Introduction
Scope and Sequence Chart
Classroom Activities
Grades 3-8
Grades K-2
Great Resources
Related Web Sites
Books
Videos
Software
Correlation to National Standards
Introduction
Wendell the Worm, host of The Yuckiest Site on
the Internet, welcomes your students to Bug World, populated by the yuckiest bugs of all:
cockroaches! Students can use the icky roaches as a stepping stone to a wide world of insect
varieties just waiting to be explored.
The activities in this Teacher's Guide can help you use
The Yuckiest Site on the Internet to launch a
rich and fascinating biology unit on insects for grades 3-8. Additional teaching ideas for primary
students are also included. You'll find that all the lesson plans and activities in this Teacher's
Guide can be easily adaptable for both younger and older students.
Classroom Activities for Grades 3-8
BIOLOGY
Animal Behavior
- Build an Ant Farm
It's hard to be directly "hands-on" with most bug varieties, but an ant farm does offer a
perfect glimpse into a very ordered insect society. Students can try these for
directions building their own farm.
Older students can create a "how-to" book or HyperStudio presentation showing others how to
build an ant farm.
- From a Bug's Point of View
It's a bug's life! Students can take on the persona of a specific type of bug and write a
"day-in-the life" profile, telling about its behavior from sunup to sundown as if it could speak.
- Mapping Insect Behavior
Students will love this very hands-on
activity using sticky
dots to "map" a community of crickets and learn how to make inferences about an animal's behavior
by observing a sample group.
- Can Cockroaches Learn?
Are cockroaches dumb creatures or do they have the capacity to learn a behavior? Students
should start by devouring everything Wendell has to say at Bug World. Later, they'll devise
controlled experiments to find out, using that insect everyone loves to hate. See the complete
lesson plan for more details.
- Research a Favorite Insect
Have plenty of illustrated trade books about insects available for your students, and make
sure to check out our resources and related
Web sites. Have everyone pick a favorite insect as the focus of a
short research report. Perhaps Wendell will inspire them to begin with cockroaches! Students can
also search for information and illustrations of their insect on the Internet. Compare and contrast
the characteristics of different varieties as students present their reports.
- Insects in Literature
Fiction and non-fiction books about insects abound on the children's market. Older students
can present book talks and written book reports about the insect literature they read.
Animal Systems
- 3-D Bugs
Challenge students to create realistic insect models using the most imaginative combination of
materials they can find. Start them off with raisins, soaked dried beans, Play-Doh, tooth picks and
craft glue, and see what else they come up with. Encourage them to model a specific insect variety
and include its particular features. Wendell says his cockroach friends in the
Scrapbook are willing models! Make a "sculpture gallery" to display the creations!
- Parts of a Dragonfly
Students "shape" their own learning about insect anatomy in this
lesson in which they build a papier-mache model of a dragonfly.
Life Cycles
- Bug Convention
Profile an unusual bug and present him to the other bug representatives at a mock convention!
See what kind of information Wendell uses to profile
cockroaches as a guide. Older students can create a
documentary of their convention using a video camera or still photos inserted into presentation
software, or make an annotated scrapbook like Wendell's.
- Metamorphosis
The illustrators in your class will have a great time charting the stages of insect
metamorphosis. If they are fortunate enough to be able to observe a complete life cycle of an
insect, such as a butterfly, encourage them to create scientific illustrations from direct
observation. When that is not possible, students can use other illustrated resources as models for
their illustrations. Metamorphosis is a good topic for introducing the format of a flow chart as a
graphic illustrator.
- Also see Operation Mexfly for an additional activity
which relates to insect life cycles.
Animal Adaptation
- Lice!
Yes, it's a truly yucky subject, but if your school has a problem with lice, make it an
educational, if itchy, experience. Studies have shown that over-the-counter lice preparations are
becoming less and less effective as the lice become increasingly resistant to the chemicals. A good
opportunity to talk about insect adaptation, and why it's important to try to prevent future
outbreaks. Look at Wendell's
Roach Removal Report for
comparison to another insect.
- What Do Insects Do in Winter?
It's a question that comes up often...why don't the little critters freeze to death? Have
students list their hypotheses, then
read more about it.
- Operation Mexfly
Students do research about the Mexican fruit fly and the prevalent use of malathion to control
its population in preparation for a mock "town meeting" to discuss the pros and cons of pesticide
use. See the
how-to
for complete details.
Classification
- Insect Safari
Share information about local insects with other students over the Internet. The
instructions to this classification project tell you how to set up a meaningful online exchange.
