Curated OER
Learning to Resist: Watercolor
Consider wax resist drawings as a way to bridge art and science. Learners view, discuss, and practice drawing insects or animals using waxy crayons. They pay attention to the creature's features as they create images with watercolor and...
Curated OER
Insects
Introduce your unit on insects with this six-slide PowerPoint presentation. Characteristics of an insect are briefly discussed, including two informative diagrams. Tip: After showing this presentation, ask students to share what they...
Curated OER
I Wish I Were a Butterfly
Young scholars inquire about biology by reading a children's book in class. In this insect instructional activity, students read the story "I Wish I Were a Butterfly" and identify the unique characteristics of butterflies and other...
Curated OER
Insects
Students study the characteristics and basic needs of insects. They compare and describe similarities among insects. They examine the body structure, covering, and movement of insects and also, examine insect life cycles in this unit of...
Curated OER
Bugs Lesson Plan
Students complete a unit of lessons on insects. They participate in a bug hunt, construct paper flowers, discuss pollination, create bug paperweights and insect mobiles, play bug charades, and participate in a bug scavenger hunt.
Other
Bugbios: Class Insecta
See pictures of many different butterfly wing patterns and read about the individual butterflies.
University of Michigan
University of Michigan Critter Catalog: Insects
A thorough site that provides a description of the characteristics of insects and then focuses on the insects of southeastern Michigan. Pictures, classification groupings, and sound clips of insects are included.
University of Arizona
U of Arizona: Using Live Insects in Elem. Classrooms
A collection of twenty lessons with science and math activities that use live insects.
Earth Life
Wonderful World of Insects: An Introduction to the 32 Orders of Insects
A very thorough look at the world of insects. This site examines the 32 orders of insects and gives a complete explanation of the characteristics of each order. Text is supplemented with pictures.
PBS
Pbs Critter Guide: Butterfly
Can you name the four parts of the life cycle of the butterfly? This site features a brief but detailed description of the life cycle of a butterfly and some other fun facts about this interesting insect.
Other
Billy Bear4 Kids: Butterflies and Bugs
BillyBear4Kids.com is a great butterfly resource with links to butterfly cut-outs, flashcards, bookmarks, crafts, online games, and more. Scroll down for reproducibles.
Regents of the University of Michigan
Animal Diversity Web: Class Insecta
The Animal Diversity Web surveys the general characteristics of the insect class and features such topics as habitat, anatomy, body systems, reproduction, and development.
Other
The Bug Club: Bug Pets
The Bug Club for young entomologists offers answers to insect questions, a colorful newspaper, and invertebrate caresheets if you're interested in keeping bugs as pets.
University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky: Brown Recluse Spider
Webpage reference on the brown recluse spider which is more poisonous than a black widow and is more often found infesting homes and businesses.
US Department of Agriculture
Us Dept. Of Agriculture: Agricultural Research Service: Not All Bugs Are Bad
Find out who an entomologist is and how they are using good bugs to control the population of bad bugs. Resource by Agricultural Research Service.
University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky: Insects All Year
The University of Kentucky provides information and activities about insects for each month of the year. Projects include art and observational activities.
Environmental Education for Kids
Eek!: Cicada
This site provides a brief but concise description of this interesting insect. Grades 4-8.
Michigan Reach Out
Reach Out: What Is an Insect
A thorough lesson plan site that explores the definition and characteristics of an insect. Contains several informative links. Suggests a number of hands on activities.
Other
Personal Site: The Virtual Insectary
This colorful site not only provides images of some common insects, but includes information on the foods which they eat as well as the habitats where they can be found.
PBS
Pbs Teachers: Scientific American: Wild Places: Identifying Species
Sort and classify insects and spiders by characteristics, using stamps from the United States postal stamp Classic Collection. Create a taxonomic key to distinguish between any four animals.