Insects - Bugs for Preschool ELA

Link to complete insects or bug resources: 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Insect-or-Bug-Theme-for-Preschool-ELL-1217575

Or here: https://www.bilingualmarketplace.com/products/insect-unit-for-preschool-ell?variant=2221332693004. 

                                     

Insects or bug Paper Bag Puppets: use them to animate your students. These are easy to make with paper bag and attaching the cut outs provided. Interact with the puppets by asking questions to the students, use them to read a story or sing a song/chant. Many student would like make their own bugs. To get the files, please write to my email.(ei98srl@gmail.com)

Insects or bug Cutouts: Have the children identify the bugs and name/count the body parts.

Activity 1:Hold up each bug cutout:

Teacher: It´s a bee.

Students: It´s a bee.

Teacher: What color is the bee ?

Students: It´s black and yellow.

Teacher: Look! it has two antennae.( showing them)

Teacher: Look! it has two wings.( showing them)

                What color are the wings ?

Students: They are blue.

Activity 2: Use the cutouts as a memory aid for drilling vocabulary words.

Put all the bug cutouts in a bag. Invite a student to pull out a bug cutout and identify it. Have the class say YES! If the student is right or NO! if the student is wrong.

Insects or bug Super Bug Student Badge: I created this cute badge to enhance motivation in class, just print and put in the badge clear device.

Here´s a link to read more on Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation in young learners.http://www.nasponline.org/resources/home_school/earlychildmotiv_ho.aspx

Insects or bug Memory or Matching Game:  all these games help increase the short-term memory in your students. They are fun for those last minutes.
                                                                                        

Insects or bug Draw the favorite bug. These activities help:
-develop prewriting skills 
-  develop hand coordination
-  develop vocabulary

Insects or bug Vocabulary Word Wall: Place the cards and words in a word wall in the classroom. Use your pointer to review the words.

Then have children play with another set of cards and words and matching them. Also the cards can be transformed into  wipe-off cards by using contact paper and white board markers so that the students can trace each bug word.

The bug crowns can be a follow up activity.The crown can serve as a coloring page and as a confidence booster.

I

nsects or bug Graphing: use stickers, student´s name, bug drawings, ,m&m´s , cereal, beans, gummies, mini erasers, clothespins and much more. And always analyze the data.

Bug Book: This is a bug fact book. It reviews body words and actions. 12 bugs . It comes in color and a black and white version.

Insects or bug Flashcards: Bring some students up to the front and hand in a flashcard to the first one.

Teacher: a bee. (pass the flashcard to the first student)

Student: a bee ( passing  pass the flashcard to the next student)
Continue with all the flashcards

Insects or bug Math: Use these math flashcards to count the bugs up and down to 10. Have the students respond to the spoken number using the cards or have them say a random number when shown the card.

Insects or bug Worksheets. Engage students in different tasks with these worksheets with an art based view. Children always get excited when they see the scissors, glue and markers. They will create a product from the worksheets. It is not the worksheet by itself.

The worksheets can encourage student to communicate in English, as they listen and color, as they repeat directions to other students, as they give the directions for completing the worksheets. Share more ideas here to improve the use of them.

Use your valuable class time wisely when having the students create their worksheets.

All the worksheets have the words to trace, but you can make them write the words instead of tracing and gluing as in my examples. It depends on the group that you are teaching.

Worksheet 1. This first woksheet is to introduce the vocabulary. The students color is designated colors and trace the corresponding words. Then cut into cards to play games as I have along this blog.

Worksheet 2. after you have played with the cards have the students cut the animals. Tell them that the animals live in different places. Ask questions.
Teacher: Where does the bee live?
Students: beehive. 
Have the students glue the bee at the beehive.

Worksheet 3. Tell the students that there are bottle jars for the insects, Have them draw the insects in the jars. Or cut the jars and have the students draw all the insects they want in each jar.

Worksheet 4.And review with the students the parts of the body. Ask questions.

Teacher: Look at the butterfly. What is missing?

Students: The head!

teacher: draw the head.

Worksheet 5. Sort the insects according to their body parts, the ones with legs and the ones with wings.

Teacher: Which insects have wings?

Students: butterfly and bee.

Worksheet 6.Have the students draw their favorite insect and graph the result on a wall or door.

Worksheet 7. Make a Scene using the first worksheet.

Insect Garden Scene. Children can use the garden template and draw all the insects. They can use all the templates and write the words. Vary the scene as much as you like.

 I´d love to see what you come up with. You can also go outside and have them draw the insects they can see.

Display the scene on the board. Hand out the insects cutouts to several students.  Name a cutout and have the students come to the scene and place them.

Teacher: Butterflies!

Students place the butterflies.

Teacher: How many butterflies are there?

Students: One ,two, three, four butterflies.

Insects eat ! Here is a short list.

Snails: plants, fruits, vegetables,leaves

Spiders: insects,flies,mosquitoes,cockroaches

Bees: pollen, honey ,nectar.

Butterflies: nectar.

Ladybugs:  other insects, mushrooms,leaves ,some plants.

Ants: fruit, meat vegetables ,fruits, spiders,insects.carrots, apples ,lettuce.

 I glued the spider onto a box flap and cut a slit on the mouth so I could fee the spider. Use it as a speaking opportunity.

Teacher: What is this ?

Students: It´s a spider.

Teacher: What color is the spider ?

Students: It´s green.

Teacher: What is this ?

Students: It´s a butterfly.

Teacher: The spider is hungry. The spider is eating the pink butterfly.

Students: The spider is hungry. The spider is eating the pink butterfly.

Insect book. There are many variations to the book. You can print your own book. I can make a larger version if you need one. ( email: ei98srl@gmail.com)

Children can cut and paste as I did, they can read and draw the corresponding bee.

Art helps children to develop mentally and emotionally.  Children will have to analyze on how to put together the letter. Give them different materials to add on each letter, such as glitter, buttons, yarn. Let them experiment into making their own letter. There is no right or wrong. I made an example and so should you, but it´s their choice on how to turn a B into a bee.

Dice. I made two of them, one with numbers and another with the insects. Just as in the farm theme. Throw the dice and have the students either draw the insects or place them on a paper plate or on the board. You can use the worksheets and have each table place the corresponding amount of insects on a plate or the garden scene.

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