Science Grade 4
By Jocelyn Eliseo
Imagine you and four other friends are enjoying a nice day at your friend�s backyard garden. You and your friends are walking along, enjoying many of the sights and smells of the garden. All of a sudden, a garden fairy appeared. She smiled and giggled. Then, she turned each of you into a garden insect! The only way she can turn you back is for you to let her know how much you know about being a garden insect.
Because you want to go home as a kid rather than be squashed by your parents, you and your friends are going to share with the garden fairy what you found out about being garden insects. But before doing so, you and your friends are going to share each other�s knowledge and experience as well as organize the information in order to appease the garden fairy.
1. In a group of five, identify in your group who will be one of the following insects:
GRASSHOPPER SPIDER
What part of the garden you live in as well as other places where you can live.
What you eat and how you get your food.
How you spend a typical day.
What or who your friends and/or enemies are.
*Share your findings with the members of your group
*Create and fill in a poster chart.
*List each insect on the left side of the chart:
Ant; Bee; Butterfly; Grasshopper; Spider
*List each topic heading at the top of the chart:
Description; Home; Food; Typical Day; Friends(F)/Enemies(E)
*Discuss any similarities and differences among the insects
*Cover all topics about the insect you have chosen.
*Share your knowledge and turn in the report to the garden fairy (teacher) so you can be a kid again. (Unless, you like being an insect!)
You will be evaluated based on this Rubric
Whew! Aren�t you glad that you�re a kid again! Imagine living the life of a garden insect for the rest of your life. You would have to find different places to live or share living spaces with a huge family and lots of relatives. You would have to look for food or make food each day or avoid being someone else�s food! Not only that, you have to avoid being squashed by anything a million times bigger than you! But, there are some cool reasons to be an insect. You get to fly or jump really high. You could even make really neat web designs and could even walk around and find your way through dark mazes.
Because you and your friends experienced and shared all the knowledge of living the life of a garden insect, the next time the garden fairy turns you into another insect, you might not be an insect for long. With all that you know about being an ant, a bee, a butterfly, a grasshopper, and a spider, you could share with her all you know about what they look like, their home, their food, what they do, and their friends and enemies. That way, she wouldn�t turn you into some garden insect. Unless, you enjoy being a bug for a day!