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GROW GUIDESGrow a BugSmartboard SimLabGrow a Bug Smartboard SimLab

TEACHING SUPPORT RESOURCE

Grow a Bug Smartboard SimLab Integrated Teaching and

Learning Resources for

Alberta Social Studies

and Science

GROW GUIDESGrow a Bug Smartboard SimLabGrow a Bug Smartboard SimLab

TEACHING SUPPORT RESOURCE

Grow a Bug Smartboard SimLab Integrated Teaching

and Learning Resources

for Alberta Social Studies

and Science

i

Contents

Introduction ....................................................................................... 1

Using the Grow a Bug Smartboard Simlab ................................ 3

How to Use the Grow a Bug SimLab Student Resource ............. 7

Integrating with Grade 3 .................................................................. 9

Integrating with Grade 4 ................................................................ 13

Integrating with Grade 5 ................................................................ 17

SimLab Bug Profile Student Resource ............................................ 21

SimLab Prediction Chart Student Resource ................................... 22

Grow a Bug Cards ............................................................................ 23

Acknowledgements Alberta Canola Producers Commission gratefully acknowledges the following groups and individuals who have participated in the development of this Smartboard and teaching support resource.

Project Development and Writing Patricia Shields-Ramsay Doug Ramsay InPraxis Group Inc.

Smartboard Development, Illustrations, & Resource Design Perry Shulak Craig Hicks Critical Fusion Inc.

Editing Virginia Durksen Visible Ink Incorporated

Teacher Reviews Margo Cahn Edmonton Public Schools

Sandy Myshak Edmonton Public Schools

Cindy Van Ember Parkland School Division

1

TEACHING SUPPORT RESOURCE Grow a Bug Smartboard SimLab

Introduction

The Alberta Canola Producers Grow Guides provide a series of learning experiences that are centred on the “big idea” concepts of growth and change. This “big idea” focus encourages students to explore the interconnectedness of people, their environments, ideas, and change. If students can gain understandings of how an animal or plant grows and changes over time, they can transfer that learning to better understand how responsibilities to their environments also grow, expand, or change.

GRADESGrow Guides

A Note About Grade Two Science

The Grow a Bug Smartboard SimLab can support learning in the Grade 2 Science program of study. However, students may find some of the text descriptions difficult. Students may be encouraged to use the SimLab to “play” with the different bugs and experiment by creating their own unique bugs!

Grade Three

How do people in communities grow and manage food crops?The Grade 3 Grow Guide supports learning in Alberta’s Social Studies and Science programs of study. In the Grade 3 Grow Guide, students identify some crops important to the food supply around the world, including canola. They explore

Grow a Bug Smartboard Simlab

3,4&5

This Grow a Bug Smartboard SimLab has been developed to support, extend, reinforce, and enrich students’ learning experiences in the Grow Guides. Each Grow Guide has a unique focus, but includes different perspectives on the impact that environmental factors, including insects, can have on agricultural activities and our food supply.

how different insects can affect food crops such as canola. Students investigate the life cycle of an insect and examine the positive and negative effects insects can have on the growth of healthy food crops. The following questions guide students’ inquiry and learning experiences:

1. Why is agriculture an important human activity?

2. Why do insects affect the ways communities manage crops?

3. How do insects affect the growth of food crops?

Grade Four

How does agricultural land use depend on and change Alberta’s environment?The Grade 4 Grow Guide supports learning in Alberta’s Social Studies and Science programs of studies. In the Grade 4 Grow Guide, students explore ways that people interact with their environment, including relationships

2 Introduction

to the land and its resources, the importance of plants and agriculture, and the human activities involved in the production and distribution of food. Students explore canola crops as one example of plant sources that are used for food. The following three questions guide students’ inquiry and learning experiences:

1. What factors do Albertans consider when they make decisions about the use of land and resources?

2. Why are food crops a natural resource?

3. What cycles and relationships affect people’s interactions with their environment?

Grade Five

How do environmental factors affect Canada’s food production?

The Grade 5 Grow Guide supports learning in Alberta’s Social Studies and Science programs of studies. In the Grade 5 Grow Guide, students explore relationships between Canada’s environment and the production of our food supply. Students investigate factors in Canada’s living environment that affect the growth of food crops, including an exploration of how plant eating insects find the right food, the relationship of climate and weather to crops such as canola, and the advantages and disadvantages of different methods used to

control insect pests. These investigations include an exploration of some principles of chemical reactions. The following questions guide students’ inquiry and learning experiences:

1. How does agriculture affect Canada’s landscapes?

2. What does it take to produce food?

3. How do environmental factors influence decisions about the food supply?

Learning outcomes from Social Studies and Science programs of study are provided in the Grades 3, 4, and 5 Grow Guides. The Smartboard SimLab activities in this Teaching Support Resource support these outcomes.

Assessment tools, such as “I Can” statements, assessment criteria checklists, and rubrics are also provided in the Grades 3, 4, and 5 Grow Guides.

GRADESGrow Guides

3,4&5

3Grow a Bug Smartboard Simlab

The Grow a Bug Smartboard SimLab allows students to explore 20 different insects that are commonly found in canola crop fields. Many of these insects will also be familiar to students in their everyday environments.

The Grow a Bug Smartboard SimLab has three main functions:

• Itallowsstudentstoselectaninsect,exploreitsanatomy,and “grow” it. The bugs that students grow are referred to as “SimBugs” in this resource.

• Itallowsstudentstoreplacethebodypartsofoneinsectwith body parts of any of the other 20 insects to create a SimBug.

• Itprovidesstudentswiththeopportunitytoseetheeffectsof their SimBug on a canola field.

Using the Grow a Bug Smartboard SimLab

Insert the Grow a Bug Smartboard SimLab into your CD or DVD player. Open the CD menu to view the folders. Please note that Adobe Air MUST be installed on your computer before you launch the SimLab program. Install Adobe Air.

Double click on the SimLab Installer icon. Follow the prompts to install the SimLab program on your computer’s hard drive. When prompted, you may choose to create a shortcut on your desktop. This shortcut will allow you to directly open the SimLab when you want to use it.