- Head Count
Could insects rule the world? Well, judging from their numbers as compared to other species,
one might think so! Have students draw or use software to create a bar graph, pictogram, or other
numerographic representation of existing insect species as compared to the other major species in
the animal kingdom. Students who can work with larger numbers may want to break out these figures
by finding estimated population numbers within each species.
- One Small Square
In an activity inspired by the popular Scientific American book series, students
investigate a cubic foot of dug-up soil and inventory everything they find that's alive.
- Mounting Insects
Insect mounting is an excellent introduction to professional scientific handling procedures
and is a natural hands-on classification activity. These
directions will make the project go smoothly.
Biomes
- Cockroaches in the South
Why are there so many more cockroaches in southern states like Texas and Florida? What
measures do residents of these areas take to keep the roaches away? What insect pests are prevalent
in similarly large numbers in northern climates? Students can use print and online resources, as
well as Bug World to investigate.
Habitats and Ecosystems
- Buggy Diner
Just like kids, insects can be picky eaters! Some like to eat the leafy parts of vegetables
and some like the roots. Some insects prefer other insects! In this activity students construct an
insect diner and serve food samples to the invited insects. In the process of this
lesson, they'll learn
where insects fit in the food chain and how this relates to biological control.
- Insect Mural
Students work in cooperative learning groups to make a mural depicting local insects in their
natural habitat. The mural can include water, plants and flowers, a dead tree, and other insect
"hangouts" your students can draw!
- Food Chain Chart
Make conventional art supplies or computer drawing software available for students to use in
diagramming insects in a food chain. More advanced students can annotate the diagram with detailed labels.
- Also see Pest Control Panel Discussion for an additional
activity which relates to insect habitats and ecosystems.
EVOLUTION AND NATURAL HISTORY
- How Many Species?
Just how many insect species have ever existed? And how many are there now? How rapidly does
the species count change? What evolutionary patterns exist? Students can research the answers to
these questions using print or online resources and share their findings with the class.
PLANTS
Flowering Plants
- Pollination Diagram
After you study pollination, have students draw some scientific illustrations of the process.
Have them draw a flow chart to indicate the sequence of activity. For more information, read about
pollination on the Web.
- Pollination Pundits
In this activity, students become science mentors for a kindergarten or first grade class.
Their task: to teach the process of pollination in a way 5-7 year-olds can understand. Your
students can read all about
pollinators on
the Web first. Then, encourage them to create original books, models, songs, poems, and hands-on
activities to get the important points across to their younger pals. Check out
Pollination Pundits for a related activity young children will
enjoy. Then, buddy up with a class at a local elementary school and try them out!
Trees
- "Leaf" Our Trees Alone!
Have gypsy moths or other insect pests taken their toll on the trees in your area? Show
students some leaf specimens that have evidence of insect damage, then go on a hunt through the
school neighborhood to survey the extent of the problem. Students can use their math skills to
tally the number of affected trees they see, or the number of leaf specimens they collect. Discuss
how this problem is being handled in your area. Older students can interview long-time residents of
your town to find out when and where destructive infestations occurred. They can create a timeline
of these events to see if any patterns exist.
EARTH SCIENCE
Weather
- Insect "Plagues"
Insect "plagues" have wreaked havoc for farmers and ordinary people since biblical times. Ask
students to research the occurrences of these infestations and to see if there is any connection
with the weather conditions in those areas. If weather can be forecast, are insect outbreaks
predictable too?
SCIENCE CAREERS
- Interview a Beekeeper
Is there an amateur or professional beekeeper in your area? If so, invite him or her to your
class for an interview. In advance of the visit ask the class to make a list of as many questions
as possible about procedures, safety, processing the honey, and so on. Perhaps your beekeeper can
bring a glass-encased hive or an empty hive for students to examine up close. Older students can go
on a field trip to visit the beekeeper's premises and write a report about the experience.
- Pest Control Panel Discussion
Chemical or biological control? Which is better? And for whom? Have students organize a panel
of experts who can address the issue in your classroom. Invite a farmer, an entomologist and a
commercial insect exterminator. Have students ask each professional about his or her job, including
necessary education, daily routine, rewards and disadvantages.
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY
- Visit an Entomology Lab
Call a local college or university that has an entomology department to set up a class trip.
Have students prepare questions in advance that focus on the role of technology in studying insects
and controlling them. Some students can use a video camera to create a documentary of the trip.
Others can write or adapt music, and still others can write narration.
- See also Pest Control Panel Discussion for another activity
which correlates insects to science, technology and society.
