This TopicQuest was designed for third graders.
By Gina Thomas, a Valdosta State University Preservice Teacher
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When
did you last see a bug that you could not identify? Well, now is
your time!! We are going to learn all about the different kinds
of insects. We will learn how to describe insects including its
colors, its shape, and its purpose for buzzing around. Aren't you
getting excited about learning about the creepy crawling insects of our
earth? Well, here we go....off to learn about insects and
bugs! Hop...Hop...we go to explore!
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Did you know that we
need honeybees for
polinating our crops and producing honey for us to
eat? Honeybees are good insects in our world. They either
live in hives or colonies. We also have bumblebees where we
live. Like the honeybee, the bumblebee is a social insect
too. A big difference in the honeybee and the bumblebee is that
bumblebees will rarely sting you and the honeybees will. Once you
can identify each bee you will be safe to take a closer look without
getting a sting but be sure you know your facts first! For more fun and facts on bees
you can check out this website. |
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Aren't we all scare of
these little creatures? This insect is called a wasp.
Although most of the time wasps are social insects and will not bother
you, they can be dangerous if disturbed. They will sting
you. Most of the time wasps will feed on house flies and garden
pests. There are different
types of wasps such as
yellowjackets and hornets. These two
types of wasps are dangerous as well. To better identify which one you
are looking at you should look at their body size and the pattern on
the abdomen. This will tell you which wasp you are looking at. |
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Ladybugs
are very pretty bugs. Did you know that most ladybugs secrete an
odor when something threatens to eat them so that the predator will
leave them alone. Unlike most bright colorful bugs, ladybugs are
the most distasteful of them all. Do you like coloring
ladybugs? If so, you can visit here and
enjoy some coloring. |
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Everyone knows about houseflies,
don't they? You know what they look like and you know that they
are harmless. What you probably didn't know is that flies react
to movement five times faster than humans do. That is why they
are so hard to swat and catch. Can you believe that? The
average life span of a female flie is only 26 days and for the male it
is about 15 days. |
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Who likes
these little creepy critters? First, you need to know that this
is a brown
recluse spider. Next, you need to know that they do bite and
depending on the person, the results of the bite vary from no pain at
all to a lot of pain. Do you know how to identify a brown recluse
spider? These unique spiders have a brown violin on their back
that will identify them. They are named after " fiddlers." |
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This spider is known as the black widow
spider. This spider, like the brown recluse spider, is very
dangerous to us as well. This spider can be identified because he
is black with a red hourglass shape on its abdomen. The body of a
black widow is usually round. Be very careful if you see one of
these spiders. Do not play with this little critter!!! |
| Mission Guess
what? You have been chosen to be an expert at the National Bugs
& Insects Organization. This means that you will have to know
your facts really well to be the best expert ever. To be able to
show and tell the information that you have learned about bugs and
insects you will have to draw three pictures describing at least three
insects that you have learned about. After drawing the three
pictures, you will need to tell at least three facts that are important
to know about each insect. Finally, the last thing you will need
to do is list the insects that may be harmful to humans so everyone
will know to stay away from those little critters... You may
refer back to the websites of any of the insects which include honeybees, bumblebees, wasps,
ladybugs,
brown
recluse spiders,houseflies,
and black
widow spiders. Okay, show the organization that you are the
expert for the job!!!
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| Misson Steps 1. We will learn about
insects and bugs by looking and studying the websites on this page.
2. Next, we will take out some paper and you will draw three small pictures of the insects that you are most interested in. 3. After drawing the three insects of your choice, you will write down beside your drawings at least three important facts about each insect. 4. Last, you will list and name the insects that may be harmful to humans so that they know not to play with those critters. 5. After you get finished with these tasks, you can hand in your paper and I will get busy putting your hardwork on the Internet for everyone to see who the best expert is at the National Bugs & Insect Organization. |
 Gina's Home Page |
 glthomas@valdosta.edu |
 VSU TopicQuest Pages |
 TQ Lesson Plan |