Introduction to the Milk Weed Ecosystem

Akbar Rasheed Muhammad, Saint Paul Academy and Summit School, Saint Paul, MN

Summary

Anticipatory Set:
This lesson will be an introduction to our unit on "Insects". I will ask students a question like this "How many of you have seen an insect before?" Next, I will ask students if they think they can name some insects. I will challenge the students to see how many insects we can think of as a class. Then I will ask "Why did you pick those organism as insects?" I will put their responses on the board.


Lesson Plan:
Students will be going outside in the garden area where milk weed has grown. Students will be making observations and drawing everything they observe on the milk weed plants. We will be doing this for about 20-25 minutes. Students will be looking specifically at the number of body parts on the organisms they observe such as the number of legs, eyes, and antennae etc. When we return to the classroom students will pair up, 1st grade with 2nd grade for about 10 minutes to go over their drawings. Then as a class we will see if students can identify the insects they were able to be observe by their description. Students will pair up, 1st grade with 2nd grade for about 10 minutes. Lastly, students will come back together as a whole class and make their hypothesis about what type of organism they have drawn on their paper.

Used this activity? Share your experiences and modifications

Learning Goals

Objectives:
At the end of the lesson students will be able to:
- Observe milk weed, monarch butterflies, ants, aphids, lady bugs, monarch instars
- Identify a monarch butterfly, ant, aphid, ladybug, monarch instar
- Compare and contrast a monarch butterfly versus a monarch instar
- Compare and contrast organisms of the same species
- Communicate the criteria for being classified an insect

Context for Use

This lesson is used to start the unit on "Insects and Butterflies". It will be with an inquiry lesson to see how much students know, before starting the lesson. The lesson starts off with an introduction asking about insects. Students brainstorm and name organisms that they think are insects. Next, students will be instructed that they are going outside for outdoor exploration. The tools needed for this activity are: clipboard, pencil, crayons/colored pencils, and magnifying glasses. Students have already learned how to use all these tools by this time in the year. I would use this activity with up to 25 students, could possibly do with more, it depends on how much milk weed is available. This activity usually lasts about 30-40 minutes, with 5 minutes to recap what was observed and learned. I think this activity can be easily adaptable to almost to any grade level.

Description and Teaching Materials

Students will be doing a hands-on field activity most of the lesson. Before students are allowed to go on to outdoor exploration, I will need to get background information on what they know about the topic of lesson, which is insects. Students will then be asked to name some organisms that you think are insects. After that students who name an organism will be asked, "Why do you think the organism they pick was an insect?" I will put their answers on the board too. Next, students will be paired up and given clipboard, pencil, crayons/colored pencils, plastic container, and magnifying glass. The students will be reminded about what the goals are for the outdoor exploration time. Students will be observing milk weed as well as the living and non-living things that occupy it. Lastly, students will come in and share what they have found and describe how many legs it has, antennae, and eyes each organism had that they observed. Then we will discuss what makes them think the organisms they have found are insects.

Teaching Notes and Tips

I have found that at the end of the project that sometimes students think that insects and bugs are the same organisms, but they are not. Bugs are different from insects and I usually tell the students this once we have a completed the criteria for classifying an organism as an insect.
The number 1 safety rule I follow with my first and second graders is students MUST always ask permission to pick up anything that is alive during outdoor exploration time. All the insects that are on the milk weed are harmless, except for maybe an occasional bee. I want them to get into the good habit of asking before picking up things outside.

Assessment

Students will be given pictures of different organisms and they will be putting them into groups either insect or not an insect. Since I have first and second graders, for the first part they will be paired up together, so that each student will have enough time to practice knowing the criteria to classify organisms as insects. Next, we will do this exercise as a whole class. I will ask students to compare the monarch butterfly to an instar. What are some similarities versus the differences?
The following activity will be done individually. Students will be playing insect bingo. I will be using dice that have pictures of an insects or names. Students will have their own board and will have to know the name or picture in order to cover the correct spot. The winner will receive a small prize at the end of class. I usually do this 4 times during the unit. Students love it and enjoy getting better a identifying the insects.

Standards

1st Grade
Heredity: Individual differences within a population.
Differences exist among individuals of the same species.

2nd Grade
Organisms: Recognize life cycles.
Describe plant and animal life cycles.
Diversity and interdependence: organisms live in different environments.

References and Resources