My spider unit runs right before Halloween, and I tend to mix and match the two a bit. This year the kinders were more excited to do the spider activities, though, at least until the day before Halloween!
Books
Believe it or not, I forgot to make a list of all the books I used for this unit! I did bring in a lot of non-fiction books about spiders for the kids to look through. We used this opportunity to compare fiction and non-fiction books, and sorting the books accordingly. Everytime I brought out a new book, the kids told me which kind of book it was. They really got excited about this activity, and they really wanted the chance to classify the books. They had to explain their decisions, which was pretty funny at times, but it was great practice for them to think about decisions and back them up.
.
Activities
Math
KWL chart - we charted what we knew and wanted to learn about spiders, and at the end we filled in everything we learned.
Are You Afraid of Spider? graph - we made this graph twice, once at the beginning and then at the end of the unit.
Science
Why Don't Spiders Stick to Their own Webs? - an experiment the kids were facinated by. I wrapped packing tape, sticky side out, around a book. The kids all had a chance to touch it with their own 'spider legs' (fingers), and they all stuck to the web. Spiders have an oil on their legs to keep them from sticking (we read part of our non-fiction book about this). I put some vaseline on my finger and asked them what they thought would happen, then rubbed my finger on the web. They all had the chance to dip their spider legs into my vaseline, and then walk their spider along the web. I then put this at the science table with those plastic spider rings for the kids to experiement with.
Spider Fact Webs - the students recieved paper webs to write facts they have learned about spiders on. I then hung these webs around the room.
I enlarged a large spider printout from Enchanted Learning and attached it to my chart. We labeled the major parts - their favorite was the spinnerets, I think because they had fun saying it!
Spider Art
We made white spider pictures on black paper by painting thier hands white (NOT the thumbs), and put their hands onto the paper, fingers out. The two palms need to overlap to make the spider body.
I cut the inside out of paper plates, and then punched holes around the rim. The students wove a long piece of yarn through the holes to make webs. We used dark yarn, and I wrapped tape around the end of it to keep it from fraying.
What's a web without a spider? Styrofoam balls to the rescue! I rolled them in black paint to make the spider's body. The students pushed in pipecleaners into the body, and glued on googly eyes. I pushed a paperclip into the top to hang a piece of yarn from it, and then hung these great spiders from the woven webs.
Journal
We made thumbprint spiders in our journals and then wrote things we had learned: how many legs, where they lived, any other facts the kids enjoyed - the word SPINNERET showed up a fair bit :-)
Songs and Poems
There are the basics that you always have to use - Itsy Bitsy Spider and Little Miss Muffet. I also used the song There's a Spider on the Floor by Raffi.
Spiders by Janet Bruno
Spiderlings hatch from eggs
Each one had eight tiny legs
A spider has more eyes than you
Most have eight, and you have two
A spider has two bady parts
Across its web it quickly darts
From a spider's spinnerets
Sticky spider silk jets
Spiders feel frantic tugs,
Of their favourite food - it's bugs!
I'm a Little Spider (tune: I'm a little teapot)
I'm a little spider, watch me spin
If you'll be my dinner
I'll let you come in.
Then I'll build my web
To hold you tight
And gobble you up in one big bite!
Cobweb Ride
Little spider likes to climb up a flower hill
Up and up and up he goes
Up and up until
He stands upon the very top
Then quickly down he slides
I think it must be lots of fun
To go on cobweb rides.
