Including books into your spider lesson can bring facts, pictures and stories into the classroom in a friendly, non-scary way. Scholastic suggests “A House Spider's Life” by John Himmelman, “Charlotte’s Web” by E.B. White, “The Adventures of Spider” by Joyce Copper Arkhurst or “The Magic School Bus Gets Caught in a Web” by Kristen Earhart and Ted Enik. For a more factual spider book, give “Nic Bishop Spiders” by Nic Bishop, “Spiders are Not Insects” by Allan Fowler or “Spiders: Amazing Pictures and Fun Facts on Animals in Nature” by Kay de Silva a try.
After viewing several different species of spiders in books or online pictures, have the kids do some art projects that follow this theme. Kids can paint their favorite spider design with art paper and non-toxic acrylic paint. Offer the kids some pipe cleaners and have them twist and bend them to create an eight-legged spider. Finish this project off by gluing on some googly eyes. Have each of the kids use four craft sticks and glue to create a square. When the glue has dried, have the kids use string to create a spider web within the square.
Any number of activities sheets can be incorporated into a spider lesson. You can have the kids label parts of the spider on an activity sheet, like the two main sections of the body are called the abdomen and the cephalothorax and the legs, eyes and mouth parts are on the cephalothorax. Offer a true or false activity sheet and ask questions such as “Spiders can grow a new leg if one is lost” or “Spiders have eight eyes.” Both of which are true. Add some fill-in-the-blank questions, like “Spiders have ___ legs” or “Spiders are part of the ___class of animals.” (The answers are eight legs and arachnids.)
A field trip can solidify the lesson on these eight-legged creatures. Check your local zoo to see if they have a section that includes creepy, crawling creatures. Organize a field trip for the kids and have them take notes or sketches of the spiders they see. Have a class discussion when you return to class. If a field trip is not an option, try to get your hands on some preserved spiders in protective cases for the kids to look at.