Open House Bugs Unit and a Freebie

We are really bugging out in my classroom! I am about 3 weeks from open house, but we are almost ready! Each afternoon, I dedicate 20 minutes to informational reading. We have been using my Bugging Out Unit to read, write, and explore the world of insects.

I started the our unit of informational reading with this great close reading passage. I asked the kids, “Are you an insect?” “No!” they yelled! I asked are you sure? How do you know? They didn’t know. So we read the passage below titled “Are you an insect?”

After reading it once, we determined that while we are similar to insects (legs, heads, abdomens),  we are very different and indeed NOT insects. (What a relief- That was a close one!) We did a second close read of the passage to see if we were able to remember main parts of an insect’s body.  Then we began studying specific insects. We began with these darling busy bees. I started our 2-week study on bugs with a fluency passage called “Busy Busy Honeybees”.

The kids were insane for the videos I showed them on making honey, queen bees, bee dancing, and finding nectar. Of course, I included all those links in this unit. The common core wants us learning from multi media. I took that to heart when lesson planning for my students.  As a bonus we watched the Magic School Bus video on Bees!

After bees we headed into our study of ants!

I made a giant ant hill and we began learning about the different jobs an ant might have inside the anthill. We color coded our answers on the Anthill passage to verify our thinking was correct. The children all got to chose a job in anthill and do a little write up in our folded art. This art took us minutes, but the the learning and visual impact are big!

 

Our ladybug study started with a grammar lesson. We discussed compound words and how the compound word actually reveals meaning. A snowman is a man-like shape made out of snow. A backpack is a pack we wear on our backs. It was the biggest ah-ha moment for them. They were dazzled! We created compound word ladybugs, read about the life cycle of the ladybug, and enjoyed another week of fluency. 

 

Our study on the praying mantis was outrageous and fun. I bought a preying mantis egg case and the children are obsessed with watching over it. The passage and art were full of rigor and fun!

Lastly, we moved onto butterflies, which are my favorite bug! 

We read text, color coded our questions and answers, made stunning art, and we wrote. The kids wrote like champions because they had learned so much! The Q-Tip Art paining was so easy!!!! These butterflies took us 5 minutes!!! 

The art and Butterfly Fact and Opinion is a freebie from me to you! Just a few more things to do, like our ladybug writing and I am getting close to being ready! This is such a fun time in the year and I can’t wait for this Open House to be my best yet!!! If you are looking for a great lesson plans and activities about bugs, look no further.

 

Remember to download your free monarch butterfly activity.