does this work? Our bodies create heat,
which warms the air around us. This hot
air rises. As it rises, it hits the blades of the
wing, causing them to turn. In effect, your
students are making mini thermals. Many
types of butterflies, notably the monarchs,
use thermals to reduce their energy use when
they travel long distances.
This simple wing pattern activity is also
great for introducing the design of an experi-
ment with variables. Allow your students to
select one thing about the wing or their use of
the wing that they will change. good things
to change include using different types of
paper (tissue, construction paper, card stock),
increasing or decreasing the size of the wing,
holding the pencil with one or two hands or
variable separately, challenge the students to
holding the pencil closer and farther from the
create the fastest spinning wing.
base.
A few other quick ideas worth trying:
There are also opportunities for changing • Create a memory matching game with
the wing shape, the amount of weight put on cards of larvae/nymphs and mature forms;
the wing (with glue, glitter, etc.), the person • Create an insect collection using the dead
holding the pencil (some people radiate more specimens found on the window sills,
heat than others) and creative students will in light fixtures, dusty corners, and high
develop other features they want to investi- shelves of your classroom; use clear tape
gate. The simplest way to measure differences to lift the specimens and attach them to
is to count the number of rotations in one index cards, carefully recording day and
minute. Be sure to stress that they must keep location of your finds;
all other factors the same. • Create colorful artwork of insects for all
Once they have mastered how to test each to see and enjoy! !
Basic Dichotomous Key
2 colors 3 colors
(name starts with a vowel) (name starts with a consonant)
____________|______________ _____________|_____________
| | | |
Edge No edge Edge No Edge
(rides bus) (doesn’t ride bus) (rides bus) (doesn’t ride bus)
_________|__________ ________|_________ ________|_________ ________|_________
| | | | | | | |
Eye Spots No eye spots Eye spots No eye spots Eye spots No eye spots Eye spots No eye spots
(only child) (siblings) (only child) (siblings) (only child) (siblings) (only child) (siblings)
Cindy Blobaum lives and
Wing Experiment Sheet
works in Des Moines, Iowa,
Pick one thing to change about your wing: Size Paper Thickness Hand Position on Pencil
where she teaches Elemen-
tary Science Methods at
How are you going to change it? ______________________________________________________________________
Drake University. She is the
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
author of Insectigations:
What do you think will happen? _______________________________________________________________________
40 Hands-on Activities to
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
explore the Insect World
How will you measure and record your results? ___________________________________________________________
(Chicago Review Press,
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
2005) and geology Rocks!
(Williamson Publishing,
What actually happened? _____________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
1999). Several of the activi-
ties described in this article
What are your thoughts now? __________________________________________________________________________
are also in Insectigations.
See review on page 24.
© synergy learning • 800-769-6199 • March/april 2010 Connect • page 7
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