Imperative Insects Newsletter

Here is an online copy of the initial Imperative Insects newsletter we sent home to parents:

Dear Third Grade Parents,

I have had the pleasure of meeting most of you already, but for those of you whom I’ve missed, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and my role in your child’s schooling for the next few months. My name is Katie Furgison and I am currently in the Masters of Arts in Teaching program at Pacific University. I have had the opportunity to work with your children on a part-time basis through the fall, and now have started student teaching full-time in Deb Delplanche’s third grade classroom. I will be slowly assuming all teaching duties over the next nine weeks, and I am so excited to learn more about and grow with your child!

In the next several weeks, third graders will have the opportunity to participate in a unit called Imperative Insects. The theme of insects will serve to introduce children to specific science concepts, support ongoing literacy, enhance technology skills, and encourage expression through art. In addition, this unit will expose children to insect adaptations, habitat, food chain, life cycle and the symbiotic relationship between insects and humans.

As part of the Imperative Insect unit, our class will be undertaking a scientific inquiry exploring butterflies. Students will have the opportunity to perform an experiment of their own design, as well as directly witness an insect’s life cycle as we watch our class caterpillars metamorphosize into butterflies. If you would like to learn more about butterflies yourself, or discover more about these special creatures with your child, I’ve found several websites that are detailed and informative. The first, a site on the monarch butterfly (http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/monarch_butterfly.htm), describes the stages of a butterfly’s lifecycle through beautiful pictures and clear explanations. The second website, an online museum about butterflies (http://www.fieldmuseum.org/butterfly/) also offers wonderful, specific information to answer your or your child’s questions.

Towards the end of the Imperative Insect unit, students will be asked to show what they know about the insect life cycle, adaptations, habitats, role in the food chain, and relationship with humans through creating their own unique three-dimensional bug and writing a corresponding Identification Manual. To prepare for this learning activity, we are asking students to start collecting materials such as paper towel tubes, egg cartons, small boxes, feathers, string, bells, rocks, pipe cleaners, metal sandwich ties, small pieces of fabric, beads and any other non-toxic materials. We will let you know when it comes time to bring these items into the classroom!

To follow your child’s learning throughout the Imperative Insects unit, I have created a class blog (http://imperativeinsects.blogspot.com/) that will feature updates on the day’s learning activities, homework and additional supplemental websites or activities for you to enjoy with your child.

I am greatly looking forward to my time with your third graders. Each one is so vibrant and unique, and I know that I will learn as much from them as they from me. If you have any questions about me personally, my background, or this unit, feel free to visit my personal website at http://fg.ed.pacificu.edu/sweb/furgison/Site/Welcome.html. If you have further questions or are interested in participating in any of the Imperative Insect activities my personal email is katiekateosu@comcast.net. I hope to get to know each and every one of you more intimately as my nine-week stay progresses!
Sincerely,

Katie Furgison

Imperative Insects!

Welcome to Ms. Delplanche and Mrs. Furgison's third grade classroom blog! This blog will follow the third graders (and their teachers) as they explore the wonderful world of insects! Insects are some of the most fascinating and prevelant animals in the world. Check out this cool list of insect facts (borrowed from http://www.funshun.com/amazing-facts/other-insects-facts.html)!

• Many insects can carry 50 times their own body weight.

• If all the insects in the world were put on a scale, they would out weigh all creatures.

• For more than 3,000 years, Carpenter ants have been used to close wounds in India, Asia and South America.

• The longest insect is a walking stick that can reach a length of 33 centimeters.

• The eggs of walking stick insects are among the largest in the insect world. Some eggs are more than eight millimeters long.

• A scorpion can have up to 12 eyes.

• A caterpillar grows roughly 27,000 times its size when it first emerges as an egg.

• Locusts can eat their own weight in food in a day. A person eats his own body weight in about half a year.

• Monarch caterpillars shed their skin four times before they become a chrysalis, growing over 2700 times their original size.

• The common garden worm has five pairs of hearts.

• About 80% of the Earth’s animals are insects!

• There is only one insect that can turn its head -- the praying mantis.

• A flea can jump 130 times its own height.

• The fiddler crab can grow a new claw when it loses one of its own.

• The Jungle Nymph Stick is one of the heaviest insects. In Malaysia they are often kept by people who feed them guava leaves and use the droppings to make tea.