Cicadas in the Classroom!
deannainmaine
As a recent transplant back to Texas, I am fascinated by the cicadas! You can not walk outside without finding an empty shell or a dead cicada on the ground.
Cicadas are a type of insect; they have three main body parts, six legs, a pair of antenna, and generally have wings. They live a majority of their life underground, emerging only for a few weeks at the end of their lives to mate and lay their eggs. There are also annual and periodical cidadas. The annual cicadas usually emerge every year. Periodical are rarer and usually come out every 13 or 17 years.
What a wonderful opportunity for you to collect these and bring them into the classroom for a bit of nature based learning! When studying insects, you would have multiple cicadas for students to observe and engage with up close. Often, I have noticed, that some dead cicadas are missing parts. How about using these insects for a game of “what is missing?” where students have to remember the parts of an insect and then find what is not there. If you live in areas where there are periodic cicadas, check out the citizen science app called Cicada Safari to learn how you can help monitor the cicadas.
Cicada emerging from it’s shell!