Please note that SimLab is developed to be compatible with the touch environment of a Smartboard as well as a laptop. However, once the SimLab is opened in one environment, you will not be able to drag it to a secondary monitor or screen. Optimum resolution for a Smartboard environment is 1280 x 800.

Note: This Smartboard resource requires Adobe Air to be installed on the hard drive of your computer. A version of Adobe Air is provided on the Smartboard Grow a Bug CD. Adobe Air can also be downloaded at http://get.adobe.com/air/.

When the Grow a Bug Smartboard SimLab is launched, students will see the Grow Starter, the Grow Pad, and the Bug Part Selector. These elements provide the following functions:

• TheGrow Starter allows students to select and “grow” a bug. The Select a Bug arrow, when touched, will display a pop-up list of 20 insects. When one of these insects is selected, icons will


display on the left and right sides of the SimLab.

o Your Bug in Progress displays icons for four bug parts – the head, body, legs, and wings.

o Bug Parts displays bug part icons that appear when an insect is selected. (Some insects do not have wings or do not use them to fly. Insects such as the cutworm have three parts and the root maggot only has two parts.)

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• StudentscantouchtheGrow My Bug button at any time to “grow” the bug parts into a SimBug. In order for students to start mixing and matching different bug parts, they MUST first select one of the bugs in the Grow Starter.

• StudentscancreateamultitudeofSimBugs!Theycantouch any bug parts in the Bug Part Selector and drag them over top of the bug part icons of the original bug they started with.

• TheGrow Pad displays the SimBug that students “grow.” The Grow My Bug button must be touched before the SimBug will appear on the Grow Pad. Once students have selected the body parts they want, they can touch the Grow My Bug button to see their SimBug on the Grow Pad.

Once students Select a Bug, they have full access to all functions in the SimLab. A description of the selected insect will appear in the green text box above the Grow Pad. A description of each bug part also appears when any of the bug part icons are touched. The text helps students identify the different characteristics of each bug and analyze and predict its potential impact on the canola field.

All text descriptions are provided in the Grow a Bug Cards on pages 23 to 32 of this Teaching Support Resource.

• OnceaSimBughasbeen“grown”ontheGrow Pad, the Release My Bug button can be touched to release it into a canola field. One of six different canola fields will appear, showing the effects that harmful or helpful insects may have on the growth of canola plants. The chart that follows displays the six fields and feedback messages that students will find.

Note that the SimBug will remain on the Grow Pad. Encourage students to explore the connections between the SimBug they create and the canola field they see. The Grow a Bug process can be restarted at any time by selecting a bug!

Using the Simlab

Student directions for using the Grow a Bug Smartboard SimLab are provided on pages 7 to 8. These directions can be copied and provided if the SimLab is used by students independently or in a learning centre.

Student resources, including a SimLab Bug Profile and a SimLab Prediction Chart, are provided on pages 21 to 22. The SimLab Bug Profile provides a template that students can use to record descriptive information about the bugs that they create. The SimLab Prediction Chart encourages students to make predictions and link the characteristics of their bugs to the effect they would have on a canola field.

5Grow a Bug Smartboard SimlabIntroduction

Feedback Message Screen Result

The whole canola field has been pollinated, and is very healthy and growing quickly. There are many plants with a lot of canola flowers and seed pods.

Tip! Insects such as the honey bee and hover fly are pollinators and, when released into the canola field, cause this result. The legs of the honey bee carry pollen baskets. If added to bug parts of a harmful bug, honey bee legs can reduce the damage that the harmful bug can do!

The canola field is healthy and growing. The plants are pollinated. There are very few harmful bugs in the field.

Tip! The damsel bug, ladybug, wasp, lacewing, and carabid beetle are all predators. They can reduce the number of harmful insects in a canola field. If a pollinator’s legs or wings were added to one of these helpful bugs, the SimBug could provide an even stronger benefit to the canola field!

The canola field is growing and flowers are starting to bloom. Some harmful bugs may cause damage to the canola plants and stop some of the seed pods from maturing!

Tip! Canola farmers work hard to keep their crops free of pests. Mixing bug parts of harmful and helpful insects might not have a noticeable effect on the canola field. For example, mixing the carabid beetle’s head with an alfalfa looper’s body, legs, and wings creates a SimBug that eats its own larvae!

6

Feedback Message Screen Result

Harmful bugs have caused some damage to areas of the canola field. This may stop canola flowers from blooming or seed pods from growing.

Tip! Insects such as thrips, beet webworm, aphids, painted lady butterflies, and red turnip beetles can cause damage to canola plants and fields. On their own, these insects can be controlled. However, adding a part from a more harmful bug might cause more serious damage!

Harmful bugs have damaged many canola plants in the field. They have eaten the leaves and stems and stopped some plants from maturing.

Tip! Insects such as the alfalfa looper, clover cutworm, Bertha armyworm, root maggot, flea beetle, diamondback moth, cabbage seedpod weevil, and lygus bug can cause serious damage to a canola field. The primary function of larval insects is to eat. Adding their heads to the parts of another insect might create a bug that causes major damage or devastation to the canola crop!

The canola field has been heavily damaged by harmful bugs. Many plants are damaged and the seed harvest destroyed.

Tip! Although insects such as the root maggot, Bertha armyworm, and lygus bug can cause serious harm to canola crops, they can be even more dangerous if wings of a strong flyer were added to their body parts!

Using the Simlab


How to Use the Grow a Bug SimLabHow to Use the Grow a Bug SimLab

Follow these steps:

• TheGrow Starter allows you to select and “grow” your SimBug. Touch the Select a Bug arrow to display a pop-up list of 20 canola bugs. You MUST first select one of the bugs in the Grow Starter before you can do anything else.

Have you ever wanted to grow your own bug? The Grow a Bug Smartboard SimLab will let you do this and more:

• Youcanselectabug,exploreitsanatomy,and“grow”it.

• Youcanreplaceonebug’spartswithpartsofanyof20 different bugs to create your own SimBug.

• YoucanseewhathappenswhenyoureleaseyourSimBugintoa canola field!

Start the Grow a Bug Smartboard SimLab. In the SimLab, you will see the Grow Starter, the Grow Pad, and the Bug Part Selector.

