Mystery Diners
Lesson Overview
Goals
- Identify common garden insects
- Describe the impact that common garden insects have on the garden
Outcomes
Teaching Primer
If you grow just a single plant it will eventually attract insects. It’s nature’s way. As the scale of your garden grows so will the number of curious insects that drop by to see what’s going on.
But not all bugs are bad guests. And not all free-loading leaf munchers will do enough damage to impact the productivity of your plants. Knowing what bugs you have at the dinner table, the impact they have on your garden, and the best ways to address their presence is imperative.
This lesson will help Students identify common garden insects by sight and will give them the background to categorize them as good or bad bugs based on their impact on the garden plants.
Teach the Teacher
- Common Garden Pests and How to Control Them
- Garden Insects Flash Cards
Tools & Materials
- Garden Insect Flashcards
- Prizes - extra snack, special opportunity in the Lab, or other prizes
Vocabulary
- Infestation
- Beneficial insects
- Predatory insects
Method
Introduction (10 minutes)
Begin the lesson with a general overview of the role that bugs play in the garden and the growing process in general. Provide a few examples of good bugs as well as a few for harmful ones. Introduce the role that predatory insects play in the population control of bad bug infestations.
Activity (20 minutes)
Use the flashcards to quiz the Students by calling on them individually. You can make the activity more interesting by giving out points for correct answers. An extra snack or other small prize can be awarded to the Student(s) with the highest point totals at the end.
Discussion (10 minutes)
What do you think is the worst thing that could happen from a bug infestation? Have you ever seen a bug infestation up close? What were they doing? What plant were they on?
Assessment (5 minutes)
Use the following questions to assess the Students before and after the lesson. Tally the responses of the group in the Assessment Tracking Log for comparison:
- By a show of hands, how many of you know how to combat bugs in the garden?
- Now that you can identify good and bad bugs in the garden, raise your hand if you think you could better care for your own garden.
Related Lessons
Give the Intermediate or Advanced lessons a try now that you’ve completed the Beginner Lesson!
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