Curated OER
Beneficial Bug Scavenger Hunt
Going on a scavenger hunt sounds like a great way to spice up any lesson plan. To better understand how beneficial insects are, the class goes outdoors to search for and observe a bug that has big benefits. Included in the lesson are...
Curated OER
Beneficial Insects
Students explain different beneficial insects and useful qualities. They are exposed to exotic and common insect species.
Curated OER
Field Guide to Schoolyard Insects and Their Relatives
Sometimes all you need to complete your perfect lesson plan is an awesome hands-on learning experience. Here is an extension activity that is sure to excite your learners. They'll head outside to observe the local insect community. When...
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Ladybugs, Ladybugs, Ladybugs
Those lovely ladybugs are so cute, and so very useful! Use a short unit to explore insect anatomy, the ladybug life cycle, and the help ladybugs provide organic farmers. The unit is comprised of four short thirty-minute lesson plans that...
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Insects Are Helpful!
Students see that insects do lots good and are very valuable to humans and nature. This is part of an ongoing effort to dispel fears of insects. They rotate through a series of centers that have examples of how insects contribute to our...
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Beneficial Bug Scavenger Hunt
Students identify several beneficial insects and spiders, including predators and pollinators. They search an outdoor environment and record numbers and types of beneficial insects and spiders that they discover.
Curated OER
Adding Adaptations to Insects
Fourth graders investigate elements of physical adaptation in insects and organisms. They discover how adaptations can select an insect for survival and make an insect that be used in an outdoor discovery activity.
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The Global Impact of Insect Borne Diseases & Agriculture
Students study the global impact of insect borne diseases, the appropriate use of pesticides, and the concept of human interrelations on a world wide scale. They examine how to safely apply a pesticide, according to the label.
Curated OER
Stream Watch
Students discuss why it is important to take care of streams, what is non-point source and point source pollution, what are some causes of pollution in streams, and what can we do to prevent some of these causes of pollution? They steam...
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Inviting Butterflies to the Schoolyard
Pupils create a butterfly garden. In this butterfly garden instructional activity, students plot a garden with plant species that will attract butterflies. Pupils learn about the specific plants and items that will help butterflies use...
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Who Am I?
Fourth graders identify and classify insects while working with a live insect. They collect an insect to study.
Curated OER
Monarch Migration
Third graders investigate the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly. They experiment with various tools to simulate the mouth parts of insects, conduct research, record their observations of butterflies hatching, write a play, complete...
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Be A Bug Scout
Students perform outside activities to determine the amount of insects, flowers, or common weeds within an area. They predict the number of insects they will find within their square area. Using calculators, students organize the data...
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What's Bugging You?
Students examine the effects of pests on other organisms, crops, and the environment. they construct an insect observation chamber and discover how some insects can be pests in some situations and beneficial in others. They write "pest...
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Wetland Safari!
Pupils identify how humans, fish, plants, birds, insects and other wildlife benefit from wetland environments. They observe a wetland and its inhabitants, draw a migration map that represents how birds use wetlands in traveling long...
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Crickets on the Hearth
Students investigate how crickets behave in cold temperatures. In this life science lesson, students explain the beneficial and harmful effect of pests. They research ways to properly manage them.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Make a Difference!
We are very dependent upon other life forms around us to survive. Here, scholars explore relationships in the ecosystem with the help of Auntie Litter and the pollution patrol. They imagine a world without grass, making connections to...
Curated OER
Growing Garden Companions.
Students understand that some plants grow better with other plants. In this companion planting instructional activity, students observe the "three sisters" growing system used by the Native Americans. Students understand that small...
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Arthropod Data Collection
Students describe the life cycle of various bugs as well as their predators and feeding habits. The class participates in a discussion of the various methods scientists use to gather data including research and experiment. After...
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Creating a Pollinator Garden
Young scholars build a pollination garden. In this pollination activity, students read directions and build a pollinator garden that will produce flowering plants for pollinator organisms to use in pollination of other plants.
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Animals, Soil, Trees
Fourth graders describe the various kinds of soils and how plants and animals are affected by them. They describe the baic needs of plants, scoring at least a 3 or 4 on a 4-point rubic. Students are able to predict and/or infer what...
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Ecology: Why Are Rice Fields Suitable Habitats for Birds?
Fifth graders discover the uses for rice by reading about the habitats of certain birds. In this agriculture lesson, 5th graders research birds from the Gulf Coast and California and their reasons for living in rice fields. Students...
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Design a Pollinator
High schoolers make a scientific drawing of a pollinator with at least five traits that make them well adapted to a given plant(s). They describe in their science notebook the adaptations that make their pollinator well suited to a given...
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Can Fun Gus Help Plants/Trees Grow?
Students participate in an experiment in which they test the growth of different types of plants. They discover how growth rates vary using inoculum. They draw pictures and are read books about plants to end the activity.