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• Whenabugisselected,youwillseelistsoficonsontheleftand right sides of the SimLab.

o Your Bug in Progress shows icons for four bug parts of the insect you selected – the head, body, legs, and wings. If the bug does not have legs or wings, you will see a question mark.

o Bug Parts displays bug part icons for all of the bugs.

• TouchtheGrow My Bug button at any time to “grow” the bug parts into a SimBug.

• TouchanybugpartsintheBug Part Selector and drag them over top of the bug part icons of your original bug to create a SimBug!

• TouchtheGrow My Bug button to see your SimBug on the Grow Pad.

• ReadtheBug Parts information carefully. This information will display in the green box at the top of the SimLab. It will give you clues to the effects that each SimBug can have on a canola plant. Some of the bugs in the Select a Bug list are harmful. Others are helpful. The Bug Parts you select and combine will determine how harmful or helpful your SimBug will be.

• TouchtheRelease My Bug button to find out the effect that your SimBug has on a canola crop! Why do you think your SimBug had this effect?

How to Use the Simlab

GRADESGrow Guides

3,4&5


Integrating with Grade 3How do people in communities grow and manage food crops?

Launch the Grow a Bug Smartboard SimLab screen. Use the Select a Bug bar in the Grow Starter to “grow” some of the different bugs. Tell students they will have the chance to create their own SimBugs later, and explore what could make each helpful or harmful to food crops like canola.

Cause and Effect

After students complete Learning Sequence One in the Grade 3 Grow Guide, ask them to think about what a healthy canola crop looks like compared to what an unhealthy or damaged crop might look like. Encourage students to brainstorm descriptive words and phrases, and record them on the board or chart paper. (Students may be encouraged to contribute ideas such as many bright yellow flowers, fat seed pods, tall stems, etc.)

Pose the following question to students:

• Whatenvironmentalfactorsdoyouthinkhavethemosteffect on food crops like canola? (If students need starting ideas, ask them “What about” questions, such as “What about the weather?” or “What about insects?” Other factors include soil, sunlight, and water supply.)

The Grow a Bug Smartboard SimLab can support Grade 3 learning through a variety of activities. These activities can be integrated into the three learning sequences in the Grade 3 Grow Guide.

Set the Stage

At the Grade 3 level, students can first be provided with the opportunity to explore each of the 20 different insects in the Grow a Bug Smartboard SimLab. Tell students that as they learn about agriculture, an important human activity, they will also find out what insects have to do with growing crops! Ask students to name different insects that are part of their environments. Make a word list of these insects and ask students to share what they know about them. Challenge students to add descriptive words and phrases for their insects and display the word list in the classroom.


The Grow a Bug Cards (pp. 23 to 32) provide an illustration of each of the 20 SimLab insects. These cards can also be used to introduce students to the insects in the SimLab.

The Cause and Effect activity provides students with the opportunity to reinforce and apply their understanding of cause and effect. The Grow a Bug Smartboard SimLab provides a great visual reinforcement of this concept, as students will later release the SimBug they create and see its effect on a canola crop field.

Tell students that they will have an opportunity to test their hypotheses in a later activity.

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Use a Cause and Effect Chart, such as the one provided on page 25 of the Grade 3 Grow Guide, to have students hypothesize the effect they think two of these factors (or causes) could have on a canola crop. Students can create their own chart or replace the chart headings as below. They can also be given the option to write or draw the causes and effects.

Factors that Affect Crops Effects Each Factor Could Have

Integrating with Grade 3

In Learning Sequence Two of the Grade 3 Grow Guide, students are asked to sort cards of 20 different insects, based on similar and different attributes. The Grow a Bug Smartboard SimLab provides students with the opportunity to reinforce and extend this sorting activity, as well as encourage the development of critical and creative thinking skills.

Explore a Bug

Launch the Grow a Bug Smartboard SimLab and tell students that they will have the opportunity to create a number of familiar and unfamiliar SimBugs! These SimBugs all have potential effects on canola crops. Have students start by selecting one of the bugs in the Grow Starter. When the bug is selected, icons appear in the Your Bug in Progress screen. As each bug part icon is touched, a text description will appear.

As the descriptions are discussed, students can be asked to find and record key descriptive words on a word list, or on the back of an Insect Card. These Insect Cards are provided on pages 45 and 46 in the Grade 3 Grow Guide.

Encourage students to review the characteristics that identify insects, including:

• Threebodyparts(head, thorax, abdomen) • Sixlegs • Askeletonontheoutsideofthebody(exoskeleton) • Antennae • Wings

(Note that some of the bugs in the SimLab do not have wings or do not use their wings to fly. As in the Grade 3 Grow Guide, students may also notice that some of the animals on the Insect Cards and in the SimLab do not appear to have these characteristics of insects. Some people think that caterpillars and

maggots are worms. A worm is a different type of animal – not an insect – that has no legs or backbone and a soft, long, rounded body. However, caterpillars and maggots are insects in their larval, or young, stage.)

Have students take turns selecting some other bugs and exploring different body parts, adding descriptive words to their Insect Cards.

Mix and Match

Tell students that they will now have the opportunity to “invent” a SimBug. Ask students to respond to the following question:

• Whattypeofinsectwouldyoucreateifyoucouldmixandmatch different bug parts?


The SimLab Bug Profile (p. 21) provides a template that students can use to record characteristics of the SimBugs they create.

In Learning Sequence Three of the Grade 3 Grow Guide, students explore the life cycles of various insects, comparing them to life cycles of other animals. After students create and print or draw their SimBugs, ask them to hypothesize what they think its life cycle would be. Students can also be asked to complete the Did You Know student resource on pages 69 to 71 of the Grade 3 Grow Guide.

Students can be asked to use the SimLab Prediction Chart (p. 22) to describe and predict which type of SimBug they have created. After students release their SimBugs, ask them to check their predictions against the effect they see in the canola field.

• UsethearrowsintheBug Parts screen on the right side of the Smartboard to preview the parts of the 20 bugs in the SimLab. Icons are used to represent the head, body, legs, and wings of the bugs.

• TouchanddraganybugpartovertotheYour Bug in Progress screen. “Talk aloud” what characteristics your SimBug will have, based on the information in the text box. (Identify characteristics such as sucking mouthparts that damage plant leaves, wings that make the bug a strong flyer, legs that allow the bug to move quickly or jump. Discuss how characteristics such as these, when combined into a new bug, can make it a more harmful pest. Other types of characteristics can also increase the helpful effects of some bugs.)

