Cities Taking Shape Grade/Level 4/5 Description s6

What is an insect? Year level: P–2

L1119 – Garden detective: group Australian animals. Copyright Education Services Australia Ltd. About the unit

Unit description This unit focuses on learning about the insects usually found under our feet.

Students investigate:

 the characteristics of insects  their life cycles and needs  their habits and habitats  their contribution to the environment  how to encourage insects into our gardens They also learn about the purpose and format of diagrams and glossaries, and the importance of sequencing.

Knowledge, understandings, skills, values  Insects have certain unique features.  Insects are a vital part of the world we live in so we need to provide them with what they need to survive and thrive.

Focus questions  What is an insect?  What are their needs?

© Education Services Australia Ltd, 2010, except where indicated otherwise What is an insect? 1 Resources The Le@rning Federation digital curriculum resources Dragon’s jumble series: L7862 dream: four parts, L7863 garden: four parts, L7864 dream: three parts, L7865 garden: three parts Finding symmetry: one line series: L7800 garden, L7803 city L2345 Kitchen stacker 1 Garden detective series: L1118 explore an Australian garden, L1119 group Australian animals L1358 Life cycles: butterflies L1147 Food chains: what is a food chain? R4138 Pupa of a Ulysses butterfly camouflaged as a leaf R5372 Huntsman spider R5576 Rock grasshopper among rocks R5577 Long-legged sandhopper R5578 Redlined geometrid caterpillar R4820 Adult male white-stemmed gum moth R4136 Pupa of a Richmond birdwing butterfly R5575 Long-spinneret bark spider on a tree trunk R5643 Wing and body shapes, colour patterns and antennae of some Australian moths and butterflies Internet sites  Bugasaurus Explorus: http://www.bugsurvey.nsw.gov.au/  Bugwise: http://www.bugwise.net.au/

Software  KidPix, Tuxpaint or Kidspiraton  MS Paint or another drawing application.

Print  Leaf Litter: Exploring the Mysteries of a Hidden World, Rachel Tonkin, Angus and Robertson, 2006  Collection of non-fiction titles from the 585.7 section of your library  Poems by Aileen Fisher such as ‘When it comes to bugs’, ‘Anthill’, ‘Inside’, ‘It’s Funny’, ‘I Wonder’  ‘Forgiven’ by AA Milne  ‘A Fly’s Eye View’ by FG Risser  ‘If I Were a Bug’ from Of Beetles and Bugs: Finger Plays and Action Rhymes for Early Childhood Education by Yvonne Winer, Belair Publications, 1983

© Education Services Australia Ltd, 2010, except where indicated otherwise What is an insect? 2 Other resources  Song: ‘The Ugly Bug Ball’ by Richard M Sherman and Robert B Sherman from the film Summer Magic  Collection of large pictures of minibeasts  Collection of small plastic minibeasts  Collection of small pictures of minibeasts – select and copy appropriate clipart; print in colour to make enough sets about the size of playing cards for one set between two students  Collection of non-fiction books about insects  Magnifying glasses  Gloves  Digital camera  Live specimens. Selected creatures can be kept successfully in the classroom for a few days to allow students to observe them. They require space to move in conditions similar to that of their natural habitat, along of course with food, air and water. It is essential to check with your education authority about what may be kept in classes and the permissions and information required to do so.

Attached printable resources The following teacher-created learning resources referred to in the Unit of work are available for you to modify, print and use in your own teaching and learning context:

 Bug hunt 1  Bug hunt 2  Label me activity 1  Label me activity 2 – The parts of an insect  Life cycle

Investigating Resources  Label me activity 1 (page 12)  Label me activity 2 – The parts of an insect (page 13)  Bug hunt 1 (page 14)  Bug hunt 2 (page 15)  Life cycle (page 16)  L2345 Kitchen stacker 1  L1358 Life cycles: butterflies  L1147 Food chains: what is a food chain?  R5643 Wing and body shapes, colour patterns and antennae of some Australian moths and butterflies  Collection of plastic creatures  Collection of small pictures of minibeasts  Magnifying glasses  Gloves  Digital camera to take photos of the students’ explorations  Collection of large pictures of minibeasts  Software applications such as KidPix, Tuxpaint or Kidspiration  MS Paint  Collection of non-fiction titles from the 585.7 section of your library  The Very Busy Spider, Eric Carle, Harmondsworth, 1996  One Hungry Spider, Jeannie Baker, Scholastic, 2006  The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle, Puffin, 2003

Teaching and learning activities What is an insect? Explain that there are many creatures that are called bugs or minibeasts but not all of them are insects.

What is an insect?

