Tech Lesson

Edible Insects! Fifth Grade Lesson Plan

Edible Insects!

OBJECTIVES

TEKS (TEXAS ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS) STANDARDS COVERED

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Students will gain background knowledge of insect consumption by humans.  Students will create a brochure in Microsoft Word to persuade readers that eating insects is beneficial to themselves and the environment.  Students will present their brochures to other 5th grade classes. Language Arts  11(A) offer observations, make connections, react, speculate, interpret, and raise questions in response to texts.  11(B) interpret text ideas through such varied means as journal writing, discussion, enactment, and media.  13(A) form and revise questions for investigations, including questions arising from interest and units of study.  15(A) write to express, discover, record, develop, reflect on ideas, and to problem solve  15(B) write to influence such as to persuade, argue, and request  15(C) write to inform such as to explain, describe, report, and narrate.  25(A) select, organize, or produce visuals to complement and extend meanings.  25(B) produce communications using technology or appropriate media such as developing a class newspaper, multimedia reports, or video reports. Science  1(B) make wise choices in the use and conservation of resources and the disposal or recycling of materials. Technology  7(B) use appropriate software to express ideas and solve problems including the use of word processing, graphics, databases, spreadsheets, simulations, and multimedia.  10(B) use font attributes, color, white space, and graphics to ensure that products are appropriate for the communication media including multimedia screen displays, Internet documents, and printed materials. 1

Edible Insects! Fifth Grade Lesson Plan

MATERIALS

Book: Beetles, Lightly Toasted by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Student Writing Journals Computer with Internet Access Microsoft Word for Windows Color Printer PROCEDURES Before beginning this activity, students will gain background knowledge of edible insects by listening and/or reading Beetles, Lightly Toasted. This story is about a fifth grader named Andy who enters a school essay contest that involves conservation. Andy decides to tackle the topic of food conservation and develops a variety of recipes using insects. Andy tests his concoctions on unknowing friends and family with great success. 1. Students will work in groups of two and conduct research using specific websites bookmarked on the class social bookmaking site http://del.icio.us/kmccalmo. They will find answers to the following questions:  Why should humans eat insects?  What kinds of insects can humans eat?  How do you prepare insects before you eat them? 2. The students will record their findings in their writing journal. 3. The teacher will show the example brochure to the students and explain to them that they are going to use their research to create their own brochure in Microsoft Word to persuade readers to eat insects. 4. Before creating the brochure in Microsoft Word, students will get a piece of paper and fold it into thirds. They will label the panels to determine which columns in Word represent the sections of their brochure. 1.Front 2.Back 3.Inside Left 4.Inside Middle 5.Inside Right 6.Fold In

Steps to Create a Brochure Using Microsoft Word 1. The students will open Microsoft Word and select File - Page Setup. They will change all the page margins to 0.5. 2. While in Page Setup, they will change the paper orientation to Landscape. 3. Students will select Format-Columns and choose the three columns option. 4. While still in the Columns section, they will change the Spacing to 1 inch. 5. Students will select Tools-Options-View and put a check mark next to Text boundaries and Paragraph marks. This will help 2

Edible Insects! Fifth Grade Lesson Plan students visualize their layout. 6. To be able to type in any of the columns, students will create column breaks. They will click on the first column and select Insert-Break. Click Column Break and OK. They will repeat this step until they get to the last column. 7. Then, students will create a Page Break to create the second side of the brochure. Students will select Insert-Break and chose Page Break. Student will repeat the column break process for the second page. 8. The brochure setup is now complete. The students will work with a partner and enter their research information into their brochure. 9. The students will refer to their folded paper to determine which panel is the front. 10. Students will add text (names, title) to the front of their brochure and click Insert-Picture-Clip Art to add graphics. 11. Students will refer to their folded paper to find the inside left panel of their brochure. 12. Students will type the information they gathered about why humans should eat insects in this panel. 13. Students will add a title and graphics to this section to enhance the presentation. 14. Students will refer to their folded paper to find the inside middle panel of their brochure. 15. Students will type the information they gathered about what kinds of insects to eat in this panel. 16. Students will add a title and graphics to this section to enhance the presentation. 17. Students will refer to their folded paper to find the inside right panel of their brochure. 18. Students will type the information they gathered about how to prepare insects in this panel. 19. Students will add a title and graphics to this section to enhance the presentation. 20. Students will refer to their folded brochure to find the fold in panel of their brochure. 21. Students will type the Internet sites they used to conduct their research in this panel. 22. Students will add a title and graphics to this section to enhance the presentation. 23. Students can decide if they want to add additional text and graphics to the back panel of their brochure. 24. Students will work with their partner to decide what kinds of graphics to use in their brochure and if they want to add borders or shading. 25. Students can use the example brochure throughout this activity as a reference. 26. Students will print their completed brochures and present them to other 5th grade classes. 3

Edible Insects! Fifth Grade Lesson Plan

ASSESSMENT Students will use the following rubric as a guide when they create their brochure. The same rubric is used to evaluate each brochure. http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=ShowRubric&rubric_id=12 78129& Science for Kids http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/kids/weirdscience/story5/insecteaters.htm

RESOURCES: INTERNET Insects Around the World SITES

http://www.eat-online.net/english/education/insect_snacks.htm Bugfood! http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/ythfacts/oldentyouth.htm Eating Bugs http://www.manataka.org/page160.html CNN-Edible Bugs in China http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/asiapcf/9804/24/fringe/china.bugs/ This lesson uses the computer as a mindtool because the students use critical thinking skills to create a brochure using Microsoft Word. The students use the Internet to acquire knowledge about insect consumption by humans and use that knowledge to create an informative brochure that is useful to themselves and others. Students build knowledge by reflecting on text to create the brochure. Cooperative groups discuss, plan, organize, and create a persuasive brochure that encourages insect consumption by humans. The students present information that is concise, creative, thoughtful, and meaningful. This lesson gives students the opportunity to collaborate with their peers to create a visual presentation that enhances the learning process. [Example brochure attached below]

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Edible Insects! Fifth Grade Lesson Plan

What kinds of insects can humans eat?

Why should humans eat insects? 

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Eating insects instead of cattle protects the environment. Insects are plentiful and they don’t require a lot of preparation.

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Insects are high in protein and vitamins.

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Insects are cheap. You can get them for free right in your backyard!

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Avoid eating colorful insects because they could be poisonous.

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Flies and roaches carry bacteria that can make people sick, so don’t eat them!

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The safest insects to eat are those that are dull in color such as crickets and beetles. You can even eat scorpions and wasps if you prepare them correctly.

How are insects prepared? 

Collect insects such as grasshoppers, crickets, and beetles from your yard or garden.

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Feed cornmeal to the insects for four days to clear out their digestive tract.

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Boil them in hot water or freeze them in the freezer.

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Cut off wings and legs.

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Prepare them according to the recipe.

You can find insect recipes at Iowa State University’s Entomology site: http://www.ent.iastate.ed u/misc/insectsasfood.html 5

Edible Insects! Fifth Grade Lesson Plan

Bug Food! http://www.uky.edu/Ag/En tomology/ythfacts/oldentyo uth.htm

Eat me, I’m delicious!

Insect Snacks Around The World http://www.eatonline.net/english/educatio n/insect_snacks.htm Eating Bugs http://www.manataka.org/ page160.html CNN-Bug Eating in China http://www.cnn.com/WORL D/asiapcf/9804/24/fringe/c hina.bugs/

Sponsored by: Bug Eaters Anonymous

Created By: [Students’ Names] 6