Mrs. Drake's room

Ladybugs and Insects

LITERACY

5 Ladybugs interactive big book - we love this book - we work on one to one number correspondence and subtraction while singing the fun song.

Another of our favorite interactive books - The Ants Go Marching - works on recognizing numerals, rhythm, rhyme, and action words. This picture shows the book after we have finished it and all the ants have been moved to the right side.

After reading In the Tall Tall Grass we made our own individual bugs using paper scraps, crayons, markers, whatever. Next couple of pictures shows a finished project.

Fold a green piece of construction paper almost in half. Cut strips in one half to fold to look like grass. On the inside of the fold are the insects. (see next epic)

After reading The Grouchy Ladybug we made our own grouchy ladybugs.

We took magnifying glasses outside to look for bugs. Luckily Texas always has lotsa bugs to discover - ladybugs, flies, spiders, and lovebugs.

We played a board game which has plastic life like bugs which are worn on a cuff. The children roll the dice and follow the instructions - either passing g a bug to player on right or left or putting a bug of color choice into the garden. The first to get rid of all his bugs wins. This game works on colors and insect identification.

Froggy Catch Game
Each child has their own blower. They color a frog and poke a hole in the center and slide it on their blower. I drew and cut out several insects out of gray felt and programmed the back of each insect with a number. Then I put a small piece of the hooked-side of Velcro at the end of each blower.
To play the game a child uses his frog's tongue (blower) to catch a bug (the Velcro will stick to the felt). He then turns the bug over and identifies the number. When finished the child can put the bugs in numerical order.
Extensions of the game - have child catch two bugs and say which number is higher and which is lower. Have child catch a bug, identify number and stack that number of unifix cubes. Have child catch two bugs and write an equation.
Froggy Catch Literacy Game
Program back of bugs with alphabet. Child catches bug, identifies letter and sound.
Extension: Program back of bugs with consonants. Use magnetic letters to make a word family, such as "at" on table. Child catches a bug, identifies the letter and sound, places it in front of the word family to make a new word. Child can write new word also.

More Ladybug and Insect ideas here

Mrs. Drake's Classroom

Ladybugs and Insects

LITERACY