Show large photos of a spider on a visual projector or on a large-screen computer to identify the two main body parts that all spiders possess: a head and abdomen. This view will magnify the anatomical details and distinguish spiders from insects, which have three main body parts: head, thorax and abdomen. Point out the claws at the end of a spider's eight legs, the exoskeleton and sensory hair.
Distribute two Styrofoam balls, a small and medium one, a toothpick and pipe cleaners. Ask the students to make a model of the spider by connecting the balls with the toothpick to simulate the body parts and attaching the pipe cleaners as legs, which gives young children in grades 1 to 3 hands-on experience. Older children may do some field work and carefully identify spiders in a wooded area and draw pictures and record their findings in a journal.
No lesson on spiders would be complete without explaining the way a spider captures its prey, entrapping it in a web or by ambushing it. Provide illustrations of the four types of webs, orb, triangle, sheet or tangle. As a group project, gather the students together to recreate the intricacies of a web using thread or yarn.
Folklore is filled with examples of spiders that have frightened and mystified people from "Little Miss Muffet" to "Charlotte's Web." Challenge students to make a list of scary adjectives that have been used to describe spiders. Debunk myths with the information about the important role spiders play in controlling the insect population.