My first and second grade gifted-education students studied ladybugs as an introduction to our insect unit.

I began the unit by actively engaging my students in the development of the concept of an insect. I designed an ActiveBoard flipchart based on a concept mastery lesson.  Students sorted examples and non-examples of insects and eventually developed a definition that included the most important defining characteristics of an insect.

 After we shared an understanding of the term insect, we read about the ladybug.  Students used a frame organizer to take notes on the article they read.  Students then wrote three paragraphs using the organizer as a guide. The final paragraph was written on round-shaped paper which became the body of their ladybug craft project.

Students also drew and labeled a diagram of the ladybug’s life cycle.

In the computer lab students each completed a page about ladybugs.  They used technology skills to search for an image, copy and paste the image onto a document, type several sentences about the ladybug, and finish by choosing their font and letter size. In the classroom, students presented their completed work which was then bound into a class book.

These lessons combined academic learning standards in reading, writing, technology, communication and science.