Molly Suddes
Jenny Moore
GS 4401
Children’s Literature Assignment
1. Diary of a Spider, written by: Doreen Cronin.
This book is about a younger spider that writes in his diary about things he experiences and learns about being a spider from March to August. He writes about going to school, interacting with worms and flies, and also how spider’s skin molts when they get bigger. Our favorite part about the book is when the spider writes about things that he scares; tiny bugs and people using a water fountain at park. Then he writes about things that scare him; daddy longlegs, vacuums, and people with big feet. The illustrations in the book are very good, and it is a very creative way for younger children to understand about spiders and other insects.
2. Spiders, written by: Seymour Simon.
This is a nonfiction, fact book about spiders. Simon worked with the Smithsonian to write the book. The book talks about how some spiders form webs and others do not. The most interesting fact about the book is that spiders live near human populations, and they are usually not further than twelve feet from human civilization. It is a picture book, but not as interesting and as colorful as the other books.
Spiders, written by: Nic Bishop.
Nic Bishop took many different photographs of spiders up close for us to see. He writes about different spiders that molt, weave webs, hunt, eat, and dance. Most interesting fact I found in the book is that, “Spiders were hunting long before lions and tigers. They were hunting even before Tyrannosaurus rex” (Bishop, 7). It is a good book because it talks about the basics when learning about a spider and interesting facts, especially the worlds biggest spider.
Spiders and Their Webs, written by: Darlyne A. Murawski.
Murawski photographed many spiders in this book for National Geographic. It is a very kid friendly book that shows lots of great pictures and good facts. Each page talks about a spider and the facts that pertain to that spider: scientific name, common names, body size, habitats, and food. It has a page on the different kinds of silk the each spider spins, and an activity for children to do at home or in their classroom. Finally, she has a list of definitions in the back of the book and where to find other spider resources.
3. The lesson plan is written for Kindergarten and First Grade.
Science Objectives:
Kindergarten
Competency Goal 1: The learner will make observations and build an understanding of similarities and differences in animals.
Objectives 1.01- Observe and describe the similarities and differences among animals including: Structure, Growth, Changes, and Movement.
1.02- Observe how animals interact with their surroundings.
1.03- Observe the behaviors of several common animals.
1.04- Demonstrate how to care for a variety of animals.
First Grade
Competency Goal 1: The learner will conduct investigations and make observations to build an understanding of the needs of living organisms.
Objectives 1.02- Investigate the needs of a variety of different animals: air, water, food, shelter, and space.
4. Language Arts Objectives:
Kindergarten
Competency Goal 2: The learner will develop and apply strategies and skills to comprehend text that is read, heard, and viewed.
Objectives 2.01, 2.03, 2.04, 2.05, 2.08, 2.09.
Competency Goal 3: The learner will make connections through the use of oral language, written language, and media and technology.
Objectives 3.01, 3.02, 3.04.
First Grade
Competency Goal 2: The learner will develop and apply strategies and skills to comprehend text that is read, heard, and viewed.
Objectives 2.03, 2.05, 2.06, 2.08.
Competency Goal 4: The learner will apply strategies and skills to create oral, written, and visual texts.
Objectives 4.06.
Competency Goal 5: The learner will apply grammar and language conventions to communicate effectively.
Objectives 5.04, 5.05, 5.07
5. Spider Information
- Eight legs
- Two body parts: head and abdomen.
- Thousands of different kinds of spiders.
- Most spiders have eight eyes, but some have fewer than eight.
- Don’t have ears or noses; they feel the sound vibrations with tiny hairs on their legs.
- Spider blood is light blue.
- All spiders molt; shed old skin and grow a new one. Molt many times before becoming an adult.
- Many spiders live for only a year, Tarantulas can live much longer.
- Different sizes, some are smooth, some are fuzzy, and they come on different colors.
- Some live in water, houses, gardens, and the ground.
- Live in wet and dry climates.
- Live in hot and cold climates.
- They all eat insects.
- Web Weaving: Garden, Brown Recluse, Black Widow etc.
- Non-Web Weaving: Wolf, Crab, Tarantula, Jumping etc.
- Brown Recluse, Black Widow, Wolf Spider-dangerous.
- Biggest, the Goliath bird eater tarantula from S. America.
Sources: Nonfiction book and Wikipedia.
- Spider Science Activity
Materials:
-Book, Diary of a Spider
- White, computer paper.
- Pencils, crayons, markers,
-Spiders in their habitat.
- Nonfiction books
1. First begin by reading the title of the book, and flip through the pages for the children to do a picture walk.
2. Have children orally tell you their predictions of the story.
3. Ask if this is a fiction or nonfiction book.
What do you know about spiders?
4. Text talk throughout the book.
5. Finish reading the story.
What did you learn about spiders?
Do you like spiders more after reading the story?
Were your predictions true?
6. Discuss the moral of the story, spiders are not scary and they don’t all bite on purpose.
7. Read some interesting facts about spiders from the nonfiction books to help them gain a better understanding.
8. Discuss about dangerous spiders.
9. Have them look at the spider habitat and make oral observations.
What do you notice about the habitat?
What are the spiders doing?
What similarities do you notice about these spiders and the ones from the book?
What does it seem the spiders eat?
Why is it good to keep the spiders in their natural habitat?
10. Have them make predictions as to what they think will happen to the spiders in a week?
Will they grow?
What will happen to the food?
What will happen to the webs?
- Assessment
- Pass out the white construction paper to the students.
- Have Kindergarten create and color a picture of a spider in it’s habitat.
- First grade can draw and color a picture as well, but they can write a sentence about their spider at the bottom of the page. Ex. “My spider is…”
- Make sure their writing is legible and proper punctuation.
- Name needs to be on their papers.
- Have the students share their pictures and what their spiders are doing in their habitat.
- Bind the papers into a book for the classroom.