Ideas for Classroom Activities!
Week Home
team!
Here are some ideas to help you get started planning an IPM-related educational activity in a classroom near you! Don't forget to send us a description for the activities list.
Grades K-2
Grades 3-6
Grades 7-12
College
Spanish Language
Region Specific
Grades K-2
Get artistic with insect models! Includes fly, butterfly, dragonfly and cockroach models for kids to cut, decorate and fold. Find it in PDF form at http://paipm.cas.psu.edu/pdf/insectmodels.pd
Head lice! A truly unique website for children all about head lice from the National Pediculosis Association, including interactive quiz and games, animations of the lice life cycle, frequently asked questions, books and poetry; coloring page and wordfind and a poster contest. Find it at http://www.headlice.org/kids/index.htm
Go microscopic! The Bugscope project is an educational outreach program for K-12 classrooms that enables students to remotely operate a scanning electron microscope to image "bugs" at high magnification. Check out this free resource at http://bugscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/
Play Bingo! The Environmental Protection Agency's Pesticide Safety Bingo Game is a downloadable 49 pages plus cards and contains both beginner and advanced level games for K-6 grades about pest management and pesticides, including instructions, background information for teachers, discussion questions, picture and text cards in English and Spanish. Find it at http://www.epa.gov/region6/6pd/bingo/index.htm
Play Bug-GO! This bingo-like game helps kids learn about beneficial insects. Match beneficials with their pests. Includes player game cards, templates, for overhead transparencies or display sheets, information about each insect and instructions. Find it at http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/IPM/teachers/bug-go/bug-go.htm
Learn about household chemicals! In commemoration of National Poison Prevention Week, Mar. 17-23, the Environmental Protection Agency is making available several resources to educate the public about ways to prevent children from being poisoned by pesticides and household products. "Learn About Chemicals Around Your House" is an interactive web site designed to teach children and parents about household products, including pesticides, that may contain harmful chemicals. Find it at http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/kids/hometour/
Explore grasshoppers! Canadian Geographic's grasshopper facts website, "A grand look a grasshoppers," includes interactive games, fun facts and scientific knowledge about grasshoppers. Find it at http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/Magazine/Mj02/etcetera/index.htm.
Explore Urban Integrated Pest Management! Michigan State University Extension provides a comprehensive activities and resource book for teaching K-6 entitled Exploring Urban Integrated Pest Management. The workbook includes twelve classroom activities and is available in PDF format at http://www.pested.msu.edu/CommunitySchoolIpm/curriculum.htm
Grades 3-6
"Join Our Pest Patrol" and go on an "IPM Adventure!" Join Our Pest Patrol- A Backyard Activity Book for Kids- Adventure in IPM is a book with companion teacher's guide that includes many educational activities designed for 3rd and 4th graders. Find a downloadable version at http://www.mda.state.mn.us/IPM/IPMPubs.html#PestPatrol
Get artistic with insect models! Includes fly, butterfly, dragonfly and cockroach models for kids to cut, decorate and fold. Find it in PDF form at http://paipm.cas.psu.edu/pdf/insectmodels.pd
Alien Empire! PBS supplements a Nature program entitled Alien Empire with a website containing interactive puzzles, animated presentations, video clips, templates for insect masks and a teacher's guide. Find it at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/alienempire/ To purchase the video, please contact WNET Video Distribution by calling (800) 336-1917, or by writing to WNET Video Distribution, P.O. Box 2284, South Burlington, VT 05407.
Go microscopic! The Bugscope project is an educational outreach program for K-12 classrooms that enables students to remotely operate a scanning electron microscope to image "bugs" at high magnification. Check out this free resource at http://bugscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/
Get active! The Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides' School Pesticide Use Reduction program works to get Northwest (and other) schools to reduce their use of toxic pesticides on school grounds and in school buildings. Start your own club related to pesticides, IPM or bugs or look specifically into NCAP's School Pesticide Use Reduction program at http://www.pesticide.org/schools01.html
Play Bingo! The Environmental Protection Agency's Pesticide Safety Bingo Game is a downloadable 49 pages plus cards and contains both beginner and advanced level games for K-6 grades about pest management and pesticides, including instructions, background information for teachers, discussion questions, picture and text cards in English and Spanish. Find it at http://www.epa.gov/region6/6pd/bingo/index.htm
Play "Help! It's a Roach" on the web! A pest prevention website full of activities provides a fun way for kids to learn about managing indoor insect pests. The web version is available at http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/kids/roaches/english/, and paper version is available from EPA's publication center, http://www.epa.gov/ncepihom/ordering.htm
Play Bug-GO! This bingo-like game helps kids learn about beneficial insects. Match beneficials with their pests. Includes player game cards, templates, for overhead transparencies or display sheets, information about each insect and instructions. Find it at http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/IPM/teachers/bug-go/bug-go.htm
Learn about household chemicals! In commemoration of National Poison Prevention Week, Mar. 17-23, the Environmental Protection Agency is making available several resources to educate the public about ways to prevent children from being poisoned by pesticides and household products. "Learn About Chemicals Around Your House" is an interactive web site designed to teach children and parents about household products, including pesticides, that may contain harmful chemicals. Find it at http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/kids/hometour/
Explore grasshoppers! Canadian Geographic's grasshopper facts website, "A grand look a grasshoppers," includes interactive games, fun facts and scientific knowledge about grasshoppers. Find it at http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/Magazine/Mj02/etcetera/index.htm.
