In this mini-lesson, students explore not only what the biggest spider in the world is, but also the huge variety of spiders that exist. Whether one finds spiders creepy or not, it is argued that all spiders can be fascinating and worthy of attention. In the activity, Spider Climber, Students work together to build a spider out of paper that can climb up a string!
This is a two-part activity. In Part 1 of this activity, students will choose a science question and do research to find out the answer using resources provided by the teacher (books or articles). In Part 2, students will use the information they find to write a script and create drawings to help explain their answer. After completing the script and drawings, students will either do a class presentation or video record themselves presenting their answers and drawings.
Estimated time: 2-3 hrs (We recommend giving your students multiple sessions to work on their project.)
Step 1: Print worksheets
Each pair of students or solo student will need:
For students who get stuck when trying to come up with their own questions, we created a list of suggested questions. Let students try to come up with questions first on their own, then provide this Question Suggestions sheet to those who need help. Print as many Question Suggestions sheets as you think you’ll need for your group.
Step 2: Provide students with resources to research their topics
Here are some options; use whatever will work best for you!
Step 1: Print worksheets and gather supplies
Each pair of students or solo student will need:
Step 2 (optional): Have students video record their projects
If you want to have students record videos of their projects, they’ll need access to video recording devices, such as cameras, webcams, or smartphones.
Step 3 (optional): Share student videos
If you’d like to share your students’ videos with Doug and the rest of the Mystery Science team, you can upload the videos online and tweet a link to us @MysterySci. (Before you do so, make sure you have parent permission to share student work, in accordance with your district’s policies.)
Steps for uploading and sharing videos using YouTube:
Steps for tweeting videos to Mystery Science:
In this mini-lesson, students explore not only what the biggest spider in the world is, but also the huge variety of spiders that exist. Whether one finds spiders creepy or not, it is argued that all spiders can be fascinating and worthy of attention.
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DISCUSS:
How do you think Doug knows the answers to all these questions?
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In this mini-lesson, students explore not only what the biggest spider in the world is, but also the huge variety of spiders that exist. Whether one finds spiders creepy or not, it is argued that all spiders can be fascinating and worthy of attention. In the activity, Spider Climber, Students work together to build a spider out of paper that can climb up a string!
This is a two-part activity. In Part 1 of this activity, students will choose a science question and do research to find out the answer using resources provided by the teacher (books or articles). In Part 2, students will use the information they find to write a script and create drawings to help explain their answer. After completing the script and drawings, students will either do a class presentation or video record themselves presenting their answers and drawings.
Estimated time: 2-3 hrs (We recommend giving your students multiple sessions to work on their project.)
Step 1: Print worksheets
Each pair of students or solo student will need:
For students who get stuck when trying to come up with their own questions, we created a list of suggested questions. Let students try to come up with questions first on their own, then provide this Question Suggestions sheet to those who need help. Print as many Question Suggestions sheets as you think you’ll need for your group.
Step 2: Provide students with resources to research their topics
Here are some options; use whatever will work best for you!
Step 1: Print worksheets and gather supplies
Each pair of students or solo student will need:
Step 2 (optional): Have students video record their projects
If you want to have students record videos of their projects, they’ll need access to video recording devices, such as cameras, webcams, or smartphones.
Step 3 (optional): Share student videos
If you’d like to share your students’ videos with Doug and the rest of the Mystery Science team, you can upload the videos online and tweet a link to us @MysterySci. (Before you do so, make sure you have parent permission to share student work, in accordance with your district’s policies.)
Steps for uploading and sharing videos using YouTube:
Steps for tweeting videos to Mystery Science:
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