WHY STUDY INSECTS

1
WHY STUDY INSECTS?

• PROVIDES MULTIPLE OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUTSIDE
  ACTIVITIES
• PROVIDES MULTIPLE HANDS ON ACTIVITIES
• SUBJECT MATTER THAT INTERESTS ALL STUDENTS AND
  AGE GROUPS
• MATERIALS ARE READILY AVAILABLE
• COST ARE KEPT AT A MINIMUM

2
INSECTSA THEMATIC UNIT

• BASIC LESSONS AND ACTIVITIES
• SEASONAL LESSONS AND ACTIVITIES
• YEAR-LONG LESSONS AND ACTIVITIES
• ASSESSMENT TOOLS

3
LESSON 1 INSECTS

• GRADE LEVEL 5-6
• LEARNING EXPERIENCE STUDENTS WILL PREPARE AND
  APPLY A CLASSIFICATION SCHEME TO THE SHAPES.
• PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
• STUDENTS MUST BE ABLE TO DEFINE THE TERMS
  SIMILARITY AND DIFFERENCE.
• KEY QUESTION
• HOW DO WE GROUP ANIMALS?

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LESSON 1 CONTINUED

• MATERIALS NEEDED
• SCISSORS
• NOTEBOOK
• PEN OR PENCIL
• HANDOUT OF BUG SHAPES

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LESSON 1 CONTINUED

• PROCEDURE
• CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING OF SIMILARITY AND
  DIFFERENCES.
• DISTRIBUTE CLASSIFICATION SHEET.
• INSTRUCT STUDENTS TO CUT OUT SHAPES.
• DECIDE ON A CHARACTERISTIC TO USE FOR
  CLASSSIFICATION.
• GROUP THE SHAPES ACCORDING TO THEIR SIMILARITIES
  AND DIFFERENCES.
• DIRECT STUDENTS TO CREATE NAMES FOR THEIR GROUPS.
• STUDENTS NEED TO JUSTIFY CLASSIFICATIONS AND NAME
  THEIR GROUPS.

• DISCUSSION
• WHAT ARE SOME BODY STRUCTURES ALL ANIMALS HAVE IN
  COMMON?
• WHAT ARE SOME DIFFERENT TYPES OF ANIMALS?
• HOW CAN WE DISTINGUISH ANIMALS?
• WHAT ARE SOME OF SPECIAL STRUCTURES ANIMALS HAVE
  THAT DISTINGUISH THEM?
• EXPLAIN YOUR METHOD OF GROUPING.

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LESSON 1 CONTINUED

• TECHNOLOGY LINKS Students can choose an insect
  and do a web search to discover certain facts
  about the insect.
• http//www.uky.edu/Agriculture/entomology/html
• CURRICULUM INTEGRATION Computer/Technology-inter
  net search, Math-similarities and attributes.
• ASSESSMENT
• Look for accurate groupings.
• Ask if there is another characteristic that could
  be used.
• Check explanations.

• BIBLIOGRAPHY
• http//otn.oregon.edu/eisehower/leadership/model_7
  lp2.html
• http//www.uky.edu/Agriculture/entomology/html

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LESSON 2INSECTS

• GRADE LEVEL 6-8
• LEARNING EXPERIENCE
• Students will apply what they have learned about
  the parts and functions of an insects body.
• Students will simulate how scientists classify
  insects into orders.
• Students will create an insect whose
  characteristics are similar to real insects.
• Students will select a scientific name for an
  insect.
• Note this project may also be done in
  cooperative groups.

• PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
• Students need Internet navigational skills.
  Students need a working understanding of content
  of previous two lessons.
• Key QUESTION
• How do scientists determine the classification of
  insects?
• MATERIALS NEEDED
• Computer with Internet access
• CD ROM Encyclopedias
• Paper or science notebook

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LESSON 2 INSECTS CONTINUED

• DISCUSSSION
• What characteristics helped you t classify your
  insect?
• Does your insect share characteristics with other
  insects?
• Is your insect reasonable? (can it be
  classified?)
• How did you arrive at a name for your insect?
• ASSESSMENT
• Did the students use appropriate research
  techniques?
• Did the students address all the required
  components of the lesson?
• Does the scientific name fit the designed
  insect?
• Where the students able to support their project?

• PROCEDURE
• Students will begin by utilizing a CD ROM and
  Internet to expand their content knowledge.
• Students will sketch and decide order the insect
  will be part of.
• Students will write a descriptive paragraph which
  should include order, habitat, food, etc.
• Students will name the insect a scientific name.
• Students will give a presentation introducing
  their insect to the class.