Display several large pictures of a variety of insects and brainstorm what the students already know about them on a large insect outline entitled ‘What we know about insects’.

Introduce the concept of a diagram.

How is a diagram different from other illustrations?

What is its purpose?

Explain that labels help us understand what the diagram is telling us. Have the students add the labels using the information they find from books about real insects.

Have partners examine a number of non-fiction titles to determine the characteristics that all insects share. Let them use magnifying glasses to aid their searching.

Guide their inquiry by providing some questions for partners to answer such as:

How many legs does an insect have?

Do all insects have feelers (antennae)?

How many parts are their bodies divided into?

What are the names of the body parts?

What is unusual about their eyes?

Use what they have learned to drag the labels to the appropriate part of the diagram.

What can we learn from this diagram?

Demonstrate how to write a caption which summarises the information from the diagram.

Have students consolidate their understanding by exploring L1118 Garden detective: explore an Australian garden and L1119 Garden detective: group Australian animals. As more common characteristics are found, add these to the diagram.

Words, words, words Explain the purpose of a glossary and begin building one with the new words that the students learn.

Explore the concept of classifying by using L2345 Kitchen stacker 1. Demonstrate the process by using your interactive whiteboard and then have the students explore the learning object for themselves using their computers.

Place two hoops on the ground and have the students sort the collections of plastic creatures into ‘insects’ and ‘not insects’. Discuss the reasons for their choices.

Have students sort the collections of small cards into two piles – ‘insects’ and ‘not insects’. Have them explain their reasons for sorting them the way they have.

© Education Services Australia Ltd, 2010, except where indicated otherwise What is an insect? 5 Extend their understanding by using a software application such as KidPix, Tuxpaint or Kidspiration to draw two circles and have the students sort the stamps into ‘insects’ and ‘not insects’. Demonstrate this on your interactive whiteboard first. Print their page and have them write or dictate the reasons that influenced their choices.

Bug hunt Brainstorm some of the places in the playground that minibeasts are likely to live in. Assign each location a letter such as S for sandpit, F for flower, D for dirt, T for tree and so forth. Avoid using the same letter twice.

Give students one of the Bug hunt activities (pages 14 and 15), a magnifying glass, gloves and a pencil and have them search the playground for each bug.

Warn them not to touch anything they might find. If they find a bug, they tick ‘Yes’ and assign the place symbol. Take photos of the students as they explore.

Take note of the minibeasts found and the places they were located. Discuss the following questions.

Would the time of the year make a difference to the minibeasts we see?

Where was the most common place for minibeasts to live?

Why do they live there?

Were there any signs that minibeasts had been there even if we couldn’t find them?

Was there a place that had no minibeasts? Why?

Use the photos to create a story or slideshow about what the students did and learned.

We looked in …

We looked under … On the … we found … We went on a bug hunt We looked near … It lives there because …

We looked on …

Altogether we found … bugs. Under the … we found … In the … we found … These were the insects: … It lives there because … It lives there because … These are not insects: …

Hide and seek Discuss whether the minibeasts the students were seeking were easy to find.

Why were some of them so hard to see?

Introduce the concept of camouflage and display and discuss the pictures.

Why are these creatures so hard to see?

What are some of the ways they have used to hide themselves?

© Education Services Australia Ltd, 2010, except where indicated otherwise What is an insect? 6 Display R5643 Wing and body shapes, colour patterns and antennae of some Australian moths and butterflies or have the students look at pictures of butterflies.

If butterflies do not want to be eaten by predators, why do they have such bright colours?

Why are the colours and markings on their wings symmetrical?

Why do so many have spots and dots that look like eyes?

Why do insects use camouflage?

Who are their enemies?

How else do they protect themselves from enemies?

Food chains Why do insects have enemies?

What eats them?

Use L1147 Food chains: what is a food chain? to explore the concept of a food chain.

Are insects always at the end of the food chain?

What do insects eat?

How do they get their food?

Investigate the various devices insects use to get their prey. Emphasise the need to be careful around insects and the basic first aid treatment required if people are bitten or stung.

Why do I itch and swell when I get bitten or stung by an insect?

What can I do if this happens?

The cycle of life Discuss the fact that insects, like humans and all other living creatures, grow and change, though with a very different sort of life cycle to ours. Most of the students will have encountered The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle so investigate what they already know about an insect’s life cycle.

Consolidate this understanding using L1358 Life cycles: butterflies and then have them demonstrate what they have learned by completing the life cycle worksheet (page 16).

Create cardboard templates from the images for the students to trace, colour and paste in order or have them draw their own pictures in the appropriate spaces.