• TouchtheGrow My Bug button. The SimBug will appear in the Grow Pad!

Have students take turns coming up to the Smartboard to touch and drag a different bug part to a Bug in Progress. When each SimBug is complete, touch the Grow My Bug button to see the results! Use the Screen Capture or Print Screen commands in the Smartboard tools to save or print each SimBug. Alternatively, students can be asked to create their own illustration of their SimBug!

Harmful or Helpful

Challenge students to classify the SimBugs they created according to the following categories, provided on pages 60 to 62 in the Grade 3 Grow Guide.

• Pollinators: These insects carry pollen from one plant to another. Without them, flowers would not bloom and fruits and vegetables would not grow.

• Predators: These insects feed on other insects that may damage plants, such as ladybugs feeding on aphids.

• Food Suppliers: Many insects are sources of food for other animals.

• Recyclers: These insects help to break down living materials.

Students may have to revisit the bugs, and look for clues in the text provided with each bug part as they group and classify their new bugs.

Then, tell students they will have the chance to find out what effect these bugs could have on a food crop such as canola. Recreate different SimBugs, and release each one. A canola field will display, showing signs of either healthy growth or varying

Model the process of “growing” a SimBug by demonstrating the following steps with students:

• Selectonebugwithwhichtostart.Explainthatyouaregoing to “grow” a new bug by mixing and matching different bug parts. Note that a bug MUST be selected before parts can be mixed and matched.

12 Integrating with Grade 3

degrees of damage. Ask students to discuss the different effects they see, posing questions such as the following:

• Whatdoyouseeinthecanolafield?

• Whatevidenceofhealthygrowthdoyousee?Whatevidenceof damage do you see?

• HowharmfulorhelpfuldoyouthinkyourSimBugwastothecanola crop? Why? (Students can be encouraged to assess the effect of their bug by using a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very harmful and 10 very helpful.)

• WhydoyouthinksomeSimBugscancausemoreharmthanothers?

Provide students with the opportunity to revisit the hypotheses they made in the Cause and Effect Charts activity.

GRADESGrow Guides

3,4&5TEACHING SUPPORT RESOURCE Grow a Bug Smartboard SimLab


Integrating with Grade 4How does agricultural land use depend on and change Alberta’s environment?


Set the Stage

At the Grade 4 level, students can first be provided with the opportunity to explore each of the 20 different insects in the Grow a Bug Smartboard SimLab. Tell students that as they learn about agriculture, an important human activity, they will also find out what insects have to do with the food supply and the agricultural activities that are part of ways of life in Alberta! Ask students to share the effects they think insects have on the crops we use for food and other products. Create sentence strips, writing their hypotheses on strips of chart paper, and display the strips in the classroom.

Launch the Grow a Bug Smartboard SimLab. Use the Select a Bug bar in the Grow Starter to “grow” some of the different bugs. When the bug is selected, icons appear in the Your Bug in Progress screen. As each bug part icon is touched, a text description will appear.

(Note that some of the bugs in the SimLab do not have wings or do not use their wings to fly. Students may also notice that some of the animals on the picture cards do not appear to have these characteristics of insects. Some people think that caterpillars and maggots are worms. A worm is a different type of animal – not an insect – that has no legs or backbone and has a soft, long, rounded body. However, caterpillars and maggots are insects in their larval, or young, stage.)

Tell students they will have the chance to create their own SimBugs shortly, and explore what makes each helpful or harmful to food crops like canola.

Bugs and the Canola Plant

Ask students to revisit the parts of a crop plant, including canola crops, which they explore on page 49 of the Grade 4 Grow Guide:

• Roots anchor the plants to the ground and absorb water and minerals from the soil.

• Plant stems hold plants upright. Stems draw up the water and minerals from the root to different parts of the plant. The stem also takes food made in the leaves to different parts of the plant.

• Leaves are an important part of a plant. They contain a green substance called chlorophyll, which helps them make food.


• Flowers help the plant to reproduce, or make new plants. Flowers produce seeds. Flowers have petals that attract pollinators, or insects like honey bees or butterflies that carry pollen from one flower to the next. Flowers need pollen to make seeds. Some flowers are self-pollinating. This means they do not depend on insects. The movement of the plant distributes the pollen.

Encourage students to also review the terms associated with different stages of growth of the canola plant, including seed, seedling, rosette, bud, flower, and ripening.

Have students explore the range of effects that different insects can have on crop plants by creating their own SimBugs in the SimLab and releasing them into a canola field. Model the following steps with students, creating one or two examples as a class. Then, provide students with opportunities to create and release their own SimBugs.

• LaunchtheGrow a Bug Smartboard SimLab and have students take turns making their own SimBugs. Students can be organized to work with a partner or in a small group.

In the Grade 4 Grow Guide, students are introduced to the canola plant with the following description:

Canola is an oilseed crop. The canola plant can grow up to 2 metres tall. The plants produce yellow clusters of flowers which grow into small green seed pods. As the plant ripens, the seed pods turn brown.

After the canola plants are harvested, the pod is cracked open to reveal about 20 seeds that are about 1 mm in diameter. The seeds are crushed to extract the oil in the seeds. The crushed seeds are then used to make meal. Canola meal is used as feed for livestock, poultry, and pets.

The Grow a Bug Cards (pp. 23 to 32) provide an illustration and the text information for each of the 20 SimLab insects. These cards can also be used as a reference by students. These insects are also introduced in the Factor Cards provided on pages 53 to 58 of the Grade 4 Grow Guide. Students can be provided with the Factor Cards of the insects as a starting point for their SimBug creations.

Students can be asked to use the SimLab Prediction Chart (p. 22) to describe and predict the effect their SimBug will have on a canola plant. After students release their SimBug, ask them to check their prediction against the effect they see in the canola field.

• HaveeachgroupstartbyselectingoneofthebugsintheGrow Starter. Use the arrows in the Bug Parts screen on the right side of the Smartboard to preview the parts of the 20 bugs in the SimLab. Icons are used to represent the head, body, legs, and wings of the bugs.

