Steve, Anna, Jodi
ED 342
December 10, 2001
Integrated Literacy Unit
LADYBUGS
UNIT GOALS
1. The learner will be able to practice observation skills by watching ladybugs and
recording what they see.
2. The learner will be able to describe different kinds of ladybugs they observe.
3. The learner will be able to describe how ladybugs help the environment.
4. The learner will be able to sing songs about ladybugs.
5. The learner will be able to predict what will happen when a ladybug is put on a
specific plant.
LETTER TO PARENTS
Dear Parents:
During the next two weeks we will be doing a unit based on the book The Grouchy
Ladybug. There are many opportunities in the story to learn about ladybugs, animals,
time, insects, and much more. During this time we will focus on reading and writing
skills, along with providing information, which will help the children learn more about
how insects can be beneficial.
We will be having a Ladybug Party at the end of our unit and would like to invite you to
come and celebrate what we have learned. We will be contacting you next week to see if
you can help us by bringing something to our party. We will need items like paper cups
and plates, plastic forks or spoons, dessert items, drinks, and some items we will be using
to make our party a special time. The party will be on Friday, December 14th, at 1:00.
Please call if you have any questions, our number is 555-1234 :0).
Sincerely,
Steve
Anna
Jodi
PRE&POST TESTS
Knowledge Activation and Integration Techniques (K-W-L)
We will be using the KWL technique to help us with pre-assessment and post-assessment
for the children. We will brainstorm together what the children already know about
Ladybugs. We will ‘think out loud’ with the children to help them learn how to do that.
We will then discuss what we would all like to know about Ladybugs. Then at the end of
our unit we will write out a list of what we have learned about Ladybugs.
Vocabulary Lesson
Length- 45 minutes
Objective – The learner will be able to listen carefully to a word and distinguish if they
are hearing the chosen letter at the beginning or end of the word.
Materials – A large red ladybug shape made out of construction paper with a black line
drawn down the middle, enough black dot stickers for each student, and a word list.
Procedure –
1. Hang a large red ladybug shape with a black line down the middle on the
chalkboard or bulletin board.
2. Give each student a black dot sticker.
3. Beginning at one end of the classroom, have one student go the ladybug shape
with their sticker.
4. Tell the class the letter and sound they are listening for. Say a word with that
letter either at the beginning or end of the word.
5. Have the student put the sticker on the left side of the line if he/she hears the letter
at the beginning of the word, or put it on the right side if he/she hears the letter at
the end of the word. Demonstrate once if they seem confused.
6. Continue until every student has put their sticker on the shape, coaching where
necessary.
7. If you want to you can continue the activity having the students take off a sticker
on the side where they hear the letter for another round of fun.
Assessment –
Will be done informally by observing each student to see if they can do this
independently or with assistance.
Math Lesson
Length – 40 minutes
Objective – The learner will be able to use addition skills to make edible bugs.
Materials – Paper plates, different kids of cookies, string licorice (precut into 2 inch
strips), jelly beans, gumdrops, chocolate chips, M&M’s and marshmallows (small and
large), simple addition problems written on paper.
Procedures –
1. The teacher will place bowls with all of the materials above in them on a table
with a simple addition problem in front of each bowl.
2. The students will be instructed to take a plate, solve each addition problem, and
take that number (the answer) of whatever is in the bowl behind it, putting it on the
plate.
3. After they have gone through the line of equations and have their plates loaded
with treats they will go back to their desks and design their own made up bug
using the items on their plates.
4. Finally they get to eat their creations after sharing them with the class.
Assessment – The teacher will observe the students as they go through the line and do
their addition problems to make sure they are doing them correctly and taking the right
amount of each item.
SOCIAL STUDIES LESSON
Objective: Children will have exposure to newspaper.
Materials: Newspaper article about ladybugs.
Procedure:
Ask students if ladybugs have ever gotten into their home in the fall.
Read article to students. Stopping to explain any confusing vocabulary.
Have a discussion about what they learned in the article. Teacher may have to help guide
the summary.
Have students go home and talk to their families and other adults (e.g., at church/temple)
to find out if they have ever had ladybugs in their homes. Children can teach the adults
about why ladybugs do this.
Two days later ask students what adults they talked to. Did anyone say they had had an
infestation?
Assessment: Students should demonstrate understanding of the article in the discussion
after reading it. Students should be able to tell an adult about what they learned in the
article.
Other Ideas: Students label a map with immigration of ladybugs, lesson on the people
who live in the countries ladybugs are from, learn how to say ladybug in different
languages.
ART LESSON
Objective: Children will make ladybugs and collect facts in them.
