Elementary School

Scientific organization of the animal and plant world

Kathleen Weidenbach is a fifth grade teacher at Pratt Community School in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Kate's insect unit lasts a whole year and involves every learning disciplin, including arts, writing, systematic, and experimental design. The students raise monarch butterflies rearing them from larva while collecting data, making observations on the lifestyle and then learning to pin the adults. The students also choose an insect that they research using field guides, write reports on, build color models and make detailed drawings of their insect. Kate arranges visits by University of Minnesota sceince specialists from the Bell Museum of Natural History to educate the students to possible careers in science,  especially entomology. To learn how you can implement this project in your classroom see: Insect Unit.

Caterpillars- What kind of food do Caterpillars like best?

 Terri Potter, first grade teacher at Cassidy Elementary School in Lexington, Kentucky, uses insects in her classroom as a model for teaching a variety of different topics such as life cycles, classification of animals, and scientific method. According to Terri, throughout the year, she used insects in a variety of different ways. For example, she introduces students to graphing as a math concept which involves moths. Each student has their own caterpillar, which they name. The Students spend time observing them with magnifying glasses and watching them eat and then make their cocoons. The students work on their graph on which day each caterpillar spun its cocoon and then when each moth emerges. To learn how you can implement this project in your classroom see: What Kind of Food do Caterpillars Like Best?

Junior High School

Teaching Students how to Design an Experiment and Investigate Abiotic and Biotic Factors Affecting Arthropods

Janice Hari is an eighth grade science teacher and Science Coordinator at Urbana Middle School in Urbana Illinois. Jan was part of a National Science Foundation program where she was paired with Ph.D. candidate Matthew Richardson of University of Illinois. The goal was to improve science education in primary and secondary schools and for the Fellows to learn about teaching in the classroom. With his help, Jan developed her lesson plan using aphids. This project provides students with a framework that allows them to design a research project and student modifications of plant herbivore interactions. Check out Janice's program here

High School

Cochineal Scale Insects

Michelle Leddel taught at Century High School in Alhambra, California, and is now retired, after teaching for 35 years.  Her educational programs involved the use of cochineal scale insects to teach students about entomology, science, and art. These insects have been used to make paints and dyes, including the red in the British “Red Coats” uniforms. Mrs. Leddel's focus on the cochineal insect, helped to enhance student learning in multiple content areas. The project has received several awards and has resulted in a display at the Los Angeles County Arboretum in Arcadia along with a student-created book. During 2000, Century High School students held a press conference about their project. Click here: Cochineal Insect Project to learn more.

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