This is part of my Fifteen Minute Focus Series.

Supplies:

• plastic toys: farm bird (chicken, turkey, whatever), farm mammal (e.g. cow, sheep); multiple insects, spiders, and a human.
• White board and marker or paper and marker.
• TP rolls and scissors – mark lines on TP rolls for kids to cut on.
• Book: Aaaarrgghh Spider.
• hula hoop with tape spider web,* black pompoms (see below!)

Animal Classification / Anatomy

How many legs? Show plastic chicken or other bird from past class – how many legs? show a farm mammal – how many legs? Pass out insects – have them count how many legs? Pass out spiders – count how many legs?

Body Parts: Point out human body parts on doll – write / draw on board: head, chest = thorax, belly = abdomen; 2 arms attached to thorax, 2 legs below abdomen. Briefly show / draw insect – head, thorax, abdomen, 6 legs. (2 – 5 eyes) Spider = cephalothorax and abdomen. Legs attached to cephalothorax. Most spiders have 8 eyes (some 4, 6) – this part is optional – skip if attention is wandering.

Spider Craft / Scissor Skils

I drew lines on the TP tube – 8 lines going about half the length of the tube, and told them to cut along the lines, and stop when the line stopped. Then I had them fold out the legs. Then we drew on faces (in the photo example, it shows 2 sticker eyes, but it’s better to have them draw 8 little circles for eyes.

Songs

Sing the Itsy Bitsy Spider to help everyone re-focus.

Then, sing Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, pointing on the plastic person / doll.

Then sing (optional) the Insect Anatomy Song – head thorax abdomen. Then:

Cephalothorax, abdomen abdomen
Cephalothorax, abdomen abdomen
8 legs, 8 eyes, and a web to spin
Cephalothorax, abdomen abdomen

Book

Then read a book – Aaaarrgghh Spider. (Amazon affiliate link.) (Preview video.)

Large Motor – Catch a Fly

Use a hula hoop. Tape on 8 spokes fits, all the tape facing one way. Then turn the hoop over and tape the spiral part of the web. When you hang it, hang it so the sticky side of the spiral is facing out, and the non-sticky side of the spokes. (This is like a real spider web – the spider walks back and forth on the not sticky spokes and the flies stick to the spirals.)

Hang the hoop up – kids throw pompoms at it (or cotton balls – they stick better)

If the pompom sticks you say “yay, the spider caught a fly”. If it doesn’t stick, you say “yay, the fly got away!” It’s a win either way.

Find more: Bug Themed Science for Kids.