Melissa Biddinger

Insect Mouthparts

Mon, Nov 26, 2018 8:19 PM
Insect Mouthparts Review

This is a great lesson plan for teachers who want to educate their students on the mouthparts of various insects, such as butterflies and mosquitoes. The lesson plan is concisely written and well organized where it is broken into sections, such as objective, materials, and procedures. I feel that this is a very effective lesson because it takes a hands-on and interactive approach to teaching this topic that will make the learning experience more meaningful and entertaining for students. Students learn about how insects eat food by the students using common every day materials to make the information more relatable and easier to understand, such as using a flexible bending straw to slurp up a liquid to reflect the proboscis of a butterfly. I also found it useful how the lesson plan provides insect mouthparts discovery lab cards that teachers can use for stations around their classroom. Overall, the lesson plan was easy to navigate and provides effective ways for teachers to help students learn about the mouthparts of various insects in an entertaining way.

Dance Like a Butterfly

Mon, Nov 26, 2018 8:14 PM
Dance Like A Butterfly Review

This is a great resource for teachers to use if they are planning on conducting a five-day unit on the life-cycle of a butterfly. The information was presented in a clear and concise way where each day of the unit was described in detail as to what students will learn and the activities they will complete. I thought that it was effective how actual photos of students engaging in some of the activities were included in the article because it provided a visual representation of some of the activities and made the lesson plan/description easier to follow. Furthermore, this article allows teachers to see the value of moving away from the traditional worksheet approach when teaching about the life cycle and instead, use an integrated learning approach that incorporates math and literacy as well as dance and movement (e.g. students act out different stages of the life-cycle). This makes it a more fun and engaging lesson for students. I also liked how the unit encourages students to use a variety of resources to gain information about this topic (books and internet resources) where they record their observations and information they collect. This information is then shared during whole group discussions and recorded for the entire class to see. This teaches children the important skill of navigating through many resources. The lesson also incorporates small group activities that can be effective in helping students foster their communication skills. Overall, this lesson allows students to foster their observational and higher level thinking skills as they learn about the stages in the butterfly’s life cycle.