Education Centre Programs
Hug-A-Bug
Grades: 4, 6 and 7
Length: half day
Season: spring and fall
Go on an insect safari! Using a number of different techniques, students collect insects in a variety of habitats. Identification keys and field guides will be utilized to name and classify the insects. Students explore insect adaptations and diversity and also learn about the positive and negative roles insects play in their lives.
Curriculum Connections:
Grade 4
Science – Habitats and Communities
3.4 Demonstrate an understanding of a community as a group of interacting species sharing a common habitat.
3.5 Classify organisms, including humans, according to their role in a food chain.
3.6 Identify animals that are carnivores, herbivores, or omnivores.
3.7 Describe structural adaptations that allow plants and animals to survive in specific habitats.
Grade 6
Science – Biodiversity
2.1 Follow established safety procedures for outdoor activities and field work.
2.2 Investigate the organisms found in a specific habitat and classify them according to a classification system.
2.3 Use scientific inquiry/research skills to compare the characteristics of organisms within the plant or animal kingdoms.
3.1 Identify and describe the distinguishing characteristics of different groups of plants and animals, and use these characteristics to further classify various kinds of plants and animals.
3.7 Explain how invasive species reduce biodiversity in local environments.
Grade 7
Science – Interactions in the Environment
2.1 Follow established safety procedures for investigating ecosystems.
3.1 Demonstrate an understanding of an ecosystem as a system of interactions between living organisms and their environment.
3.2 Identify biotic and abiotic elements in an ecosystem, and describe the interactions between them.
3.3 Describe the roles and interactions of producers, consumers, and decomposers within an ecosystem.
3.7 Explain why an ecosystem is limited in the number of living things that it can support.
3.8 Describe ways in which human activities and technologies alter balances and interactions in the environment.
