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Scholastic

Minibeasts

For Teachers 1st - 5th Standards
Lead young scientists to discover insects outdoors. After investigating, students will record observations, learn about these fascinating creatures, craft, and role play.
Activity
Curated OER

Torn Insect Art

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Sometimes the best way to drive home a concept is through an art project. Here is a quick and easy activity that can help learners remember or become more familiar with the parts on an insect's body. They tear brightly colored paper into...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Field Guide to Schoolyard Insects and Their Relatives

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Your entire class works together to create an illustrated insect field guide. The intent is that they venture outside of the classroom, find a critter, and then research it using reference materials, insect books, and the Internet for...
Lesson Plan
EnLiST

Trap Your Own Insects: What’s in Your Backyard?

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Young entomologists construct three types of insect traps—pitfall, pollinator, and panel—before setting their traps out and observing what they caught. They then observe what types of insects the different traps attract.
Unit Plan
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Core Knowledge Foundation

Insects Tell It Again!™ Read-Aloud Anthology

For Teachers 2nd Standards
A read-aloud anthology explores the world of bees, wasps, beetles, termites, ants, fireflies, and more. Scholars listen to stories and discuss topics and practice word work. Extension opportunities keep the learning going in and out of...
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Metamorphosis

For Teachers 4th - 5th Standards
Looking for an insect unit that addresses multiple skill strategies? Young entomologists explore multiple life cycles of insects that go through metamorphosis. The brainteasers and mobile activity spark learner interest before guiding...
Lesson Plan
Science Friday

Ugh, a Bug!

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Young entomologists familiarize themselves with the physical characteristics of insects. Composed of two activities, each lesson involves your scientists tapping into their prior knowledge of bugs and making observations of real live...
Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Let’s Raise Lacewings

For Teachers 4th - 5th Standards
Young entomologists explored beneficial insects and how they help control pests in the first instructional activity of the series. Now class members take a close look at the lacewing, which is a beneficial insect.
Lesson Plan
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Rainforest Alliance

Colombia Biodiversity

For Teachers K
How diverse is the rainforest? How much more diverse is a rain forest than a temperate forest? Explore these focus questions in a lesson that explores the plants, animals, and insects in forests. After listening to a reading...
Lesson Plan
Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Section One: What is Biodiversity?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Four intriguing and scientific activities invite learners to explore the natural resources of their town. The activities cover concepts such as genetic traits, organizing species in a taxonomy, the differences between different species...
Lesson Plan
Michigan State University

Bug Lyphe!

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Introduce ecology classes to biodiversity and interdependence in ecosystems with a PowerPoint presentation. Then, they get up-close and personal with the invertebrate world by collecting insects, classifying them, and graphing their...
Activity
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

The Mosquito Life Cycle Activity

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Understanding the life cycle of a mosquito helps us understand how to prevent the spread of diseases they carry. A lab investigation provides learners with the opportunity to track the two-week life cycle of the mosquito. Scholars make...
Lesson Plan
LABScI

Surface Tension: Liquids Stick Together

For Students 9th - 12th
Use science to help you walk on water! Young scientists explore the properties of liquids including cohesion, adhesion, and surface tension. They use graphs to compare different liquids and make predictions about their molecular attraction.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Megabeasts

For Students 3rd - 7th
Create larger-than-life insects for the classroom. Bugs are usually pretty small, but during the Jurassic period they were huge. Kids use diagramming and scale conversion to enlarge a modern day insect so that it is as big as its ancient...
Lesson Plan
University of Minnesota

Manduca sexta: Caterpillar Dissection

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Caterpillars have an amazing, yet tough job to perform in their short lives — eat much, avoid predators, and try not to let all those comments about being the unattractive stage of the life cycle get to them. How do they handle it all?...
Activity
Museum of Science

Nature Bingo

For Teachers K - 6th
Hit the jackpot by playing nature bingo. Scholars go on a nature walk and record observations in their notebooks. They see how many types of trees and insects they observe and play a nature bingo game where they find different natural...
Lesson Plan
University of Kentucky

Beneficial Bug Scavenger Hunt

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Many people think of bugs as annoying pests to be squashed, but most insects and spiders are beneficial, eating the actual pests or pollinating plants. After reviewing some of the common bugs in your area (they may differ from those...
Lesson Plan
University of Kentucky

The Great Spider Debate

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Poor, misunderstood spiders! They are feared, disrespected, and detested by many people, yet they do so many positive things. A great addition to any insect unit, learn about some of the more common spiders, while hopefully dispelling...
Unit Plan
National Park Service

Biodiversity—Bee Week

For Teachers 6th - 8th
If you want scholars to fall in love with bees, this is the unit for you! Celebrate bees with a full week of material—designed for the Next Generation Science Standards—that addresses the importance of pollination and fertilization....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earth's Heavenly Treasures: Hummingbirds

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Young ornithologists watch an informative video and use the Internet to gather data about the life, size, habitat, and migration of hummingbirds. The interdisciplinary lesson includes activities that target art, science, math, and...
Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

Anatomy Adventure

For Students 6th - 12th
Sometimes science is puzzling. Using an online animation, individuals manipulate skeletal bones of an ancient species to recreate its skeleton. Learners complete the skeletal puzzle and learn about the process of paleontology in person...
Activity
National Park Service

The Young Naturalist

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Beginning with a brief history of our 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt, then followed by a discussion of his interest in nature, young scientists take to the outdoors to locate and observe local plants and insects....
Lesson Plan
Terminix

The Pollinator

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
What do bees and children have in common? They both love their sweets. Decorate a flower pot or bucket to look like a brightly colored flower and fill it with wrapped candy and cheese puffs. Have learners reach into grab the candy,...
Lesson Plan
ARKive

Marvellous Mini-beasts – Design a Species

For Teachers 2nd - 6th Standards
Here is a creative activity that teaches kids how species evolve different characteristics for survival. The lesson begins as the class discusses and examines the adaptive traits of mini-beasts or insects. Then, in small groups, they...

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