• AsstudentstouchanddrageachbodyparttocreateaSimBug, have them record its characteristics, using the information that appears at the top of the screen. Students can be provided with the SimLab Bug Profile (p. 21) on which to record information on the bug that they create. Remind each group that one of the bugs MUST be selected before parts can be mixed and matched.

• UsetheScreenCaptureorPrintScreencommandsinthe Smartboard tools to save or print each SimBug. Students can also be asked to create their own illustration of their SimBug on their SimLab Bug Profile.

• Challengestudentstoidentifythebugsthattheythinkwould affect different parts of the canola plant. (Provide students with sentence stems, such as “The roots would be affected by _____ because _______.” or “The leaves could be affected by ____ because ______.” Ensure that students also consider the flowers and seed pods.)


In Learning Sequence Three of the Grade 4 Grow Guide, students explore food webs and develop understandings of the role that human activities, the environment, and natural resources play.

Integrate the SimLab activities with Language Arts by asking students to create a “Most Wanted Bug” poster. Encourage them to include an illustration of their insect, its “crime,” and where it was last seen!

• HaveeachpairorgrouptouchtheRelease Bug button to release their SimBugs into the canola field and note the results. What happened to the canola crop? Why do you think your SimBug had this effect on the crop?

Students can be encouraged to use the Growth Timeline on page 50 of the Grade 4 Grow Guide to record their SimBug’s effects on the canola crop. Ask students to identify at which stage of growth they think their SimBug caused the most harm or benefit to the canola plant. Remind students to consult their SimBug’s characteristics to help them identify the reasons for their SimBug’s effect.

Growth TimelineStage 0 Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 Stage 5

Vegetative Stages Reproductive Stages

Seed Seedling Rosette Bud Flower Ripening

Students can also be challenged to create SimBugs that have specific effects on a canola crop:

• ASimBugthatcausesextremedamagetoacanolacrop

• ASimBugthatpollinatesandgetsridofpests

• ASimBugthatcausesdamagetoplantstemsandleaves

• Abugthatisneitherharmfulnorhelpful.(Tips! on pages 5 and 6 provide information on those insects that have harmful and helpful effects on canola fields.)

Food Web

Revisit the concepts of producers and consumers with students. Have them use the SimBug they created in the previous activity and pose the following questions:

• IsyourSimBugaproduceroraconsumer?Howdoyou know this?

• WhereandhowwouldyourSimBugfitintoafoodweb? (Encourage students to revisit the farm food webs they made in the Cycles and Relationships student resource on page 71 of the Grade 4 Grow Guide.)

Ask students to create a food web cycle diagram that includes their SimBugs.

GRADESGrow Guides

3,4&5TEACHING SUPPORT RESOURCE Grow a Bug Smartboard SimLab



Set the Stage

At the Grade 5 level, students can first be provided with the opportunity to explore each of the 20 different insects in the Grow a Bug Smartboard SimLab. Revisit what students have learned about agriculture and why it is an important human activity. Ask students to share what effect they think insects have on agriculture and our food supply.

Launch the Grow a Bug Smartboard SimLab. Use the Select a Bug bar in the Grow Starter to model how to “grow” some of the different bugs on the list. When a bug is selected, icons will appear in Your Bug in Progress. As each bug part is touched, a text description will appear. Review some of these descriptions with students, asking them what abilities they think different bug parts give each of these insects. (For example, large wings provide the ability to fly, elytra (a hard wing shell) provide protection, sucking mouthparts result in dependence on plant leaves and stems for food, and strong legs allow insects to jump or catch and hold prey. These abilities can have harmful and helpful effects on human activities.)

(Note that some of the bugs in the SimLab do not have wings or do not use their wings to fly. Students may also notice that some of the bugs in the Simlab do not appear to have these characteristics of insects. Some people think that caterpillars and maggots are worms. A worm is a different type of animal – not an insect – that has no legs or backbone and a soft, long, rounded body. However, caterpillars and maggots are insects in their larval, or young, stage.)

Organize students to take turns selecting different bugs from the Grow Starter in the SimLab. Click on each of the bug part icons and gather information from the text displayed above the Grow Pad. Discuss the potential impact that each bug can have on a food crop such as canola. Challenge students to identify a body characteristic (head, body, legs, or wings) on each bug that they think make it a pest or a beneficial bug.

Integrating with Grade 5How do environmental factors affect Canada’s food production?

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Helpful Bugs Harmful Bugs Reasons

Integrating with Grade 5

As students “grow” each bug, they can be asked to create and use a graphic organizer such as a Triple T-Chart to create a list of those that they think are helpful and those they think are harmful. Have students record their reasons in the third column of the chart.

Provide students with opportunities to create their SimBugs, using steps such as the following:

• LaunchtheGrow a Bug Smartboard SimLab and have students take turns planning and creating a SimBug. Students can be organized to work with a partner or in a small group.

• RemindeachgroupthatabugMUSTbeselectedbeforepartscanbe mixed and matched.

• Askstudentstoreadinformationthatappearswitheachbugpartin the SimLab carefully, as it provides clues about the characteristics of each bug. The information appears when any bug part is touched.

• UsethearrowsintheBug Parts screen on the right side of the Smartboard to preview the parts of the bugs in the SimLab. Icons are used to represent the head, body, legs, and wings of the bugs.

In Learning Sequence Two of the Grade 5 Grow Guide, students explore ways that farmers are affected by, have to know about, and control a range of different environmental factors. Many of these factors are described in the Fact Cards on pages 52 to 58 of the Grow Guide.

Students can be encouraged to use the Fact Cards to review or revisit those environmental factors that help farmers grow crops and those that can be harmful.

Students can be provided with the Grow a Bug Cards on pages 23 to 32 in this resource. These cards provide the textual information included with each bug part in the SimLab.

Bugs and Farming

The Grade 5 Grow Guide encourages students to consider how farmers are affected by environmental factors, including the land, weather, and animal life such as insects. Ask students to share their responses to the following questions:

• Doyouthinkthatthetypeofactivitiespeopledoinfluences whether they see environmental factors, such as the weather and insects, as harmful or helpful? Why or why not?

• Whatcharacteristicsmakeaninsectintoapest?Whydoyou think this?

• Whydoyouthinkfarmershavetoknowaboutthe characteristics that different insects have?

