Curated OER
Spiders are Special
First graders recognize that spiders are important natural predators. They work in small groups with simple field guides to identify as many of their spiders as they can.
Kidport
Kid Port: Arachnids Spiders, Ticks, and Scorpions
KidPort.com provides simple information on arachnids, a type of arthropod that includes spiders, ticks, and scorpions.
Library of Congress
Loc: Everyday Mysteries: Spiders and Their Webs
Have you ever wondered how spiders avoid getting stuck in their own webs? Check out this excellent explanation.
Burke Museum
Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture: The Spider Myths Site
Are spiders insects? Do you really swallow spiders while you're sleeping? Myths and questions related to spiders are addressed on this site. Links to additional information can also be found here.
Other
Araneae, Spiders of North West Europe: Purse Web Spiders
A detailed description of the primitive purse-web spider. Includes pictures and information on how it catches its prey
Regents of the University of Michigan
Animal Diversity Web: Phylum Arthropoda
This general overview of the arthropod phylum, which includes insects and arachnids, looks at such topics as body symmetry, appendages, movement, respiratory and nervous systems, and reproduction.
Other
Ed Nieuwenhuys' Spiders & Immunology: Spider Silk
An informative site on the properties of spider silk, including its surprising strength and how it's produced.
Other
Tb: Spiders Considered as Medically Important
This article investigates how humans vary in their vulnerability to venomous spiders and the importance of certain spiders to medical research. It investigates what factors contribute to this difference.
PBS
Pbs Teachers: Scientific American: Spiders! Spin, Spin, Spin
Investigate the use of computers to simulate spider behaviors to learn more about how and why spiders build webs. Build a model of a web to compare your eyesight and dexterity to a spider's, then compare the elasticity and strength of...
HotChalk
Hot Chalk: Lesson Plans Page: Spooky Spiders
This simple lesson plan is designed to introduce young young scholars to the characteristics of a spider and to classify whether a spider is an insect or an arachnid by analyzing its characteristics.
PBS
Pbs Teachers: Scientific American: Spiders! Spider Canyon
Investigate funnel-web spiders and their ability to adapt in order to survive. Make a set of spider trading cards that will include information about a spider's behavior, habitat and adaptations.