Explore Urban Integrated Pest Management! Michigan State University Extension provides a comprehensive activities and resource book for teaching K-6 entitled Exploring Urban Integrated Pest Management. The workbook includes twelve classroom activities and is available in PDF format at http://www.pested.msu.edu/CommunitySchoolIpm/curriculum.htm
Grades 7-12
IPM curriculum for grades 9-12! This 200 page book includes IPM basics including monitoring and cultural, physical, biological and least-toxic chemical controls; insect profiles, study programs, case studies, lab experiments, resource list, glossary; designed to be part of a science, chemistry or biology course; emphasis on agricultural, horticultural and garden pests. Find it at the Bio-Integral Resource Center, P.O. Box 7414, Berkeley CA 94707, (510) 524-2567, FAX (510) 524-1758, E-mail birc@igc.org, Web site http://www.birc.org.
Solve a problem! (This experiment was recently performed by the students of Edgewater High School in Winter Park, Florida under the direction of environmental biologist, Steve Miller, and teacher, Mr. Ius.)
The Problem: Severe fruit fly infestation in the classroom where animals are taken care of for the purpose of exposing the students to something different.
The Solution: Have the students and teacher learn about the food, water and harborage needs of the fruit fly, leading to an understanding of what allows the pest's success in the classroom environment.
The Approach: The students sought out and corrected the conditions that allowed the fruit flies to breed in and near the classroom. Drains were cleaned with bacterial agents to remove breeding areas and an intensified cleaning schedule was implemented around the animal cages.
The Outcome: After four weeks, and no use of pesticides, there are no more fruit flies in the classroom.
Additional note: This approach can be repeated easily in other school systems. No money was spent by the school beyond cleaning supplies. The school now has a group of students more aware of and on the alert for situations that allow pest success.
School IPM-related current events! This website includes links to and bibliographies of school pest management articles in the news from June of 2000 to today! Find it at http://www.ipminstitute.org/school_headlines.htm
Go on a field trip! The Entomological Society of America keeps a list of insect zoos, insect museums and butterfly gardens in the United States. Find it at http://www.entsoc.org/education/links/insect_zoos.htm
Check out careers in entomology! The Entomological Society of America keeps a page called "Educational and Career Information for High School and Undergraduate Students." Check it out with interested high school students! Find it at http://www.entsoc.org/education/educ_career/educ_career.htm
Go microscopic! The Bugscope project is an educational outreach program for K-12 classrooms that enables students to remotely operate a scanning electron microscope to image "bugs" at high magnification. Check out this free resource at http://bugscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/
Get active! The Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides' School Pesticide Use Reduction program works to get Northwest (and other) schools to reduce their use of toxic pesticides on school grounds and in school buildings. Start your own club related to pesticides, IPM or bugs or look specifically into NCAP's School Pesticide Use Reduction program at http://www.pesticide.org/schools01.html
College
College-level IPM textbook! Radcliffe's IPM World Textbook is an electronic textbook that includes line drawings, color and B&W photos, chapters on biological and cultural control, computers in IPM, crop and commodity-specific IPM, ecology, IPM policy, medical and veterinary IPM, pesticides, stored product IPM, links to IPM resources including photographs and decision-support software. Find it at http://www.ipmworld.umn.edu/ipmsite.htm
Spanish Language
The IPM Institute website contains a list of Spanish language School IPM-related materials. Check them out at http://www.ipminstitute.org/school_biblio.htm#Spanish
Region Specific
Nebraska's Bumble Boosters: http://bumbleboosters.unl.edu/
The Texas Monarch Project: http://chico.rice.edu/armadillo/Ftbend/newfly.html
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Questions or comments?
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