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Classroom Activities for Grades K-2
BIOLOGY
Animal Behavior
- Click that Cockroach! Welcome your students to Bug World
with some time to explore the home page. Use an overhead
projection system or let small groups take turns exploring at a desktop computer. They'll find the
Scrapbook, Amazing Roach Facts, Roaches in Review, Roach Anatomy, and an informative Glossary. The
more independently your students can browse the site, the more often they'll return for additional
information.
- 100 Beats a Second
Insects, the first creatures to develop wings, are the oldest known true flyers. To give
students a concrete benchmark for understanding how fast an insect's wings work to get itself in
the air, students perform several tasks in this
lesson
for various periods of time (i.e. 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute) and relate their findings to
the rate at which insects flap their wings.
- Build an Ant Farm
Ant colonies are mesmerizing to watch. Turn your young scientists into top-notch observers as
they build their own ant farm with these
directions, then observe the social
behavior of the colony and draw pictures and make notes in their science journals.
- Make a Bug Catcher
Forget about the pricey bug catchers sold in toy and science shops! Let your students do some
problem-solving by designing a bug-catcher with recycled household materials such as tin cans,
small containers and boxes, and screen or mesh. Then ask students to collect and bring some bugs to
school. Have field guides available so they can identify their finds. Don't forget to release them
at recess!
See also Raising Mealworms for an additional activity
about insects and animal behavior.
Animal Systems
- Insect Modeling
Using a variety of arts and crafts media, students have a hands-on opportunity to "model" what
they've learned about the structure of insects' bodies. Here are some
ideas to get you and the kids started.
Life Cycles
- Caterpillars to Butterflies
Inexpensive kits, available from science supply catalogs, are an easy way to get students
involved in raising butterflies, or look for chrysalises on milkweed if it grows in your area.
Students will marvel at the process of metamorphosis happening right before their eyes. If you've
never done this before, here are some
directions.
- Raising Mealworms
Mealworms are the larvae of the darkling beetle and are not really worms at all! Inexpensive
and readily available at pet stores, they are easy to cultivate for a fascinating primary level
insect behavior and life cycle study. Since it takes up to six months for an adult to develop,
students will see the insect larvae grow, shed their exoskeletons several times, and pupate.
Classification
- Nature Walk
Take a bug trip on your school grounds or in a nearby park or field. Discuss the varieties of
bugs you find, count their legs, examine their body segmentation. Challenge students to think of
different ways they can classify the bugs. If you have a digital or conventional camera on hand,
kids can take some photos rather than bringing specimens back to the classroom. Then they can paste
or scan their pictures into a class scrapbook about the experience. Can't get outdoors? Cut
pictures out of discarded magazines for the scrapbook, and wait for a sunny day!
Habitats and Ecosystems
- See Build an Ant Farm for a fascinating activity showing how
insects can construct their own highly organized "society."
PLANTS
Flowering Plants
- Pollination Play
To help young students understand the role of insects in pollination, divide the class into
several cooperative groups and let them bring the process of pollination to life by acting out the
parts of pistil, stamen, pollen, insect, and so on. Students can improvise dialog, make their own
simple costumes from construction paper or grocery bags and perform for the whole class. Read about
pollination on the Web if you need more information on the process.
Trees
- "Leaf" Our Trees Alone!
Have gypsy moths or other insect pests taken their toll on the trees in your area? Show
students some leaf specimens that have evidence of insect damage, then go on a hunt through the
school neighborhood to survey the extent of the problem. Students can use their math skills to
tally the number of affected trees they see, or the number of leaf specimens they collect. Discuss
how this problem is being handled in your area.
EARTH SCIENCE
Soil Science
- Build an Ant Farm
After doing the Build an Ant Farm activity, ask students to
draw some of the channels the ants create in the soil. Is this good for the soil? Let them
speculate on the answer! Can other insects do what the ants do?
Weather
- "Thermometer" Crickets
Many farmers and outdoors people don't bother to use thermometers to tell the
temperature....they rely on the frequent chirping of trusty "thermometer" crickets! Though chirping
rates vary by cricket varieties, a fairly accurate way to calculate Fahrenheit temperature is to
count a cricket's chirps over a 13-second period, and then add the number 40. Let your students try
it and compare their tallies with what the mercury says! Your students may want to read an
article that explains in more detail.
SCIENCE CAREERS
- Interview a Beekeeper
Is there an amateur or professional beekeeper in your area? If so, invite him or her to your
class for an interview. As an advance group activity, make a list of as many questions as possible
about procedures, safety, processing the honey, and so on. Perhaps your beekeeper can bring a
glass-encased hive or an empty hive for students to examine up close. Afterwards, students can
write a language experience story as a whole class activity, make illustrated thank you notes for
the beekeeper, or make a class book describing the entire visit.
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