Utah State Science Core: Science ILO's (Observation, categorizing)

TALONS Category: Observation of Organisms

Objective: Students will investigate different bugs collected overnight in bug bowls.

Season: Any, but it can be lame in winter.

Materials Needed: Cereal bowls, jug, water, dish soap, strainer, paper plates or small dishes, microscopes

Time Needed: Day 1: 10-30 minutes (if guided), several units (if open)
Day 2: 30 minutes

Background: Natural areas may be difficult to come by in a school, but this lesson plan takes advantage of the fact that insects are abundant in any habitat.

Engage: Show a short segment of video from a nature show about insects. Microcosmos is very good, and can be funny. Don’t show the whole movie…just one scene is enough. Chose your favorite scene, show it and then ask the class “What insects do we have here?” (“Here” can be defined as you please. The school yard, the classroom, the broom closet, etc.)  A scene from "A Bug's Life" might also be appropriate, again, don't show the whole film, but just one scene to capture attention.

Explore: Students report what insects they think are “here.” Write down all of their comments on the board or in some area where they can refer to it later.

Guided inquiry option: Prepare bug bowls to catch insects. 1. Fill a jug with water. 2. Add a few drops of dish soap to the jug, put on the cap, and shake it up. 3. Fill cereal bowls with the soapy water. 4. Place the bowls in areas where you think you will catch insects. 5. Leave overnight. Collect the cereal bowls in the morning and look at what is in them. Break into groups, each group with a bowl of their own. Strain the insects out of the bowls with the strainer. Have the groups sort their insects on the plates, according to their similarities (ie, wings, body segments, size of eyes, whatever categories the students choose). Have the students share their grouping systems with each other, and justify why they did it in that way.

Open inquiry option: How would you catch insects? Have the students devise an easy system for catching insects and employ it.  Look at what you catch and break into groups to sort and classify insects.

Explain

Sort the insects according to their similiarities or differences.  Name the groups.  There might be a "spider" group, and a "tiny fly" group, and a "bee" group.  After the insects are sorted, ask the students why they chose to sort in that way.  Introduce that scientists have a classification system, too, that was developed in much the same way as what they just did. Animals, insects and plants are grouped according to their similarities to each other, and their differences with other organisms.

Elaborate

Ask the students if insects have a role.  What makes them important?  Investigate the uses of insects in the production of products (silk, food products), economic importance, the importance of insects in a food web.

Evaluate/Assessment

Have each student write a short story about an insect's life.