Zoology I, Week 3: Termite, Ant, Wasp, Honeybee

Here are some notes from our third week of Zoology I, where we focused on the Social Insects!

Zoology I, Week 1: Cuttlefish, Nautilus, Snail

Zoology I, Week 2: Clam, Jellyfish, Earthworm, Fish

Monday, January 21

• review Fish and Earthworm, review Friday's drawing assignment (drawing the form of trunk animals by drawing their habitats)
• look at Pygmy Seahorse fact file card from the Coral Reef Habitat Mat and discuss this differently-shaped fish whose shape is also dictated in a very specific way by its permanent habitat
• look at Earthworm leaf and fact file card from the Tree of Life, read earthworm facts
  The Most Influential Species of All Evolution

  The Evolution of Earthworms

  10 Interesting Facts about Earthworms

• read list of fish included in Douglas Florian's in the swim, review list of fish included in the Coral Reef Habitat Mat, let students choose fish
• add The Earthworm and The Fish to MLB
• read "The Termite" from page 38 of Douglas Florian's insectlopedia, explain term "social insects"
• watch portions of David Attenborough's Life in the Undergrowth
  episode 1 - Invasion of the Land
  first portion, approx 22 minutes

  episode 5 - Supersocieties
  chapter 5, "Termites"

  
  

Tuesday, January 22

• finish up earthworm and fish miscellany: look at information about the largest earthworm in the world in Steve Jenkin's Actual Size, watch PBS video Pygmy Seahorses: Masters of Camouflage
• look at Carpenter Bee leaf and fact file card from the Tree of Life, explain term Hymenoptera
• read "The Social Insects," pages 47-49 of Klocek
• review termite, look at giant anteater information in Steve Jenkin's What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
• watch all of episode 5, Supersocieties, from Life in the Undergrowth by David Attenborough
• give students time to brainstorm their Termite and Ant main lesson book pages, share suggested resources from the classroom
  Drawing from the Book of Nature by Dennis Klocek

  What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins

  insectlopedia by Douglas Florian
  "The Army Ants," page 12
  "The Termites," page 38

  Animal Architects: Amazing Animals Who Build Their Homes by Daniel Nassar & Julio Antonio Blasco
  "An Airy Spire - Termite," page 10
  "An Underground Garden - Leafcutter Ant," page 12

• look up answers to student questions (how many different species of termites are there, how many different species of ants are there, do ants build bridges)
  How Army Ants Build Bridges Out of Their Own Bodies

  Fun Facts about Ants and Ant Information for Kids

Thursday, January 24

• suggest The Wonder World of Ants by Wilfrid S. Bronson as a chapter book resource; read chapter 21, "The Lion Hunt," pages 187-194 from The Burgess Book of Nature Lore by Thornton W. Burgess
• look at pictures of antlion larva sand pit trap and adult antlion
• complete termite art project for MLB (torn construction paper collage), review illustrations in insectlopedia and Animal Architects
• read The Ant and the Grasshopper by Amy Lowry Poole
• complete ant art project for MLB (negative space chalk on brown paper); review Leah's MLB illustration, Poole's book, insectlopedia and Animal Architects
• review the three parts of the insect (head, thorax, abdomen)
• add The Termite and The Ant to MLB
• read "Wasp: Environment and Temperament," pages 50-52 of Klocek, look at illustrations, look at and touch paper wasp nest
• review the life cycle of the insect (egg, larva, pupa, adult)
• read wasp information from Zombie Makers: True Stories of Nature's Undead by Rebecca L. Johnson
  "Control Freaks," page 26
  Zombie Maker: The Parasitoid Wasp, Glyptapanteles spp.
  Zombie Victim: Moth Caterpillars, Thyrinteina leucocerae
  North and South America

  "Can We Eat the Babysitter?," page 22
  Zombie Maker: The Jewel Wasp, Ampulex compressa
  Zombie Victim: Cockroaches, Periplaneta americana
  tropical parts of Africa, South Asia, and the Pacific Islands

  
  

Friday, January 25

Morning

• finish up termite and ant miscellany: read "The Anteater" (page 10) and "The Ants" (page 20) poems from Douglas Florian's Beast Feast, read Baby Ants Have a Host of Unexpected Superpowers article
• perform "The Digger Wasp" from Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman, page 23
• read chapter 14, "Sue Tries Detecting," pages 125-134 from The Burgess Book of Nature Lore by Thornton W. Burgess, recommend additional chapters for further reading on wasps and bees
  chapter 15, "The Fairy Bottles," page 135

  chapter 23, "The Paper Makers," page 205

  chapter 10, "The Little Bee Box," page 89

  chapter 11, "Sammy Loses the Line," page 97

• review termites and ants, review solitary and social wasps, review solitary and social bees (leafcutter bee, carpenter bee, bumblebee, honeybee), study the word < colony > in SWI
• honeybee presentation from special guest Mark Fletter, beekeeper from Dayempur Farm

Afternoon

• read "Every Insect" poem by Dorothy Aldis in Animals Animals
• add The Wasp to MLB
• share suggested resources from the classroom

  Jason and the Bees by Brom Hoban

  Dragonfly Beetle Butterfly Bee by Maryjo Koch

  Animal Architects: Amazing Animals Who Build Their Homes by Daniel Nassar & Julio Antonio Blasco
  "A Commuter Town - Honeybee," page 18

• perform "Honeybees" from Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman, page 29

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