The following lesson is a science lesson about spiders integrating the subjects of art, music, language arts, and dance. Students will learn about which kind of spiders may live in their backyard, read a story about a spider, make a paper spider, sing a spider song, and perform hand gestures along with the song.
Pronged Focus:
•Use the following subject areas.
Science-Talk about which spiders live in the student’s back yard. Talk about parts of a spider. Language Arts-Read a spider story.
•Integrate the following two arts.
Art-Make a paper spider.
Music-Sing “Itsy Bitsy Spider”
Dance-Perform hand gestures while singing song Materials Needed:
Paper Book Pictures of spiders
Pipe Cleaners Scissors Glue
Student Objectives:
Students will:
1. Create their own spiders.
2. Listen to a story about spiders
3 . Identify common spiders 4. Participate in “Itsy Bitsy Spider” dance Teaching Procedure:
Introduction: (10 minutes)
1 . Ask students who has ever seen a spider. Where have you seen it?
2. Ask who is afraid of spiders. Why are you afraid of them?
3. Tell them that there are spiders all over the place from their yard to their bedroom.
4. Read a spider story
Development: (15 minutes)
1 . Talk about main parts of a spider, and what their purpose is.
•Legs-A spider has eight legs, which help them to grab prey, and guide silk thread. Each leg has two or three claws. If a young spider loses a leg it often times will grow back.
•Spinnerets -Most have six. They are used for drawing liquid silk from silk glands. Main function is the spinning of the web.
•Cephalothorax-Houses the brain, stomach, fangs, and eyes.
•Abdomen-Contains guts, heart, reproductive organs and silk glands.
•Fangs-They spring out and inject poison when biting prey.
•Palps-Sensory feelers for touching and moving prey.
•Eyes-Most have eight but still do not see very well.
2. Tell which they can find near their home or in the state they live
•Orb weaving spider-spins a beautiful web
•Trapdoor spider-emerges from what looks like a tiny manhole cover in your yard.
•Common ground spider-Has no web, moves about at night, and has markings that look like a priest’ s collar.
•Daddy-long-legs spider-Looks like a small beetle on stilts, with eight knees sticking in the air.
•Crab Spider-Scampers sideways like a crab, or is vibrantly bright sitting inside a flower.
3. Discuss why they spin a web.
•A spider spins a web for the purpose of catching and eating of prey. The victim falls into the web and the spider quickly makes a cocoon around the prey and extracts the blood through the use of the fangs.
4. Explain that some are poisonous.
Conclusion: (20 minutes)
1. Construct a spider out of paper and pipe cleaners.
2. Perform “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and sing the first verse.
3. Make up spider dance using their own created spider (groups). Assessment:
4. Student’s spiders will be displayed on wall in back of room. They will also be evaluated on their participation in dance and singing.