Materials: Cut-out stencil of ladybug, construction paper, scissors, pens, brass flap pins.
Procedures:
At start of unit on ladybugs, tell children they will collect the facts they learn about
ladybugs in their own ladybug books.
Give children cut-out ladybug stencils, paper and scissors.
Each child cuts out two red ladybugs for the cover of the book.
They then cut out seven white pages for collecting the facts.
Have them decorate the cover of the book like a ladybug.
Fasten the pages together in the head of the ladybug.
Throughput the unit point out times that they may want to collect a fact and allow time
for writing this down. Encourage children to collect those facts that surprise or interest
them, so that each child’s book is unique.
At the end of the unit allow each child a chance to share their book.
Assessment: Each child should have a decorated ladybug book with their facts.
Other Ideas: Have students paint ladybugs. Draw ladybugs and what they eat. Diagram
each stage in lifecycle. Make ladybug potato prints.
ART/SCIENCE LESSON
Objective: Children will learn about day and night and earth’s rotation.
Materials: The Grouchy Ladybug, clock with handles that can be moved, construction
paper sun and moon.
Procedures:
Discuss students about their observations of day and night. Ask why they think these
changes happen.
Tell children to observe the sun and time in the story you will read.
Read the story, changing time on clock as it changes in story.
Discuss what they observed in story about sun and time.
Have children stand in a circle, all facing out.
One student is the sun, and one the moon. These two will walk around the circle holding
the construction paper images.
When the children see the sun they will stretch their arms up, and when they see the
moon, they will pretend to rest their heads.
Discuss that this is what the earth is doing, and how that affects our day and night.
Assessment: Have children draw a picture of the day and night.
Other Ideas: Children make mobile of earth, sun, moon. Students practice telling time.
LESSON PLAN--SCIENCE ACTIVITIES
( Exploring Plants and Animals Resource Guide
1998 Creative Teaching Press Inc.
Cypress, CA. 90630 )
Objective: Children will be able to match pictures of animals to
distinguish one type from another, and notice the different
words on the cards.
Photocopy a set of picture cards twice. Laminate them and cut one set apart. Have the
children play Memory or a lotto game with them.
Children can also sort and classify cards by :
Plant/animal diet.
Number of legs.
Amphibian, insect, reptile, bird, fish, or mammal.
Diurnal/nocturnal.
Give each child a set of cards to cut out. They may color them first if they like. The
teacher then writes a number on a piece of paper and the children find the animals that
match the number of legs the teacher wrote down.
Use different size boxes and ask the children which box the real animal would be able to
fit in or if it could fit at all.
LESSON PLAN -- RECOGNITION OF SIGHT WORDS
Objective: Children will learn sight words relating to Ladybugs and learn progressive
songs.
SONG: Fly Ladybug Fly (Sung to the tune- Three Blind Mice)
(Thematic@sbess.k12.us) under "Insects"
Fly ladybug fly
Fly ladybug fly
Fly over here, fly over there
They fly up high and they fly down low,
Around and around and around they go,
They fly so fast and they fly so slow
Oh fly ladybug fly.
The words to this song should be printed on chart paper. The words that mean the
opposite of each other can be highlighted so the children can tell which ones they are.
Before the song is sung the teacher tells the children about the highlighted words. As the
song is sung the teacher points to the words emphasizing the highlighted words.
This song can also be used as a large muscle activity by using a parachute or a sheet with
dots pinned or painted on. Six children will be the legs and one child will be the head.
Each child should have their part labeled. As the song is sung the children will do the
movement the song calls for. Have the highlighted words taped around the room so the
children will know where the word is that they are singing.
Limerick: "Ladybug"
The ladybug bit the little beetle,
But the little beetle bit the ladybug back.
This is a fun rhyme just to get the children to play with words. Write the words on a chart
and highlight the sight words. Have them say the limerick while you point to the words.
Show them the words that are the same or let them see if they can recognize them.
There are some good cumulative songs that would work with this theme:
"The old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly"
" Rattling Bog” Sharon, Lois, and Bram "IN THE SCHOOLYARD”
"The Tree in The Wood" GO IN AND OUT THE WINDOW AN
ILLUSTRATED SONGBOOK
FOR YOUNG CHILDREN. 1987 The Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York and Henry Holt and Company, Inc.
115 West 18th Street,
New York, New York 10011
LADYBUG PARTY
The last day of the unit, preferably on Friday, the class will throw a party inviting parents
to come join them. These are some of the ideas for the party:
*Have ladybug plates, red with black cookies and licorice legs
.
