Imagination and problem-solving go to work as children check out real bugs and create their own.

• 1.

  Look at butterflies and moths, ladybugs, spiders, worms, and a variety of other insects. Talk about what you see in terms of shapes, colors, patterns, and body parts.

• 2.

  With Crayola® Model Magic, form a 3-dimensional bug. Repeat the shapes, colors, and patterns found in nature or be imaginative and design a fantasy bug.

• 3.

  Use modeling tools such as plastic knives, craft sticks, or drinking straws to cut and shape the dough.

Standards

• LA: Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
• LA: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
• LA: Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when , why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
• LA: Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., read a number of books on a single topic to produce a report; record science observations).
• SCI: Ask questions about the natural and human-built worlds.
• SCI: Construct drawings or diagrams as representations of events or systems.
• VA: Use different media techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories.
• VA: Select and use subject matter, symbols, and ideas to communicate meaning.

Adaptations

• Possible classroom resources include: The Best Book of Bugs by Claire Llewellyn; Big Book of Bugsby Theresa Greenaway; The Bug Book by Hugh Danks; Bugs, Bugs, Bugsby Bob Barner; I Like Bugs by Margaret Wise Brown
• During the study of bugs, students make a conscious effort to repeat vocabulary terms that are associated with bugs. Students choose a term to write and illustrate on construction paper strips using Crayola Crayons. Dedicate a classroom bulletin board to these vocabulary strips. Have students organize their strips alphabetically and post them on the classroom bulletin board. Younger students can be challenged to identify specific phonetic studies that are present in their new vocabulary terms and a part of current class study.
• Student teams use their new knowledge about bugs to compose an original poem about selected bug(s). Encourage students to have their poems rhyme. Students hand-write and illustrate their original poems, using Crayola Crayons and/or colored pencils. Student teams can also be videotaped reading their original poems. Video files can be uploaded to a classroom computer for future viewing.
• Students collaborate with classmates to create 3-D models of their selected bugs, using Crayola Model Magic. These models can illustrate the various stages of a bug's life cycle including, for example, the caterpillar, larvae, cocoon, and moth.