CENTER – Center third grade students had fun learning about beneficial bugs. U.S. Forest Service Ranger and entomologist Doug Clark helped with the activity.  

The students were a little afraid of the bugs at first, but enjoyed learning that there are benefits to bugs, even though they are kind of creepy, according to teachers, Martina Thompson and Joy Massey. 

Thompson stated, “The kids were in class and reading about different bugs, spiders, and cockroaches. The kids initially said ‘ewww, they are creepy, they are gross we kill them ewww,’ but after they read about them and learned that spiders are beneficial to the environment and they help control other pests, they were OK with that. The kids also learned that cockroaches, although a little creepy too, are also natural decomposers, so now the students have a different insight about these bugs. The kids have told me now, ‘Mrs. Thompson, guess what, I found a bug at home, so I picked it up and put it outside’ so I am like yes that’s awesome. So yes, I think this has shown them a lot of different things about bugs and how they are beneficial to the environment.”  

Massey also spoke about the bug curriculum and how she felt it helped her students engage and learn about beneficial bugs. 

“A big part of what he talked about when he came out was the difference between insects and spiders. He talked about how a lot of times we use the term bugs, but we actually mean insects and spiders, and it’s a very vague term. He talked about how spiders have two segments and lots of legs, He also brought some pictures in, and we also got to go out and look for some insects, unfortunately we did it in the morning when it was a little chilly, and only found a little beetle, but later we went out again and found a grasshopper. He also explained to the students how bugs serve a purpose, and how they are in their natural habitat, and he told the students if they are outside, we need to let them just live their lives outside,” she said.  

Thompson showed off pictures of the two classrooms that showed where students had drawn different bugs and insects and colored them as well. Thompson stated that the kids learned that some bugs are pollinators like bees, decomposers like beetles who eat decaying matter, and some insects and bugs help to control other pests, like spiders and ladybugs. Some bugs also serve as a food source and are eaten by other bugs and insects.  

Massey stated one thing she thought was neat about the entomologist is that he also taught the kids the different parts of the bugs. He taught them about the different segments that spiders and insects have. He taught them about how spiders have many legs while other insects may have only four. 

Massey stated it was neat to hear the kids learning about the bugs and then using the vocabulary that they learned. 

“It was cool to hear them practicing the vocabulary like they would say, ‘we know that’s an insect because it has three segments.’ They learned, head, thorax, abdomen. It was cool to hear them use the same vocabulary. It was cool to see and hear that, as a teacher it was great to hear that,” Massey said. 

Thomspon and Massey both stated that they felt that learning about bugs gave the kids more compassion for the bugs. Thompson stated she also felt good when some of her students stated that they took home the information and were also teaching their parents about the bugs. 

“We had a sheet with information about different bugs, and insects, and the kids took home the sheet and stated they taught their parents about these bugs and how they are beneficial to the environment too. It was great to see this and see how excited the kids were to learn about the bugs and they ways they help their environments.”