Dwayne Douglas Kohn

Pocket Books Dwayne Douglas Kohn

Students will love creating their very interactive book about bugs! This activity combines art, writing, and play! Children will delight in taking their bugs out of their "pockets" and having them fly, crawl and jump all over the page. Bugs can even visit their "friends" on other pages for even more fun!These pages can be stapled together with a cover (included) to create a book, or completed one page at a time as independent activities. To form a book, place the cover on top of the pages with writing lines. Staple on the left hand side. Each day, students can then add the bug and pocket to a new page. An alternative is to have the students complete each page separately and then staple all of the completed pages together with a cover on top. For each page, first tape a piece of yarn where indicated. Do not make the yarn too short or the children will not be able to move the bug around. On the other hand, a string that is too long may end up getting tangled. A good length is a little over a foot long. If possible, use a different color yarn for each page. That way if the bugs from different pages become tangled up, it will be easier to separate them. Tape the other end of the yarn to the back of the bug. Next, glue the "pocket" down. Be sure to only put glue where indicated. Do not glue the pocket shut or the bug will not be able to hide inside. Another alternative is to not use yarn to attach the bugs to their "pocket." Simply have the students store their bugs inside their pocket when they finish playing. Of course, this increases the chance of lost bugs. The "bugs" that are included in this activity include insects and non-insects. Discuss with the students what characteristics insects have (six legs, three body parts, antennae, etc.). One by one analyze the "bugs" in this book and decide if they are insects or not. ANT: Yes! (6 legs, 3 body parts, antennae) BEE: Yes! (6 legs, 3 body parts, antennae) FLY: Yes! (6 legs, 3 body parts, antennae) LADYBUG: Yes! (6 legs, 3 body parts, antennae) SNAIL: No! (It is a mollusk with 1 "foot," tentacles (not antennae), and a shell) SPIDER: No! (It is an arachnid with 8 legs, 2 body parts, and no antennae) BUTTERFLY: Yes! (6 legs, 3 body parts, antennae)