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Brooklyn Greenbridge

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Grades 3 - 5 Activity: Insect Hunt

Goal:

Searching for the insects that live in different areas of the garden will help children develop a sense of the ways that animals and plants depend on each other and will encourage them to see the garden and its different areas as habitats.

Time:

Allow 2 hours.

Materials:

Activity sequence:

  1. Start by asking the group:
    • What sorts of insects live in the garden?
    • What do they eat?
    • How are they helpful in the garden? (eating harmful insects, decomposing, pollinating)
    • How are they harmful? (eating plant parts, nesting in plants)
    • Where do insects live in the garden?
  2. Explain that you are going to have an insect hunt. There are many, many different kinds of insects in the garden. Divide the children into four groups. Each group will explore a different habitat. A habitat is the place where a given species, or kind of animal, lives. You may want to ask the children to describe their own habitats to help them understand this term.
  3. Give each group collecting jars and magnifying glasses, plus the specific tools needed for the area they are going to investigate. Explain to the whole group how each group is going to find their insects, and then send the children off to work.
    • Group 1 will look in soil and compost. Give this group a frame to define their digging area (which you will probably want to choose for them), a bucket full of compost and enough shovels for each child.
    • Group 2 will do a "shakedown" of shrubs and other plants. Give them a white sheet to lay on the ground on the edge of a shrubby area. Have them shake the shrubs. The sheet will catch the insects they "shake down" and make them easier to see and study.
    • Group 3 will search in a grassy lawn area. Give them a frame to define the area they will hunt in.
    • Group 4 will hunt for flying insects. Give them the pillowcases and show them how to sweep them through the air in figure-eight motions, holding the pillowcase mouth open with their pinkies and thumbs, then squeezing the mouth shut to contain the insects before moving them to their jars. (They will probably catch some bees; warn them of this.)
  4. After 10 or 15 minutes of hunting, ask the children to come back together to share their insects with the others. Let them look in the field guides to try to identify their insects, their various body parts and their habits.
  5. Ask each child to choose one insect to make a large drawing of, showing as much detail as they can see with their magnifying glasses.
  6. When children have drawn some real garden creatures, have them return the insects to their habitats. Ask the children to create and draw some imaginary insects, showing parts and markings that make them helpful or harmful in the garden.

Background information:

Here are three good field guides and a nice introduction to insects for this age group:

Rules:

Make it clear to the children that they should try not to harm the insects. They should treat them gently and with respect, returning them to their homes after examining them.