Along came a spider, who sat down beside her. She screamed, but RJ wouldn't smash it because spiders are a limiting factor for other insects in an ecosystem. In this video, other common limiting factors for populations are listed....

A wonderful lesson plan on the many benefits of having spiders and bugs around us. Learners discover how important these bugs are to our ecosystem. The lesson helps young biologists see the differences between spiders and caterpillars,...

Students state reasons why spiders are grouped in specific categories, including what distinguishes a spider from an insect. They report on their observations of the spiders. They illustrate their report with drawings in their journals.

Students experience the life a spider through several cross-curriculum activities that address multiple learning styles. In this cross-curriculum lesson plan, students listen to The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle and toss string in a...

Students see how a spider spins her webs. They use yarn, pipe cleaners, eyes and glue to make the spider. For the web, students stand in a circle. They throw the ball of yarn across the circle. This begins the nice web shape. Students...

Learners study spiders. For this spider lesson plan, students divide into four study groups, research their topic, and give a report over their findings. The four topics are Characteristics of spiders, life cycles of spiders, fun facts...

Second graders expand their knowledge of spiders. By creating a model of a spider, 2nd graders recognize differences between spiders and insects and determine that a spider is not an insect.

Young chefs follow the set-by-step instructions of a recipe and use their prior knowledge of the body parts of a spider to make edible spider cookies.  After completing a pre-writing graphic organizer they then write a "how to"...

Learners see that spiders catch and eat their prey and are also caught and eaten by their enemies. They sort the pictures into animals that spiders eat, those they do not eat, and those that are spiders.

Students determine the best habitat for spiders. In this spider lesson, students listen to a reading of Eric Carle's, The Very Busy Spider. They discuss the spider's habitat before visiting the schoolyard to look for spiders in their...

Students see that spiders have a life cycle, and reproduce by laying many eggs. We can count by ones, twos, fives, or as many as we want. They make two lists of animals on a chart.

Students investigate spiders. In this spiders lesson, students create a habitat for a spider with a jar, twigs, and dirt. Students observe the behavior of the spider and record how they spend their days.

Learn all about echinoderms and arthropods through the attached reading, complete with stunning photographs and review questions; keep track of the key concepts using the handout. For kids with a lower reading level, consider projecting...

Accompany the African folktale, Anansi the Spider, with a collection of five lessons, each equipped with supplemental activities. Lessons offer multidisciplinary reinforcement in English language arts, social studies, science,...

Did you know that jumping spiders sometimes wear water droplets as hats? A seventh grade science lesson introduces the concept of what makes up water: tiny molecules that are attracted to each other. Starting with a...

Forensic scientists depend on their observation skills to analyze evidence down to the molecular level. Middle and high schoolers practice making observations and predictions with a series of crime scene activities, which includes a...

Learners explore current events by answering study questions about an article. In this arachnids activity, students read a recently published article which discusses the importance of spiders and their 8 legs. Learners answer study...

Second graders research spider webs in depth. They create a PowerPoint show on spiders and their webs. They relate the web life of a spider to that one of a humans spider web. The detanglement process.

Students study insects and spiders, and answer questions about the insects they have studied. They complete an insect word search, praying mantis color sheet, and spider and insect Venn diagram. They finish up with a trip to the local...

Students incorporate the knowledge they learned about spiders on the ISM Web site, Spider Collection, and other Web sites they viewed on spiders to write a rhyming poem (possibly choosing a poem type illustrated here) about an aspect of...

Students describe what they believe a spider looks like and listen to a story about spiders. They make their own spider and spider web. They share their creation with the class to finish the instructional activity.

Middle schoolers inspect several different specimens of insects and spiders to determine characteristics that are similar and different between the two groups. They identify the basic body structure of spiders and insects and then...

Students examine seven spiders and put them into two or three groups based on their structural similarities. In groups, they create a cladogram proposing possible ancestral relationships. Students design an experiment related to their...