*Make a ladybug cake- for the body use a round cake, for the head use a cupcake, frost
with red frosting, use junior mints for spots, use green gumdrops for eyes, and black
licorice for antennae and legs.
*Have party favors- decorate ziplock bags with red and black sticker dots, fill with red
and black jelly beans, a red blower, and ladybug stickers.
Activities:
*Play pin the dot on the ladybug.
*Play hot potato with a beanbag ladybug.
*Play bean bag toss- put a poster of a ladybug with no spots on the floor, toss black bean
bags to give spots.
*Have a bug guess- fill glass jar with red and black jelly beans, then take turns guessing
how many are in the jar. The winner gets the jar.
Make:
*Headbands- use a red headband, attach black pipecleaners and small Styrofoam balls.
*Masks- use paper plates, colored paper, markers, and pipecleaners.
Have children wear masks and headbands for the party.
Have all artwork and activities done throughout the unit displayed around the room for
the parents to see. Encourage the children to explain the activities and lessons to parents.
Near the end of the party have the children perform the songs they learned earlier in the
unit for the parents.
Take pictures of the party for a class book or to display in the hallway.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
Anti-bias/Multicultural elements: In learning about different types of ladybugs, we will
discuss how just as there are different colors of ladybugs, there are different colors of
people. Read The Colors Of Us by Karen Katz.
Accomodation for disabled and ESL/LEP readers: The teacher will be aware of what
students will find some of the activities more challenging and will make appropriate
adjustments for that child. For example, for an ESL child, the teacher will make sure to
include as many visual images as possible throughout the unit.
Variety of instruction strategies: Some of the activites will be done in groups and others
will be individual. Active time will be scheduled so that children are not having to sit
still for too long. There will be time for creative and logic activities.
Use of technology: Sing-along tapes will be used. Teacher will use the internet to
download information.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Carle, Eric “The Grouchy Ladybug”, Published by Harper Festival 1977, ISBN
0-694-01320-X
The Grouchy Ladybug is a bad tempered braggart who won’t say “please” or “thank
you,” won’t share, and thinks it’s bigger and better than anyone else. This story invites
children to explore the concepts of time, size, shape, and manners.
Metzger, Steve “Ladybug’s Birthday”, Published by Scholastic Inc. 1988, ISBN
0-590-02599-6
Ladybug plans a party with only two friends in her small house, but as more and more
insects show up she is sure her birthday is ruined.
Murphy, Stuart J, “The Best Bug Parade”, Published by Scholastic Inc. 1996, ISBN
0-590-06263-8
This Mathstart book introduces children to the concept of size relationships when bugs of
all shapes and sizes line up to make a parade.
Allen, Judy and Humphries, Tudor, “Are You A Ladybug?”, Published by Kingfisher
Publications, 2000, ISBN 0-7534-5241-3
This book is part of the Backyard Books series that gives very factual information about
ladybugs in the form of a story about how a ladybug is “born”, and how it grows up to
look like the ladybugs we see outside.
Carle, Eric. (1977). The Grouchy Ladybug. New York: Scholastic, Inc.
Danks, Hugh. (1987). The Bug Book. New York: Workman Publishing.
Hamilton, Darlene & Flemming, Bonnie. (1990). Resources for Creative Teaching in
Early Childhood. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Taylor, Barbara. (1980). A Child Goes Forth: A Curriculum Guide for Preschool
Children. New Jersey: Merrill.
The Life of a Ladybug
Mcmillan Early Skills Program
Nature and Science
Mcmillan Education Company
This card is part of a set. There is an activity where children will make a ladybug that has
a story attached to its back. The directions are clear and it helps the students learn about
the beetle and also with reading. The story could be modified for younger children.
It⤙s a Small World
Mcmillan Early Science Activities
1991 Newbridge Communications Inc.
Education Plaza
P.O. Box 938
Hicksville NY. 11802
This is an activity where children are being different insects. The teacher has turned them
into insects with magic. The students then crawl around the room observing how things
look from an insects perspective. This is a good way for the teacher to work in some
observation skills.
How Do Flies Walk Upside Down?
Scholastic Inc.
555 Broadway
New York NY. 10012
This book is a wonderful way for children to learn about all kinds of insects. It tells
about how they use camouflage, predators, food, etc.
Exploring Plants and Animals Resource Guide
1998 Creative Teaching Press
Cypress Ca. 90630
The previous book is read in conjunction with this book. This is an activity book. It has
the children compare fish scales and butterfly scales. It could be changed to ladybugs.
Children glue sequins onto a fish picture and color the butterfly wings with chalk. A
ladybug could be made with cellophane or aluminum foil. The activities in this book help
the children understand the differences in insects.