Lower Primary Themes - An Integrated Approach: Insects

Introduction This thematic package, based on 'Insects', has been designed for lower primary students.

The activities have been organised into subject foci. Thematic programming ideas have been included so that teachers may integrate the theme across the curriculum.

Table of Contents Page 2

3 4 5 6 7 8-9

Thematic program ideas Language focus Insects - word search In the garden - word study Alphabetical insects Shape poems - poetry Ants on plants! - phonics The life of a butterfly - book making

10 11 12

Mathematical focus Busy bee - number Trails - measurement Beehive - space

13 14-15 16 17

Science focus Insect families Insect game Insects and other animals Insect discovery

18 19 20 21

Art focus Butterfly collage Insect mobile Insect head mask Grasshopper jigsaw/Dot to dot

22 23

Social studies focus Household pests Helpful insects

24 25

Health/Phys. ed. focus Harmful insects Energetic insects

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Poems Alexander Beetle The Ant Explorer Lovely Mosquito

diorama egg carton worms dough creations symmetrical prints honeycomb

formicarium keep silk worms visit an apiary visit museum

Stories by Carle The Bad-tempered Ladybird The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Literature

predators symbiosis food chains habitats

Songs/Rhymes Inch Worm Ants Go Marching Ladybird Ladybird

Behaviour camouflage swarms adaptations life cycle

Social insects termites honeybees ants wasps

pollination protection Venus flytrap food source

Relationships with plants and other animals

Other minibeasts spiders snails scorpions worms

Insects

Insect products silk honey food dyes medicines

Activities

Investigation

Issues environment household sprays natural repellents pesticides

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Insects

B U T T E R F L Y A G W E E V I L

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How many INSECTS can you find?

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In the garden - word study Find some insects in the garden. List their names below.

Add 'ing' to these words. sting

fly

buzz

crawl

eat

walk

How many 'bee' words can you list below? beetroot

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Draw a picture for one of these sayings.

• fly in the ointment • time flies • fly on the wall • there are no flies on her

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Alphabetical insects Find insect names for these letters of the alphabet.

Draw a picture for each.

a

m

l

d

g

c

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C.Publ i cat i ons •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• Put these insect names in alphabetical order.

butterfly, firefly, wasp, termite, earwig, praying mantis, silverfish, honeybee, weevil, beetle, cockroach

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Shape poems

Write your own insect poem below.

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Draw your insect on the back of this sheet and write your poem inside its shape.

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Ants on plants Rhyme these insects. ants on

cricket on a

fly in a

flea up a

moth on a

bug on a

Add 'an'. d __ __ ce

m __ __ go

pl __ __ t

h __ __ dsome

__ __ teater

st__ __ d

c __ __ dle

f __ __ tasy

__ __ telope

__ __ chor

l __ __ tern

r __ __ ch

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C.P i cat i ons__ __ swer su __b __l dwich •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• b __ __ k

Choose one 'an' word for each meaning.

A large farm Move to music Body part Good looking Animal that eats ants A tropical fruit A wonderful story To get up Deer-like animal R.I.C. Publications

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Use these pictures and draw your own to complete this booklet.

The life of a butterfly

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A butterfly is an insect. It has six legs, antennae and three body parts.

It is different from other insects because of its brightly coloured wings.

A butterfly’s life begins as an egg. The female adult carefully lays its eggs on leaves and other places where its young will find food.

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The young caterpillars hatch from these eggs. They crawl from the eggs and begin to eat the greenery around them.

The caterpillar begins to shed its skin. When it is ready, it turns into a pupa and then a chrysalis. Many changes take place inside the chrysalis.

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Slowly, the young caterpillar turns into a butterfly. When it is ready, the butterfly hatches out.

After it hatches, the female butterfly finds a mate and lay its eggs, so that life can begin again.

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Busy bee Colour a busy bee for every correct answer.

15 + 5

13 + 4

12 + 6

16 + 3

19 - 6

14 - 3

15 - 2

18 - 4

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15 - 0

10 + 7

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Trails Use string to measure each trail.

Colour the insect that has left the longest trail.

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Beehive You will need: • scissors • sticky tape

• string

• coloured pencils or crayons

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Make a class beehive.

• Cut along heavy lines and fold along light lines.

• Tape edges together.

• Glue prisms together to make beehive.

• Attach string to hang.

• Decorate with bees made from coloured paper and cellophane.

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Insect families Match the insects that look the same.

List insects with 'fly' in their names.

grasshopper

worm

wasp

cricket

beetle

butterfly

moth

hornet

caterpillar

ladybird

horsefly

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C.Publ i cat i ons •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• There are many families of insects. The moth and butterfly belong to the same family because they look similar. They have two pairs of scaly wings, sucking mouth parts and long antennae.

There are many kinds of beetles - ladybirds, click beetles, stag beetles and rhinoceros beetles. They all have body parts in common.

Choose a type of beetle and describe its body parts.

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Insect game You will need: • 6 markers for each player • paperclip for the spinner • a playing card for each player Instructions: - Cut and join the spinner with a paperclip.

- Players take turns to spin the spinner.

- All players use markers to cover the insect parts on their card that appear on the spinner.

- The first player to completely cover his or her card calls 'Insect!' and wins the game.

mouth parts

head

wings

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C.Publ i cat i ons abdomen eyes thorax •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• head

wings

eyes

antennae

legs

abdomen

head

mouth parts

wings

antennae

eyes

thorax

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Insect game

abdomen

thorax

head

mouth parts

eyes

legs

legs

antennae

mouth parts

wings © R. I .

