Activity sheets:
Activity Chart
Teacher Preparation:
- Gathering a praying mantid from the wild may take time. Adults are sometimes attracted to a porch light in the late fall. If you are rearing them from egg cases, allow up to two months before beginning the lesson. Having an extra empty container will help when you are cleaning the containers and moving the mantid.
- If you plan to use live house flies for Activity 2, use the Fly Trap Instructions and Handling Tips for recommendations.
- Prepare two clear containers for the praying mantids several days before lesson begins. Identify and prepare a place in the classroom for the insects to live. Avoid areas with direct sun, air vents or cold drafts.
- One chart is planned for this lesson (Activity 4). Four discussions are recorded on butcher paper (Introduction, Activities 1, 4 and Closure Activity). Prepare bulletin board space or other wall space for displaying charts throughout the lesson.
- Prepare copies of Record Sheet for Activity 5.
- Anticipate following some of the students' ideas for experiments in addition to the ones in the lesson.
- Do not use misters that contained cleaning chemicals or anything other than water (Activity 5).
- Gather remaining materials and books (see Bibliography).
Materials:
- Praying mantid - (preferably one mantid for 3-5 students).
- At least two separate set-ups with two mantids: clear gallon jars or aquarium with a stick or branch, sprayer bottle, fly (live or plastic surrogate) or raisin on a string.
- Photos of different animals or insects (moth, ant, walking stick, cat, etc.).
- Butcher paper
- Model of a human eye (if possible)
- Jane Yolen, The Seeing Stick; Mark Brown, Arthur's Eyes; Holly Keller, Cromwell's Glasses; Ellen Raskin, Spectacles.
- Any supporting fiction and non-fiction literature that may not be suggested in the bibliography.
Praying Mantid Information Sheets
Praying Mantid Rearing Sheets
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