Activity Introduction

Quick summary: This activity has been designed to support early learning centres joining in Enviroweek. By participating in this activity, children are given the opportunity to learn more about bugs and slugs they can find outdoors. Children make pictures about what they think bugs and slugs look like, and then compare the images to the actual appearance of a creature they observe first-hand.

This activity is designed to help connect children to the wonders of the natural world through sensory and play-based learning.

Enviroweek LogoFollowing this lesson plan is an ideal way for your centre to take part in Enviroweek. You’ll be joining thousands of amazing educators and teachers in making a difference and creating positive environmental change. 

 

 

EYLF Learning Outcome

Elaborations

Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world

3. Children become socially responsible and show respect for the environment

Outcome 4: Children are involved and confident learners

1. Children develop dispositions for learning such as curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence, imagination and reflexivity

2. Children develop a range of skills and processes such as problem solving, enquiry, experimentation, hypothesising, researching and investigating

3. Children transfer and adapt what they have learned from one context to another

4. Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies and natural and processed materials 

 

Equipment needed: 

  • Rulers, spoons, sticks or similar items for children to use to “poke around” outdoors and stay safe while looking for and at bugs and slugs. You might also find torches useful. Use clear jars or petri dishes if you want to bring some bugs and slugs inside for observation.
  • Drawing paper or printouts of Activity Sheet 1 and Activity Sheet 2.
  • Slugs and bugs identification sheet.
  • Build a bug house instruction sheet and materials for making bug house (empty milk cartons or other tubs, scissors).

 Other resources:

Cool Australia Presents Biodiversity from Cool Australia on Vimeo.

 

The team at Cool Australia continually reviews and refines our Early Learning resources in line with expert advice and current educational practices.

Worksheets

Teacher Worksheet

Background information:

Learning goals:  Students will explore bugs and slugs living outdoors. They will learn how to observe them and how to interact with them. 

Content information: For the purposes of this activity, 'bugs and slugs' refers to all the small creepy crawlies you may find in your yard (see the Slugs and bugs identification sheet). Technically however all bugs and slugs can be referred to as 'invertebrates'. This means they are a complex animal that does not have a backbone. (Humans and other mammals have a spine and belong to the category 'vertebrates'.)

Bugs and slugs that you may find in your garden could include:

  • Insects - Insects are defined as having a body made up of three parts; a head, an abdomen and a thorax (the bit that lies between the abdomen and the head - in humans this would be the chest). They have two antennae, three pairs of legs and a hard exoskeleton. Some examples of insects are bees, ants, beetles, mosquitoes, crickets and butterflies.
  • Sp
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