C.Pu bl i cat i ons head •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• thorax

eyes

antennae

legs

mouth parts

wings

head

wings

abdomen

head

legs

thorax

eyes

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Insects and other animals Circle and colour the insects.

Insects are small.

These animals are small, but some are not insects.

At some time in their lives, most insects have wings.

These animals have wings, but some are not insects.

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C.Publ i cat i ons •f orr evi ew pur posesonl y• Adult insects have six legs.

These animals have legs, but some are not insects.

Insects have three body parts.

These animals have bodies, but some are not insects.

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Insect discovery Insects are interesting and delicate creatures. They need to be treated with respect, especially the types that bite or sting.

Observe insects in their natural surroundings. Do not keep them in jars in the classroom until they die.

Complete these instructions for collecting and handling insects.

1. Be careful when looking for 2. Use equipment such as

3. Be gentle. Do not handle delicate insects such as the butterfly, the

and the

4. Some ants and

can be collected, but make

sure they are returned

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Draw your favourite insect below and label these parts of its body. head, legs, wings, eyes, thorax, mouth parts, antennae, abdomen

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Use these designs, and some of your own, to complete this butterfly.

Butterflies are beautiful insects.

Many have brightly coloured wings. Butterflies have two pairs of wings.

The top pair are identical in colour and design and so are the bottom pair.

Here are some examples of wing designs.

Butterfly collage

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• scrap pieces of cloth, cellophane and paper • coloured pencils or crayons • paper punch

Instructions: • Colour and decorate these insects.

• Cut out, punch through each hole and tie to a piece of string.

• Attach insects to sticks and hang.

You will need: • scissors • 2 sticks of equal length • 6 short pieces of string

Insect mobile

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bulldog ant

Insects have different head parts. Some have large flat heads, others have small triangular shaped heads. Some have long pointed antennae, others have short club-like antennae. Some have biting mouth parts, others have sucking mouth parts.

Cut and paste these head parts to make a beetle, a praying mantis and a fly. Or, enlarge the parts onto stiff card to make an insect head mask.

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praying mantis

housefly

You will need: • scissors • pencils or crayons • strong paper glue • stiff card • icecream container Instructions: Colour all parts, cut out and glue to icecream container.

Or, mix head parts to create a strange monster insect.

Insect head mask

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Cut and paste the parts to make this grasshopper.

Grasshopper jigsaw

Dot to dot

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This insect is a

Join the dots together to complete this insect.

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clothes

wood

other insects

leaves

nectar

bee

ant

termite

caterpillar

silverfish

Match these insects with their favourite food.

Silverfish

Termites

Ants

Cockroaches

Mosquitoes

Blowflies land on food and lay their maggots.

Complete these sentences.

How are these insects a problem in your house?

Household pests Close windows and doors

List ways to stop these pests.

Draw a picture of a household pest.

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• help plants to reproduce Many insects feed on the nectar produced by flowering plants.

When they collect the nectar, they scatter the pollen which helps the plant to reproduce.

• feed on harmful insects Dragonflies feed on the locusts which destroy crop and natural plant life. Praying mantises and scorpion flies prey on other insects, which helps to reduce numbers.

Complete the pictures for each.

Helpful insects: • break down decaying rubbish Insects such as ants, termites and even flies help to protect humans because they feed on dead animals and rubbish.

Helpful insects

• are used for food colouring The cochineal is a Mexican beetle which produces a crimson colouring used in foods and dyes.

• produce silk Silk is made by the silkworm.

When the worm builds its cocoon, it wraps itself in fine silk thread. This thread is taken to factories and spun into silk garments.

• produce honey Bees use the nectar gathered from flowers to make honey.

People eat honey because it is a food rich in natural goodness.

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Harmful insects

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silverfish

Finish these harmful insects.

fly

Insects can be harmful to humans and other animals in many ways.

• Insects such as flies, fleas and mosquitoes not only bite and sting but they carry diseases.

When they suck or bite the skin of animals and humans they can transfer the dangerous diseases to their victims.

• The caterpillars of moths and butterflies destroy plants in gardens and natural plant life.

• Locusts, weevils and some types of beetles destroy crops, native shrubs, lawns, gardens and forests.

• Ants and cockroaches crawl over and eat foodstuffs kept in cupboards.

• Moths and silverfish chew holes in clothing and linen kept in cupboards.

Ants and

Flies carry

Caterpillars eat

Complete these sentences.

Mosquitoes are harmful because they

5.

4.

3.

2.

1. Some insects carry disease.

List ways in which insects can be harmful to humans.

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Energetic insects

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leaves for lunch

the wooden floor

and never stop

for the bread

Flies

Moths

Fleas

Ants

Mosquitoes

Beetles

Bees

, I wonder why?

in a hurry

, hide and creep

around an arch

to sting a hand

up a wall

in a bother

fight, shake, bounce, flutter, roll, stride, swim, hang, stalk, glide, scratch skim, swoop, kick, slither, dart, bump, climb, tumble, squirm, dash, scurry, pounce

Practise some of these insect movements in the playground and imitate them for a friend to guess.

Caterpillars

Termites

Grasshoppers

Weevils

around for fun

Earwigs

to flowers and sit clothes at night

flit

Silverfish

e.g. - Butterflies

flurry, hover, bite, head, munch, crawl, run, land, march, gnaw, fly, leap, hop

Insects are interesting to watch because they are so energetic.

Rhyme these words with those in bold below to complete the description of each insect.

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