Resource sites:
Live
Science
Insect
Biology and Ecology
Activities:
1. Vocabulary
2. Label the insect
3. Characteristics of an insect
4. Is a spider an insect?
5. Insect defenses
6. Insect diets
7. How do they do it?
8. How many insect are there?
9. Benefits of insects
10. Predators of insects
11. Types of insect life cycles
12. Insect Reproduction
13. Insect classification
14. Insect communication
Lapbook
Templates (pdf file)
Activity 1 - vocabulary
1. species
2. arthropods
3. exoskeleton
4. head
5. thorax
6. abdomen
7. antennae
8. metamorphosis
9. insect
10. classification
Activity 2 - label the parts of an insect
Activity 3 - what are the common characteristics of all insects?
Hands-on: make
a paper mache ladybug
Activity 4 - Is a spider an insect? Why or why not?
Activity 5 - What kinds of defenses do insects have?
Activity 6 - What do they eat?
Hands-on:
Let's observe ants by making ant farms.
You'll need 4 clean glass jars. Fill 3 jars 2/3 full of the sifted soil
then slightly dampen the soil. Take the sponge and cut into pieces.
Dampen the sponges and place one piece in each jar. Now you will need
to put food in the jars for the ants. In one jar place a few seeds,
in the second jar place the sugar, and the third jar place the dead
insects. Using the fourth jar you are now ready to go collect your ants
from the backyard. Place some of your captured ants in each jar and
securely tie a piece of cheesecloth on the top of each jar. The cheesecloth
will keep the ants in and let them get air. You'll need to store your
ant farms in a dark place and only bring them out to observe their behavior.
Make sure to add a little water when needed.
Now that you have your ant farms made its time to make some observations.
Do you notice a difference between the 3 farms? Is one group of ants
surviving better than the others? If so, why? Draw conclusions about
the ants from your observations. Make sure to record your observations.
Note: If you want your ant farms to survive longer try to locate the
queen and place it in the jar.
Activity 7 - how do insects eat, smell, breath, see, and feel?
Hands-on: Try eating like a fly.
You'll need a clean thick piece of sponge and a drinking straw. Cut
a whole partially through the sponge and insert the straw. Now try and
drink through the straw. This is how a fly's mouth works.
Activity 8 - How many insects are there? How many species of
beetles, grasshoppers, butterflies and moths, and ants?
Hands-on: Do a bug hunt
Here is the bug
hunt form you'll need
Activity 9 - What are some of the benefits of insects to the
environment and to us?
Hands-on: have a honey tasting. Get a few different kinds of honey
and try them on some toast.
Activity 10 - What kind of dangers do insects face?
Activity 11 - What are the different kinds of insects' life
cycles? Explain.
Hands-on: watch the life cycle of a monarch butterfly. You can purchase
a Butterfly
Garden kit here.
Activity 12 - How do insects reproduce?
Activity 13 - How are insects classified? Give the classification
of an insect of your choice.
Activity 14 - insect communication. Explain some of the ways
insects communicate with each other. You can learn about how bees
communicate with each other by watching this interactive demo. Then
make up your own waggle dance to communicate a message to someone.
Insect Worksheet
Butterfly
and Moth Worksheet
Insect
Worksheet
Label the Insect
Worksheet
Insect Coloring Sheets
Bees
with Hive
Butterfly
Centipede
Grasshopper
Ladybug
Spider
Insects Notebooking
Ant
Bee
Bee
Hive
Butterfly
Praying
Mantis
Disclaimer: All links are for informational purposes only
- a link to a web site does not imply agreement with or endorsement of
that site. Because of the changing nature of the internet, always preview
a site before viewing it with your children.
