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Science

Looking at Insects

Overview

Children go outside to find and observe insects, making careful observations and discovering what all insects have in common.

Learning Objective
Children observe insects carefully and can identify the key features that make an insect an insect.

Resources needed

  • Open outdoor space with soil, plants, or logs to look under

Lesson stages

0 / 7 done
  1. 1 Go outside and look for insects under leaves, on plants, in soil.
  2. 2 When an insect is found: do not touch — observe carefully.
  3. 3 Count the legs. Ask: how many? (six — the defining feature of insects).
  4. 4 Count the body sections: head, thorax, abdomen.
  5. 5 Look for wings and antennae.
  6. 6 Draw and label what you observe: six legs, three body sections, antennae.
  7. 7 Return to class and discuss: were all the creatures you found insects? (some may have been spiders or woodlice).

Tap a step to mark it as done.

Variations

  • Compare an insect and a spider — why is a spider not an insect?
  • Create a simple identification key for local insects.
  • Set up a simple pitfall trap — a buried container — to collect insects overnight.
More information

Teach: insect, invertebrate, legs, antennae, thorax, abdomen, observe, classify. The number of legs — always six for insects — is the most reliable identification feature.

Focus just on counting legs and body sections. The drawing and labelling can be simplified to three parts and six sticks for legs.

Can children state the three features that define an insect? Can they correctly classify a spider as a non-insect and explain why?

The outdoor environment provides the specimens. No equipment needed except eyes and a willingness to look carefully under leaves and stones.

Children call all small creatures insects. Spiders (eight legs), woodlice (fourteen legs), and centipedes (many legs) are not insects — this teaches the importance of precise classification.

Insects are the most abundant animals on Earth. Learning to observe and classify them develops both scientific observation skills and ecological awareness.

Activity details
Primary Easy 25 minutes no prep Small Group Outdoor
Topics
Insects Invertebrates Observation