• Whatwouldfarmershavetoknowifanewinsectwas discovered?

Tell students that they will have the opportunity to invent new insects, called SimBugs! They will also be challenged to identify whether their SimBug will be helpful or harmful to farmers who grow food crops. (Remind students that the descriptions for each bug part will give them clues that will help them determine whether their SimBug may be helpful or harmful.)


Students can be asked to use the SimLab Prediction Chart (p. 22) to describe and predict theeffect their SimBug will have on a food crop such as canola. After groups present their SimBugs to the class, ask them to check their prediction against the effect they see in the canola field.

Learning Sequence Three in the Grade 5 Grow Guide focuses on the effects that environmental factors have on the food supply. Ask students to revisit some of the practices that farmers use to control pests, including Integrated Pest Management. Farmers first find out exactly what types of pests they have. They scout or sweep their fields by walking through them. Some farmers weed their fields by hand. They use helpful insects to help control insect pests. Review this concept with students and ask them to discuss how their SimBugs could be controlled or can help with Integrated Pest Management.

• AsstudentstouchanddrageachbodyparttocreateaSimBug,have them identify those characteristics that they think make it a harmful insect or a helpful one.

• StudentscanbeprovidedwiththeSimLab Bug Profile (p. 21), on which to record information about the SimBug that they create. Ask students to summarize the information from the SimLab in the Bug Anatomy chart on the Profile. Encourage students to create a name for their SimBug that is based on its characteristics!

• UsetheScreenCaptureorPrintScreencommandsintheSmartboard tools to save or print each SimBug. Students can also be asked to create their own illustration of their SimBug on their SimLab Bug Profile.

Have students present their SimBugs to the rest of the class, describing the type of impact they think this SimBug would have on food crops such as canola.

Bug Effect Experiments

Tell students that they will now have the opportunity to see what type of effect their SimBugs will have on a food crop such as canola. Groups can be asked to take turns coming up to the Smartboard and reconstructing their SimBugs.

As students reconstruct their SimBug, have them describe its characteristics to the rest of the class. Ask the class to predict whether they think the SimBug will be harmful or helpful and explain why.

Once the SimBug is in the Grow Pad, ask each group to touch the Release Bug button and release it into the canola field. Have group members explain the effect their SimBug had, and why it had this effect.

Challenge students to take turns inventing other SimBugs that are either extremely beneficial or extremely harmful. What characteristics do they have to look for in the bug parts to create a SimBug that has these extreme effects?

(If students have difficulty identifying those bug parts that will have the most damaging or beneficial effect on the canola field, they can provided with additional clues. The following bug parts have the most damaging effects on the canola field:

• Clovercutwormhead • Berthaarmywormhead


• Roodmaggothead • Lygusbugheadandbodytogether • Fleabeetlelegs • Cabbageseedpodweevilheadandbodytogether

The following bug parts have the most beneficial effects on canola plants:

• Honeybeelegsandwings • Hoverflylegsandwings)

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Head Body Legs Wings

SimLab Bug ProfileSimLab Bug ProfileThis SimBug was discovered on ___________________________,

by _______________________________________.

This SimBug is called _______________________________________.

SimBug Anatomy

Grow a Bug Smartboard Simlab

22

SimLab Prediction ChartSimLab Prediction ChartPredict the effect that a SimBug will have on a food crop like canola. Describe or draw

the SimBug in the top of the chart. Then, describe whether you think it is harmful or

helpful. Explain why you think this!

Identify which of its parts give this SimBug the characteristics of a pollinator, predator,

food supplier, recycler, or consumer.

The SimBug

SimBug Parts

Pollinator Predator Food Supplier (Eaten by other bugs or animals)

Recycler Consumer (Plant-eater)

Head

Body

Legs

Wings

Harmful Helpful

How close was your prediction? What effect did this SimBug have on the canola crop?

Simlab Prediction Chart


Head: Mouthpart/ Antennae

Body: Thorax/ Abdomen

Legs Wings

Moths, such as the alfalfa looper, have one set of antennae. The antennae are thin and long. The mouth coils up into a spiral. It is used for sucking the nectar from plants. Moths have large compound eyes. The alfalfa looper is active during the day and night. However, it is attracted to light.

The alfalfa looper’s long soft abdomen is covered with hairs. The hairs protect the body. The thorax contains the muscles that control the wings and legs.

The legs of the alfalfa looper moth are attached to the thorax. The front pair of legs is usually shorter than the other two pairs.

The wings of the alfalfa looper moth are 30 to 40 mm long. They are covered with tiny scales. Each scale has its own colour, which creates amazing patterns.

Alfalfa Looper The alfalfa looper is a moth. Its larvae are green caterpillars that move by making loops. The alfalfa looper moth lays its eggs on canola leaves. The larvae feeds on leaves and stems. This stops the plant from making the canola flowers and seed pods.

Grow a Bug CardsGrow a Bug CardsGrow a Bug Smartboard SimLab



Legs Wings

Aphids have two compound eyes and long antennae. They use their needle-like mouthparts to suck sap from plant leaves. Aphids have a strong muscle connected to their mouthparts, called the cibarial pump, which helps them suck their food.

The aphid’s soft body is pear or oval in shape. The abdomen has two siphunculi, which produce a sticky substance called honeydew that is left on plants.

Aphids have six legs, but they move very slowly. They usually stay in one place with other aphids. Aphid wings are very weak and most do not fly. The wind can lift and carry them great distances.

AphidAphids are very small bugs that are also called plant lice. Aphids feed on the sap in plant leaves. This causes damage to the plant. Their honeydew also causes mold on leaves.

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Legs

The beet webworm has powerful jaws called mandibles. The mandibles have sharp cutting surfaces that easily chop leaves. The antennae are tiny and used to sense smells.

The beet webworm has a segmented body. The body has two light stripes down its back with circles on each side. Spinnerets on the body are used to make silk. Silk webs catch the webworm droppings.

The thorax of the beet webworm has three sets of legs, which are used to hold food. The abdomen has five pairs of stumpy prolegs, which are used to hold on to surfaces.

