapping activity. Everyone should participate! Having the children sing in pairs or small groups makes it easier to spot who has learned the song well or not.

 

Extension Ideas:

There are a lot of children's songs featuring insects that could be used in this lesson or as an extension to this lesson. For example, there's "Shoo Fly" and "The Ants Go Marching." The children could practice singing those songs and more, depending on the teacher's choice.

 

Bibliography for Music Lesson

 

Ferguson, Nancy. Music and You. Macmillan Publishing.

 

Nye, Robert Evans and Vernice Nye. Music in the Elementary Schools, 5th edition. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1985.

C. Evaluation of the Unit

Evaluation of the Whole Unit

Since I am not currently in a second or third grade class, I was not able to try out these lessons to see how they would work in the classroom. However, based on my experiences in my first eight-week placement, which was a second grade class, I imagine that they would work well. I created lessons that I think children between the ages of 6 to 8 would find enjoyable. The lessons could definitely be extended to immerse the children in more "insect" activities, but the unit serves its purpose of introducing children to insects.

I think the lessons in the unit fit together well, and the children will get most out of it if the teacher allows the children to spend as much time as they need to cover all lessons. Although it took a lot of time and research to put this unit together, I had much fun and look forward to it being used in a classroom someday.

 

Ideas for Changes or Revisions

Having worked on this unit for a long time, I think I have already made as many changes or revisions in the lessons as I found necessary. I would not know exactly what changes should be done until the lessons are actually taught. I do, however, have a few revisions to make for the fifth grade modified art lesson, which I did teach a few days ago.

One problem I had while doing the lesson is not having the color dye work properly on the paper towel. When doing the experiment, the children were not able to see that the primary colors actually do mix together to make secondary colors. I explained to them that the paper towel I used in my sample that I brought (which I made in an art class a year ago) was different from the one we were using in the experiment, and that might have caused the problem. One student suggested that maybe the color dye mixture was too diluted, whereas the one I used for my sample might not have been. Probably it would have been best to test the experiment at home prior to doing it with the children at school.

Another change would be to have children start gathering eggshells earlier so that the class could have more eggshells to work with. I had to go out of my way to eat dinner at a local restaurant and ask them for eggshells the night before doing the lesson just because the children did not bring in as many as I felt was needed for the project.

 

Feedback from Supervisor

My supervisor was immensely pleased with the way my lesson went. She was glad to see that the lesson involved the children in as many ways as possible, e.g., having volunteers to distribute materials and help demonstrate color mixing. The children were also actively involved in the discussion, and I had to answer some unexpected questions. She was glad to see that I knew how to answer their questions satisfactorily. She commented on how time-consuming the lesson was in that it required a lot of advance planning and preparation, which I agree with. This is not the type of lesson to do on a regular basis. This is also not a lesson to do with younger grades, because it is rather complex. The fifth graders seemed to handle it well, however. She also said that it was good that I kept the discussion of the history of mosaics brief, because if I made it too long, the kids would have been lost, or they would start getting bored. The only suggestion she made was the same as the one I mentioned earlier about experimenting with the dye beforehand. All in all, my supervisor liked the lesson itself and thought it was a neat activity for my mini-unit.