The Barefoot Teacher: insects

Showing posts with label insects. Show all posts
Showing posts with label insects. Show all posts
Are you looking for activities for an insect or firefly life cycle unit? If so, then here's a blog post for you! This "How to Survive as a Firefly" FREE book companion activity is a fun way for students to gather and organize facts that they learn about fireflies. It's a great way to incorporate science and non-fiction into your lesson plans. #fireflies #insects #bugs #kindergarten #booksforkids #camping #bookcompanion #bugactivities #activitiesforkids #flipbook
**Book images created by Erica Salcedo are used with permission from The Innovation Press**
**This post contains affiliate links.**

I was recently given a copy of the book 
How to Survive as a Firefly 

by Kristen Lootes and illustrated by Erica Salcedo. 

It was my first time seeing (or even having heard of) the book, so I was excited to read it.  Before even opening the book, I realized that I really don't know anything at all about fireflies...except that they are a ton of fun to catch in the summer at dusk! 

I found this book to be a delightful and incredibly funny informational book for kids ages 5-10. If you teach an insect unit, or about fireflies or the life cycle of fireflies, then this book is a must-have for you and your students. 

I made a FREE Firefly Life Cycle Flip Book for students to use as a fun way to gather and organize facts that they learn while reading! 

Ok, so let me tell you a little bit about the book. You can also download a PREVIEW of the book and take a look for yourself!

"How to Survive as a Firefly"  is written in a story format, having an adult firefly educate the newly hatched firefly eggs on what they will need to do throughout their life to survive. 

It covers everything in a very humorous, yet informationally accurate way. From life cycle info, to vocabulary terms, to parts of the body...it has it all! Even a glosser is included at the end of the book. 

Students can work on the companion resource before reading the book. This will give them time to gather any background information they have on fireflies, as well as wonder about them. 
Have them start out by coloring the flip book cover page.

Then they can cut out all of the pages and glue them together. It can dry while they initially read the book. After reading it, they can go back and look for information that they'd like to include in the flip book. The first page has students simply write out the four stages of a firefly's life cycle. They can add quick sketches of each stage too, if they'd like!

Then they can write down facts specific to each stage of the life cycle. Starting with the Egg stage:
Then on to the Larva stage:
And next the Pupa stage:
And finally, the adult stage:

The final page give students a chance to jot down some unique, or their favorite, facts that they learned about fireflies.

After it's finished, students can use it to review or reflect on. They can use it to study from (if there is any type of assessment over the information) or just take it home to share what they learned with family and friends! 

Enjoy How to Survive as a Firefly Life Cycle Flip Book absolutely FREE. Don't forget to leave a review of the resource. I very much appreciate your opinions and feedback on activities that I create!

-Til next time

     
Are you looking for activities for an insect or firefly life cycle unit? If so, then here's a blog post for you! This "How to Survive as a Firefly" FREE book companion activity is a fun way for students to gather and organize facts that they learn about fireflies. It's a great way to incorporate science and non-fiction into your lesson plans. #fireflies #insects #bugs #kindergarten #booksforkids #camping #bookcompanion #bugactivities #activitiesforkids #flipbook

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Last week we started our bug unit! Ewwww....gross! 

We're wrapping things up this week, but I thought I'd go ahead 
and share some of the fun things we've done!

We started the week with Eric Carle's 
The Grouchy Ladybug

 

This book is about the meeting of two ladybugs on a leaf who both are wanting some aphids. The larger (quite arrogant) ladybug challenges the other to a fight but then decides he's not worth fighting because of his smaller size. 

Throughout the book, the arrogant ladybug searches for bigger and bigger animals to fight. Each page of the book gets larger and larger as the sizes of the animals increase. In the end, the ladybug is put slapped back into place by the great blue whale. He then decides to be nice and share the aphids. 

What a perfect lesson for this time of year! 
When students are getting 
grouchy, demanding, and selfish
(A good reminder for us teachers too!)


Now, I know Kindergartners are no longer required to be taught time, 
but if you do still teach it, this book is a great resource to support that. 



I love finding the stories we read together, read aloud online too-
Here is a link to...



I found this fun, twirling ladybug craft for my students to do too! 

Find directions and watch them twirl in the wind here!

We stuck to red ladybugs! 






This is how ours turned out! Love them!



In other bug news...

I created these fun positional word, activity readers for 
the kids to add to their book boxes. 


They loved them! AND  it helped them meet:
CCSS.Math.Content.K.G.A.1 Describe objects in the environment using names of shapes, and describe the relative positions of these objects using terms such as abovebelowbesidein front ofbehind, and next to.

They are exciting to read as well! 




Want this for your class too? You can find it at my store for only $2!

Just click here!




I also found these AWESOME writing and cut/paste labeling 
bug activities from a great seller on TPT. 



As we learned about various bugs throughout the week, 
I pulled them up on the Smartboard and talked about them at carpet time. 
I then left them up there during center time so that students 
could use it as a resource as they recalled what they had learned.


 The kids enjoyed sprawling out on the carpet to fill in their bug labels!



Find these at Regina Davis's store!


One of our writing times brought out all kinds of buggy stories! 
These are some of Deanna Jump's writing sheets that 
we've been using this year.

I gave the students the following prompt:

If you could be any bug in the world, what would you be? 
And what would you do?

Here are a couple of responses!


 "I am a bee. I am drinking from a flower."

And one more...

"If I was a butterfly I would flap my wings and they would be pretty."


At carpet time, we watched some pretty neat videos 
about various bugs. Check out what we saw!

Click NEXT TO the P button in the middle of the video screen to watch it!
THE LADYBUG (The life cycle of a ladybug)

The Lonely Lightening Bug


Caterpillar to Butterfly


butterfly life cycle (metamorphosis) song


The Very Hungry Caterpillar-Puppet Show

I'll close now by leaving you this song:
Find the music here.

Shoo Fly Don't Bother Me!


Shoo fly, don't bother me.
Shoo fly, don't bother me.
Shoo fly, don't bother me.
For I belong to somebody.

I feel, I feel
I feel like a morning star.
I feel, I feel
I feel like a morning star.

I feel, I feel
I feel like a morning star.
I feel, I feel
I feel like a morning star.

Oh!

Shoo fly, don't bother me.
Shoo fly, don't bother me.
Shoo fly, don't bother me.
For I belong to somebody.

I feel, I feel
I feel like a morning star.
I feel, I feel
I feel like a morning star.

I feel, I feel
I feel like a morning star.
I feel, I feel
I feel like a morning star.

Oh!

Shoo fly, don't bother me.
Shoo fly, don't bother me.
Shoo fly, don't bother me.
For I belong to somebody.


Til next time...
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