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Unit study: Insects

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Insects make a great topic of study for preschoolers, kindergarteners, and early elementary students. Unlike many animals one might choose to study (e.g., polar animals), it is comparatively quite easy to observe the habitats, behaviors, and life cycle of insects up close. These observations may take place either in nature or by creating an insect habitats indoors; both means of observation provide wonderful, hands-on learning experiences for kids!

Over time, my kids and I have studied a variety of different insects. The insect activities we have done have always been a big hit. If you are planning to do a unit study on insects with your kids or students, below I have a number of wonderful resources for insect activities and insect printables that will help make your insect unit a success!

Insects unit study || Gift of Curiosity
 

Insects

Insects are a class of animals characterized by having three pairs of legs, a body segmented into three parts (head, thorax, and abdomen), compound eyes, and one pair of antennae. Most, but not all, insects have wings. Insects represent the largest group of animals on Earth, and are found in nearly all environments on our planet. Insects typically go through a life cycle that includes hatching from an egg, a larva stage, a pupa stage, and finally an adult stage. Below are some insect activities that have been featured at Gift of Curiosity, as well as a number of insect printables geared toward kids.

  • Insect learning activities
  • Insect sensory bin
  • Insect anatomy game
  • Preschool insect activities
  • Up close with insects
  • Bugs galore!
  • Insects Printable Pack
  • Insects Do-a-Dot Printables
  • Insects Grid Games
  • Swat the fly alphabet activity
  • Insects Math Roll and Cover
  • Insects Sudoku
  • Insects Bingo
  • Insects I Spy
  • Insects Fine Motor Pack
  • Insects Coloring Pages
 

Ants

Ants are one of the most numerous kinds of animals on the planet, and have inhabited Earth for more than 100 million years. Unlike most insects that prefer solitude, ants are social creatures that live in colonies with large numbers of other ants. Ant colonies work together to build a nest, gather food, and defend themselves from predators.

  • Learning about ant habitats
  • Teaching kids ant anatomy
  • What do ants like to eat?
  • Books about ants
  • Ant Printables Pack
  • Ant 3-Part Cards
  • Teaching kids ant anatomy
  • Ant Do-a-Dot Printables
  • Ant mazes
 

Ladybugs

Ladybugs, also known as lady bird beetles, are small insects typically less than 1/4 inch (4-8 mm) in size. Their wing covers are typically red, orange, or yellow in color with black spots. Different types of ladybugs have different numbers of spots. Ladybugs are considered useful because they eat aphids and other garden pests. There are about 5,000 different species of ladybugs.

  • Preschool ladybug unit
  • Books about ladybugs
  • Ladybug do-a-dot printables 1
  • Ladybug Printables Pack
  • Ladybug Sudoku
 

Bees

Bees are small flying insects that are found on every continent except Antarctica. They feed on nectar and pollen. One species of bee, the honeybee, produces honey that humans like to eat. Bees play a key role in the pollination of flowering plants, and may be responsible for one in every three bites of food we eat. Unfortunately, bees are currently dying off at an alarming rate, with implications for our food supply.

  • Pattern block beehive
  • Honey taste testing
  • Bee Do-a-Dot Printables
  • Bee Sudoku
 

Butterflies

Butterflies are insects with large, fluttering wings that vary in color and pattern from species to species. Adult butterflies eat nectar from flowers or juice from rotting fruit using a long, straw-like proboscis. Butterflies are found on every continent of the planet except for Antarctica.

  • Butterfly life cycle
  • Butterfly Do-a-Dot Printables 1
  • Butterfly Sudoku
 

Silkworms

The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of the silkmoth. Silkworms are domesticated animals that only exist in captivity. They have lost the ability to fly and thus can no longer survive in nature. They are raised primarily to produce silk, which is harvested from their cocoons. Silkworms eat only one type of food – leaves from the mulberry tree. 

  • Silkworms life cycle
  • Silkworms update
  • Measuring silkworms

For more insect activities, follow me on Pinterest!

Follow Gift of Curiosity’s board Insects and Other Bugs on Pinterest.

Comments

  1. Jackie says

    March 23, 2014 at 5:32 pm

    Hi, Katie!

    I just want to say super thank you for these ideas and very helpful resources you have put together.
    I am a K1 teacher here in Hong Kong and i have searching for a ” Insects” themed worksheets and games. So glad I have found your site! thank you once again so much you are such a helpful angel.

    Jackie

    Reply
  2. Dulce says

    April 7, 2014 at 7:36 am

    Thank you for all your hard work! My ELLs love and understand your units without any problems!!

    Reply
    • Katie says

      April 7, 2014 at 8:45 am

      ¡Qué gusto me da que sus estudiantes que estén aprendiendo el inglés puedan utilizar mis imprimibles sin problemas! I spent 7 years working with ELLs and then did my PhD research on language and literacy development among dual language learners. I have a real passion for kids who are learning English. 🙂 Best of luck to you and your students!

      Reply
  3. Pat says

    April 24, 2014 at 7:43 pm

    Thanks so much for putting this pack together! Awesome! It had great activities for my 3 year old and totally challenged my 4.5 year old! They’re enjoying the activities so much they don’t want to stop doing the work sheets when we start them. Finding this site has also motivated me to start doing consistent sensory play with them. They are totally loving all the activities. 🙂 plus I am motivated to guide them since you make the packs and ideas so easy to follow through with at home. I work full time and don’t have much time in the afternoons, so you make it easy to plan my “daily hourly” activities before dinner time. We are going to the zoo this weekend and I got some great ideas from your site to discuss arctic animals and insects. Please keep up the good work, you have given me some much needed “spark”! 🙂

    Reply
    • Katie says

      April 24, 2014 at 8:30 pm

      Pat,

      Thank you so much for taking the time to comment and let me know how my materials are benefitting you and your children. It is so gratifying to know that I can help children learn and families connect with my work on this blog. I know that parents are busy and pressed for time, so I’m glad you are finding my resources easy to use with your children.

      All the best to you and your family,
      Katie

      Reply
  4. Astrid says

    April 29, 2014 at 6:28 pm

    Thank you very much for all the ideas and activities that you so kind share with us! My students are enjoying all the activities and games that I print from your site. Really, I enjoy giving them the worksheets from your packs. They are colorful, educational, and fun for them. Thanks again for sharing your talent and your knowledge with all of us!

    Reply
  5. Sandra Morgan says

    May 1, 2014 at 1:24 am

    Thank you for all the hard work you put into the worksheets that you openly share with other. May God bless you.

    Reply
  6. Wendy Rockwell says

    June 22, 2014 at 4:31 pm

    Very helpful and very appreciated

    Reply

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