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LESSON 2 INSECTSCONTINUED

• TECHNOLOGY LINKS
• HTTP//WWW.MINNETONKA.K12.MN.US/SUPPORT/SCIENCE/LE
  SSONS23/INSECTDESIGN.HTML

• BIBLIOGRAPHY
• HTTP//WWW.MINNETONKA.K12.MN.US/SUPPORT/SCIENCE/LE
  SSON23/INSECTDESIGN.HTML

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LESSON 3 INSECTS

• GRADE LEVEL 6-8
• LEARNING EXPERIENCE
• Student will use the Internet to discover facts
  about insects.
• Students will write a short report on important
  facts.
• Student will present their findings to the class.
• PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
• Students need ability to navigate the Internet.
• KEY QUESTION What is the classification, place
  in the food chain, characteristics, lifecycle,
  structures, and functions of your chosen insect?

• MATERIALS
• Computer with Internet access
• PROCEDURE Direct the students to attached
  w/sheet to be completed. Discuss the method used
  to find the Internet information.
• DISCUSSION Discuss questions on w/sheet.
• ASSESSMENT Refer to the w/sheet

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LESSON 4 INSECTS

• LEARNING EXPERIENCES Students will follow scent
  clues to learn how bees communicate using
  pheromones.
• PRIOR KNOWLEDGE Students should have completed
  the introductory lessons.
• KEY QUESTION How do bees communicate?
• MATERIALS NEEDED blindfolds, aromatic flower
  petals, pinecone, orange, vinegar, banana, lemon
  jars for each smell, honey samples.

• PROCEDURE
• Make a maze in your classroom using desks, etc.,
  and hide a jar of honey in one desk.
• Discuss what each of the smells could mean to a
  bee. One could mean left, or right, or danger.
• Place jars along the maze route where they would
  lead a bee to the honey.
• Students should split up into teams of three or
  four. (colonies). One bee is blindfolded and
  goes through the maze, using only the scent to
  find the honey.
• Record what happens with each bee.
• Try moving the jars and the maze see what happens
  and record. Discuss the results.
• Did everyone find the honey? Why or Why not?

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LESSON 4 INSECTSCONTINUED

• DISCUSSION
• Discuss some of the real scents that bees use to
  help them find food, sense danger,and find their
  way back to the hive. Discuss what these real
  scents mean to a bee.
• Bees communicat5e with each other through
  pheromones, which are chemicals they emit in
  certain situations. Example, when a bee stings,
  it releases a type of pheromone that tells other
  bees there is a threat to the hive. This will
  make them sting, too. In this exercise

• See if you can find your way through the maze to
  the honey just by smells.
• QUESTIONS
• Was it easy to find the honey using the scent
  cues?
• Do humans use their sense of smell as a
  communication too?
• What do some smells mean to you?
• ASSESSMENT SEE RUBRIC
• TECHNOLOGY LINKS
• http//www.cariff.ac.uk/ibra/index.html

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LESSON 5 INSECTS

• LEARNING EXPERIENCE Students will investigate
  surface tension.
• PRIOR KNOWLEDGE Basic knowledge of aquatic
  insects.
• KEY QUESTION Why can bugs stand on water? What
  is surface tension?
• MATERIALS 2 pie pans, measuring cup, ½ c of
  milk, 4 different colors of food coloring, liquid
  dish soap

• PRODEDURE
• Pour ½ c of milk into one of the pie pans.
• Drip 4 or 5 drops of food coloring onto milk.
  Dont put the drops too close to each other or on
  top of each other. Spread your drops out.
• Chick it out. What happened?
• Carefully drip 4 or 5 drops of liquid dish soap
  on the milk on the side of the pan.

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LESSON 5 INSECTSCONTINUED

• DISCUSSION What is happening? Certain things
  can float on water because of a property of
  liquids calledsurface tension. Surface tension
  causes the surface of liquids to act like a thin,
  invisible membrane. Water molecules are
  attracted to each other. This gives water its
  high surface tension. The high surface tension
  of water allows items that are denser than water,
  such as liquid dish soap, to be suspended on its
  surface. What special structures od you think
  insects have that enable them to walk on the
  water? Research your hypothesis.

TECHNOLOGY LINKS Htt//www.eecs.umich.edu/coalit
n/sciedounexperiemnts/quickndirty/watertension.ht
ml CURRICULUM INTEGRATION Reading Water
Striders from Joyful Noise Poems for Two
Voices by Paul Fleischman. ASSESSEMENT See
Scoring Rubric