Crickets

Learning Experience 6, Session 1: Crickets

Materials: For list, see curriculum guide

Learning Target:
 * I can list what insects need to survive.
 * I can describe how crickets behave, and their physical characteristics.

Procedure:
 * Show students the crickets in the plastic bag. Ask if anyone knows what they are.
 * Ask them to remember what insects need to survive. Do they have all those things in a plastic bag?
 * Assemble the cricket habitat in a place where everyone can watch. Show them all the materials, and let them touch them and look at them. Explain that these are all the things you need to make a cricket habitat. You can have the directions written up large for students to read; connect to non-fiction “how-to” texts.
 * //Note: Do not follow the instructions from the curriculum. You can just fill a clear container with ¼ inch of sand, and put some egg carton sections in for hiding. Put a damp cotton ball and some fish food on a small lid.//
 * Transfer the crickets to the habitat. Students can gently catch any that escape.
 * Have the class count the crickets and explain that we will keep counting them over time. If there are ever fewer, we will have to figure out why.
 * Routine maintenance of crickets will include:
 * Replacing damp cotton ball.
 * Watering the sand a little bit with a spray bottle.
 * Adding small bits of food such as small fruit pieces or lettuce, and fish food.
 * Tell students they will be watching the crickets for interesting behaviors such as:
 * Eating
 * Drinking
 * Antenna movements
 * Jumping
 * Chirping
 * Mating
 * Egg laying
 * Arrival of nymphs
 * Growth
 * Death
 * Start a class journal for the crickets, where anyone can write down whatever they observe the crickets doing. OR establish a cricket section of each child’s science notebook for observations.