Beet Webworm The beet webworm is the larva of the webworm moth. The beet webworm strips leaves and eats the stems and pods of the canola plant. Webworm droppings can also get mixed with the canola plants’ seeds when they are harvested. These seeds cannot be used for food.

grow a bug cards



Legs

The Bertha armyworm head is light brown in colour. It has powerful jaws called mandibles. The mandibles have sharp cutting surfaces that easily chop leaves. The antennae are tiny and used to sense smells.

Larvae of moths have segmented bodies. Each larva has two light stripes down its back, with circles on each side. The Bertha armyworm can change from green to brown or black.

The thorax of the Bertha armyworm has three sets of legs, which are used to hold food. The abdomen has five pairs of stumpy prolegs, which are used to hold on to surfaces.

Bertha ArmywormThe Bertha armyworm is a climbing cutworm. It is the larva of a moth. Adult moths are attracted to flowering canola plants to lay their eggs. They are active only at night. The Bertha armyworm can eat everything in an area and then move on to find another food supply. It eats leaves, pods, and seeds.




Legs

Carabid beetles have a narrow head and large mandibles, or jaws, so they can reach and crush their prey. Their long antennae are found between the eyes and jaws. Carabid beetles have large bulging eyes on the side of their heads.

The body of the carabid beetle is black and shiny. Hard wings called elytra cover the abdomen. These wings are not used to fly. They provide a protective cover.

Carabid beetles have six segmented legs, with two claws. Their legs are long and thin. They move quickly, but stay on the ground.

Carabid Beetle Carabid beetles are carnivores. This means they feed on other animals, including pests like caterpillars and aphids. Carabid beetles are only active at night. They can give off a very unpleasant odour if they are handled or crushed.



Legs

The cabbage seedpod weevil has a small head with a curved snout. This snout is about half as long as its body.

The cabbage seedpod weevil has a round body and is about 3 to 4 mm long. Their bodies are grey and covered with very small scales. Hard wings called elytra cover the abdomen. These wings are only used to fly when the weather is very warm. The elytra provide a protective cover.

Cabbage seedpod weevils have six segmented legs that are grey in colour.

Cabbage Seedpod Weevil Adult cabbage seedpod weevils eat the flower buds of canola plants. They can also feed on the seeds in canola pods. When they are disturbed, they fold their legs and drop to the ground to “play dead.” This beetle also lays a single egg inside a canola seed pod. The larvae eat the growing seeds.

26 grow a bug cards



Legs Wings

The head of the damsel bug is narrow, with large eyes and long antennae. The damsel bug has a beak with a sucking mouthpart.

The damsel bug is about 8 mm long and pale brown.

Damsel bugs have long legs and move very quickly. This helps them catch small bugs, like aphids and lygus bugs. They also catch larvae. Their front legs are thicker and have spines on them to help them hold the insects they catch.

Damsel bugs have long wings that are light grey or brown in colour.

Damsel Bug The damsel bug is a predator. This means that it feeds on other animals, including pests like aphids and the larvae of other insects. Damsel bugs catch and hold their prey with their front legs. They will eat each other if they cannot find other food.



Legs

The clover cutworm has a chewing mouthpart that cuts and chews plant parts. The antennae are tiny and used to sense smells.

The clover cutworm has a segmented body. The body has two pink stripes down its back. Cutworms rest in the soil during the day and eat plants at night.

The thorax of the clover cutworm has three sets of legs, which are used to hold food. The abdomen has five pairs of stumpy prolegs, which are used to hold on to surfaces.

Clover Cutworm The clover cutworm is the larva of the cutworm moth. The clover cutworm usually stays in one concentrated area. It causes patches of damage by cutting off plant shoots near the soil.




Legs Wings

Moths, such as the diamondback moth, have one set of antennae. The antennae are thin and long. The diamondback moths hold their antennae forward when they are resting. The mouth coils up into a spiral. It is used for sucking the nectar from plants. Moths have large compound eyes.

The body of the diamondback moth is long and narrow. The abdomen and thorax are about 6 mm long. The thorax contains the muscles that control the wings and legs.

Legs are attached to the thorax. The front pair of legs is shorter than the other two pairs. The hind legs of the diamondback moth are narrow and light grey.

The diamondback moth’s wings are narrow and brownish-grey. The wings have small dark speckles and a light strip that forms a diamond shape when the wings are folded. Their wingspan is about 12 to 15 mm. When they are resting, the wings are folded like a tent over the body. They are weak flyers and are blown into crop fields by winds.

Diamondback MothThe diamondback moth is also called the cabbage moth. The larvae of the diamondback moth cause the most damage to growing canola plants. The larvae eat the leaves and the surface of the growing pods.



Legs

Flea beetles have a narrow head and long antennae. They have a chewing mouthpart that they use to chew the leaves of the canola plant. Flea beetles have compound eyes.

Flea beetles are 2 to 3 mm long and black in colour. Hard wings called elytra cover the abdomen. These wings are not used to fly. They provide a protective cover. The wing covers can be metallic or bright blue. Some have yellow stripes.

The flea beetle’s legs are a dark amber colour. The hind legs are larger and stronger than the front pairs of legs. This allows the flea beetle to leap off plants when they are disturbed.

Flea BeetleFlea beetles eat the leaves of canola plants, leaving many small holes. They can lay up to 800 eggs on plant leaves. Flea beetles can destroy growing canola crops.

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Legs Wings

A honey bee has five eyes. Three are simple eyes, called ocelli. Two are compound eyes. The honey bee has a labrum and maxillae, which are like lips. It uses its proboscis, which is like a tube, to collect nectar from flowers. The honey bee has two antennae.

A honey bee’s body is covered with lots of fuzzy hairs. These hairs help the bee collect pollen. The honey bee’s stinger is attached to the abdomen. Only the females have stingers.

The legs of the honey bee have pollen baskets. These “baskets” are made of two rows of hair that attract and hold the pollen.

The honey bee has four wings, which are very thin. The front wings are bigger than the back wings. The wings make a buzzing sound when the honey bee flies.



Legs Wings

Hoverflies have large heads, with two large compound eyes. They have small antennae. Hoverflies use their long tongues to suck the nectar from flowers.

Hoverflies have spots or stripes of yellow or brown and black. Some hoverflies have fuzzy hairs covering their body. This makes them look like bees. However, hoverflies do not sting. A hoverfly can imitate the stinging of a bee by pressing its abdomen into a surface.

