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Arizona STEM

Acceleration Project

Spiders and their Amazing Adventures

~Spider Life Cycle and Ballooning Spider Phenomenon

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Spiders and their Amazing Adventures

~Spider Life Cycle and Ballooning Spider Phenomenon

A 1st grade STEM lesson

Terri Serena

10/06/2023

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Notes for Teachers

This lesson takes place in a classroom for one or more hours.
Students should work in small teams of two.
An emphasis on the target product (a functioning spiderling parachute).
Creative solutions should be encouraged.

List of Materials:

Student notebook or Notebook paper
Life Cycle Models: Play Doh, poster paper, or other available materials to create a model
Engineering Challenge: coffee filters, paper, string (various types), tape, scissors,measuring tape, plastic spiders, fan(optional)

Additional Resources:

Spider Apocalypse Youtube Video
"The Life Cycle of a Spider" by Bobbie Kalman
"Are You a Spider?" by Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries
"Spinning Spiders" by Melvin and Gilda Berger

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Arizona Science Standards

Science Standards:

1.L1U1.6 Observe, describe, and predict life cycles of animals and plants.

1.L2U2.7 Develop and use models about how living things use resources to grow and survive; design and evaluate habitats for organisms using earth materials.

Science and Engineering Practices

ask questions and define problems
develop and use models
plan and carry out investigations
analyze and interpret data
use mathematical and computational thinking
construct explanations and design solutions
engage in argument from evidence
obtain, evaluate and communicate information

Arizona ELA Standards

1.RI.5 Know and use various text features (e.g., headings, tables of contents, glossaries, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text.

1.RI.6 Distinguish between information provided by pictures or other illustrations and information provided by the words in a text.

1.RI.7 Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.

1.RI.10 With prompting and support, read informational texts, including functional texts, history/social studies, science, and technical texts, appropriately complex for grade 1.

1.SL.1 Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups. a. Follow agreed‐upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion). b. Build on others’ talk in conversations by responding to the comments of others through multiple exchanges. c. Ask questions to clear up any confusion about the topics and texts under discussion.

1.SL.5 Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

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National Standards

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

1-LS1-2: Read texts and use media to determine patterns in behavior of parents and offspring that help offspring survive.

Connection: Students observe the life cycle of spiders and the phenomenon of "ballooning" (where spiderlings release silk to be carried by the wind), learning how this behavior helps young spiders disperse and survive.

1-LS3-1: Make observations to construct an evidence-based account that young plants and animals are like, but not exactly like, their parents.

Connection: Students explore the spider life cycle from egg sac to spiderling to adult, noting the similarities and differences at each stage through models and diagrams.

K-2-ETS1-2: Develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of an object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem.

Connection: Students design and build a parachute for a plastic spider, illustrating how the shape and material of their "ballooning" device captures the wind to transport the spider effectively.

Common Core English Language Arts (CCSS.ELA)

RI.1.1: Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

Connection: Students ask and answer questions about spider behaviors and life cycles after reading books like The Life Cycle of a Spider or watching the "Spider Apocalypse" video.

W.1.3: Write narratives in which they recount two or more appropriately sequenced events, include some details regarding what happened, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide some sense of closure.

Connection: The extension activity prompts students to write and illustrate a story about a spider who used their parachute, detailing why (escape, food, adventure) and what happened.

Common Core Mathematics (CCSS.MATH)

1.MD.A.2: Express the length of an object as a whole number of length units, by laying multiple copies of a shorter object (the length unit) end to end; understand that the length measurement of an object is the number of same-size length units that span it with no gaps or overlaps.

Connection: Students measure the distance their spider travels using a tape measure, comparing their results to class data to evaluate their design.

MP5: Use appropriate tools strategically.

Connection: Students use tools like scissors, tape, and measuring tapes to construct their parachutes and measure their performance during the engineering challenge.

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Objectives:

Life Cycles:

I can watch and learn about how spiders change over time.
I can describe what happens in the life cycles of spiders.
I can make guesses about what will happen next in the life cycle of spiders.
I can create models to show how living things need things like food, water, and air to grow and stay alive.