Remind the students of the work they have done earlier with sequencing and explore why a life cycle diagram is often like a circle.

Investigate the life cycle of another insect and compare it to that of the butterfly.

How are they the same?

How are they different?

© Education Services Australia Ltd, 2010, except where indicated otherwise What is an insect? 7 A closer look Obtain some live specimens to keep in the classroom so the students can examine them further.

What will we need to provide so our insects can live happily inside?

What do we need to do to keep them safe?

Create a scientific journal so observations and changes can be recorded.

Assessment Enlarge the Label me activity 1 diagram (page 12) and use it as an assessment tool by having each child cut and paste the labels into the appropriate place. Then have them write a caption to summarise what they have learned.

Alternatively, introduce the concept of a key and have students colour the body part to match the label (eg make both the head and its label blue). More able students could extend their understanding by using Label me activity 2 - The parts of an insect (page 13).

Bringing it all together Teaching and learning activities Helpful or harmful? List the words the students use to describe minibeasts.

Are all insects ugly?

Are all insects scary?

Are all insects harmful?

Discuss the roles that insects play in the environment and whether they are helpful or harmful. Construct a ‘Goodies’ and ‘Baddies’ list which includes a picture of each species and a sentence about why it is on the list.

Discuss how we can keep ourselves safe from insects such as flies and cockroaches by keeping food covered and so forth.

The business of bees Investigate how bees are a crucial part of a healthy environment.

What do bees do apart from providing honey?

Why are they arguably the most important creature in the whole environment?

What would happen if there were no bees?

Discuss and demonstrate the concept of pollination and how this is critical to everyone’s survival. Create a diagram which demonstrates what the students have learned.

Are bees the only helpful insects?

Investigate how other insects are critical for a healthy environment.

© Education Services Australia Ltd, 2010, except where indicated otherwise What is an insect? 8 Drawing conclusions Teaching and learning activities More able students could create a ‘Who am I’ slideshow for younger students by following these instructions.

 Draw a picture of an insect and scan this.  Open your slideshow application and choose a blank layout.  Insert the image as the background to all the slides.  Select a shape and draw it six times to cover the background so it cannot be seen. This is an ideal opportunity to talk about tessellation.  Duplicate this slide once.  On the first slide, use WordArt to create the title ‘Who am I?’  On the second slide, create a text box on the shape covering the majority of the creature underneath. Clues will be typed into this box and it will be the last shape to be removed.  Type a clue in the text box. Clues should start with the general and move to the specific. For example, the first clue might be ‘I am an insect’.  Delete a shape to expose part of the picture underneath.  Duplicate this slide once.  On the third slide, write another clue in the text box under the first clue. Clues should include information about habitat, food, movement, and so forth. Remove another shape. Duplicate the slide.  Repeat this process until just one shape is left.  Remove this shape to reveal the original picture.  On the final slide insert a text box and write ‘I am a …’  Investigate how to make the transitions between the slides and add a sound effect.  Play each slideshow, encouraging the students to use the clues to identify the creature before it is revealed.

Assessment Table times Show the students how they can use a table to compare items to clarify their thinking and draw conclusions. Construct a table similar to this one

Is it an Creatures Body parts Legs Wings Antennae insect? Butterfly 3 6 4 2 Yes Spider 2 8 0 0 No

Have them examine pictures or models of a variety of minibeasts and record their findings on the table in order to determine whether a creature is an insect or not.

Teaching and learning activities Did you know…? Have the class create individual books or slideshows using the students' photographs, artwork, diagrams and writing, and in which each page begins ‘Did you know ...?’.

Assessment Discovery Imagine you are an entomologist spying on the Ugly Bug Ball. Among the dancers you spot the bug you made earlier. You are very excited because it is a brand new species, so at the end of the ball you collect your bug to examine it further.

Where does your bug normally live?

What sort of habitat will keep it safe and well?

Use what you have learned to construct a model habitat in a small box. Make a 3D model of your bug and put it in its habitat.

Examine it closely to discover what it really looks like close up and write a description of it as a report. Then use what you have learned to add information about what it eats, how it moves, what its enemies are, how it protects itself and whether it is helpful or harmful to the environment.

Hold a Bug Business Day with all the newly discovered bugs on display.

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head leg

antenna leg

thorax leg abdomen leg

eye leg

eye wing

wing wing

Number Part

fly spider wasp beetle butterfly

Yes No Place Yes No Place Yes No Place Yes No Place Yes No Place

scorpion snail dragonfly bee grasshopper

Slater cockroach worm ladybird ant

Moth lace wing cricket earwig silverfish

1 2 The life cycle of