Hoverflies can have black or yellow legs. Some hoverflies wave their front legs as if they were long antennae.

Hoverflies have only one pair of clear wings. They are called hoverflies because they can hover, or fly in one spot. They fly quickly, either forwards or sideways.

Honey BeeHoney bees make and store honey. They construct their nests out of wax. Honey bees are important pollinators. Bees are the only insect that produces food that is eaten by people!

Hoverfly Hoverflies belong to a large family of small to large flies. They can sometimes be called flower flies. They are helpful insects, because they are pollinators. Their larvae also eat harmful insects, such as aphids.

grow a bug cards




Legs Wings

Lacewings have small heads with eyes that are gold in colour. They are attracted to light at night. Long, sharp, and pointed mandibles, or jaws, stick out from the front of their heads.

Lacewings are about 25 mm long with narrow bodies. They are green in colour. Lacewings lay their eggs on the stalks of plants.

The lacewing’s legs are green and long. They have hook-like claws at the end of their legs.

Lacewings have many veins in their wings. This makes the wings look like lace or a fine net. Lacewings hold their wings back over their bodies when they are resting.

Lacewing Lacewings are helpful because they eat insects that are harmful to plants. Adult lacewings actually eat pollen and nectar from plants. Their larvae eat pests, such as aphids and the larvae of other bugs. The lacewing larvae are called “aphid lions” because they eat so many aphids. They can devour up to 200 pests a week.



Legs Wings

Ladybugs have a small head. The head has the mouthparts, two compound eyes, and two short antennae. The ladybug uses its antennae to smell, taste, and find its way around.

The body of the ladybug is covered by the elytra. The elytra is usually red with black spots. The thorax contains the muscles that control the wings and legs. However, it can be yellow, orange, or brown. Most ladybugs are 4 to 8 mm long.

Ladybugs have short legs. They can release a fluid from their legs that tastes awful. This discourages predators, or the insects that eat ladybugs.

Ladybugs have two long, clear wings under their elytra. When they are not flying, the elytra protects their wings. When they fly, the elytra opens, allowing the wings to move.

LadybugA ladybug is a beetle. Ladybugs can eat up to 100 aphids a day! They eat other plant-eating insects, too. If a ladybug is threatened, it will “play dead” by staying very still.

30 grow a bug cards



Legs Wings

Lygus bugs have piercing and sucking mouthparts. They pierce the tissue of plants and suck the juices from the leaves or stems. Lygus bugs have two long antennae.

Adult lygus bugs are about 3 mm wide and 6 mm long. They can be pale green, reddish brown, or black. Lygus bugs have a mark on their backs that is shaped like a triangle.

The legs of the lygus bug are short and attached to its thorax.

Lygus bugs will fly when something comes close to them. They have two pairs of wings and are strong flyers. The wings are folded over the abdomen when the lygus bug is not flying.

Lygus BugLygus bugs are small, oval shaped insects. They eat crop plants and weeds. They also insert harmful saliva into the plant while they feed. They spend the winter in the dead leaves of plants.



Legs Wings

Painted lady butterflies have one set of antennae. The antennae are thin and long. Their mouth coils up into a spiral. It is used for sucking the nectar from plants.

Painted lady butterflies are medium sized. Their bodies are covered with tiny hairs. The thorax contains the muscles that make the legs and wings move.

The painted lady butterfly has six legs. Many butterflies have taste sensors on their legs.

The painted lady butterfly has four wings. The top of the wings of the painted lady butterfly are orange with black blotches and white spots. The underside can be pink, brown, olive, black, and white.

Painted Lady Butterfly The painted lady is a large butterfly that many people recognize because of its colours. Painted lady butterflies lay their eggs on the leaves of canola plants. When the larvae hatch, they immediately start eating the plants.




The head of the root maggot cannot be distinguished from the body. Maggots have very small eyes and no antennae. Maggots have mouth hooks that they use to scrape in food.

The thorax and abdomen of the root maggot look the same, and it is hard to tell where each starts.

Root Maggot The root maggot is the larva of a type of fly called the root maggot fly. Root maggots can damage whole crops while they are eating, because they tunnel through the roots of the plants.



Legs Wings

The head of the red turnip beetle is bright red with a small black spot at the back. This beetle has long, segmented antennae.

Adult red turnip beetles are about 7 mm long. They are bright red with black patches on their heads and three black bands running down their backs.

The six legs of the red turnip beetles are long and black.

Hard wings called elytra cover the abdomen. The elytra provide a protective cover. When the red turnip beetle flies, the elytra open and the two flight wings are unfolded and extended.

Red Turnip BeetleThe red turnip beetle is a type of leaf beetle. These tiny beetles like to eat plants in the mustard family, such as turnips, radishes, cabbages, and canola. Red turnip beetles invade crops by walking instead of flying.

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Legs Wings

The wasp’s head has two compound and simple eyes and long antennae. The antennae point down on each side of the head. A wasp’s mouthparts are used for biting and licking.

The wasp has a narrow striped abdomen. It is usually black and yellow. The abdomen also has a stinger, which is also used to lay eggs. Only females have stingers. Wasps have very few hairs on their body.

The wasp has long legs that are strong enough to hold its prey.

The wasp has two pairs of wings. It is a strong and fast flyer.

Wasp Some types of wasps are parasitic. This means they live on another animal. Parasitic wasps lay their eggs in another insect, such as a lygus bug or diamondback moth larva, by stinging it. The egg hatches after five to seven days. The wasp larva feeds on the body of the lygus bug or moth larva.

grow a bug cards



Legs Wings

Thrips have a rasping-sucking mouthpart. They use the teeth on their mouthpart to slash the surface of the stem, leaves, or fruit. Then, they drink the plant nectar. Thrips have two compound eyes. They see light and dark.

Thrips are very small. Their thorax and abdomen are yellow to dark brown.

Thrips legs are short so they can walk on plant surfaces.

Thrips have small feathery wings and are very weak flyers. They rely on wind currents to travel.

Thrips Thrips are true bugs. All true bugs have piercing, sucking mouthparts. When thrips drink the juices or nectar from plant stems, leaves, and flowers, the plants do not grow properly to maturity.

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