Engineering Design Challenge:

I can work together and talk with my partner to solve a problem in an engineering challenge.
I can design and build a parachute to help my spiderling travel as far as possible.

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Agenda (90 minutes)

Part 1:

Life Cycle of a Spider

Model Life Cycle

Part 2:

Ballooning Spider Phenomenon

Engineering a Parachute for a Spiderling

Share Class Data

This lesson can be done in two parts: Part 1 learn about a spider’s life cycle and Part 2 the engineering challenge.

Lesson Description: In this first-grade lesson, we will learn about the amazing world of spiders! We'll start by exploring the life cycle of a spider, from when it hatches to how it grows and changes into an adult spider. We'll see how some baby spiders, called spiderlings, use a special trick called "ballooning" to travel in the air.

Engineering Design Challenge: After discovering how spiders use their silk to float through the air, we're going to become little engineers! Your challenge is to design and create your very own "spiderling parachute." Just like real spiderlings, your parachute should be able to catch the wind and gently carry a small object (like a tiny spiderling figurine) through the air. You'll get to choose your materials and test your parachute to see how far it can travel. Don't forget to think about the size, shape, and weight of your parachute – these are important factors in making it work! This challenge will help us use our creativity and problem-solving skills, just like real engineers. Let's have fun and see whose spiderling parachute can travel the farthest!

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The

Life Cycle

of a

Spider

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Read-Alouds

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Life Cycle Models

Choose one:

Draw a diagram of life cycle of a spider in student notebooks or team poster.
Create a model of the life cycle of a spider using Play Doh or other available materials.

Choose one:

Share your diagram or model with another team.
Present your diagram or model to the class.

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The

Ballooning Spider Phenomenon

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Do you know what this is? Have you ever seen anything like this before?

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Does this give you a clue?

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Watch this video

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The Ballooning Spider Phenomenon Explained:

Baby spiders, called spiderlings, make special silk parachutes to fly in the wind.

They can go from just a little bit away to really far!

When they are very tiny, they stand up on their tiptoes and let out some silk threads. These threads make a triangle parachute shape that catches the wind and helps them fly up in the sky!

It can help spiders escape from animals that might want to eat them or other spiders that they don't want to be near. It can also take them to new places where they can find lots of food and things they need.

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The Engineering Design Challenge:

Make a spiderling parachute that will carry your spider as far as possible.

Use the Engineering Design Process to Guide you.

Constraints: Use only the supplies provided. You have 30 minutes to complete this challenge.

Record data in class data chart.

If you’ve never talked about the Engineering Design Process before, maybe watch this video and use a chart to guide students through it…breaking down each step for them to record in their notebooks.

Explaining what the Engineering Design Process is to a 1st grader: The engineering design process is like a step-by-step plan to make something cool and solve problems. It's all about using your imagination and trying things out until you make something awesome!

Explaining Constraints to a 1st grader: Constraints are like rules or limits we have to follow when we're making something. They help us do things safely and in the right way. For example, if we're building with blocks, a constraint might be that we can only use a certain number of blocks, or we can't make the tower too tall because it might fall over. Constraints help us be creative and solve problems while staying safe and organized.

Set up a class data chart on the board or chart paper for students to record their distance.

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How do we assess our work?

We try out our creation to see how it works.
We ask for advice or thoughts from others.
We make changes and try again, over and over.
We check if our finished creation does what it's supposed to do and follows the rules we had to follow.

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Assessment

Test your parachute:

Did the parachute carry the spider in the wind?
How far did your spider travel?
How did your distance compare with the class data?
Were you able to improve your parachute?
If yes, what did you change?

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Differentiation

One way to differentiate in this lesson is to provide step by step directions on making a parachute and limit the supplies to exactly what they need.

Another option is to already have a preprinted Engineering Design template for students to fill in. This visual will keep them on track.

Remediation

Extension/Enrichment

Students who are successful right away can write and illustrate a story about a spider who used their parachute to:

escape a predator
went to find food
wanted to find a new place to live