Tarantula Class Presentation

[MrsHaas]

Hello all!

My son’s teacher asked that I do a small presentation (30 mins-ish maybe?) about tarantulas for his class.

I’m pretty excited, but he’s in 3rd grade and I don’t want to overwhelm his class or go into things that would be too advanced for an elementary school child…

Does anyone have any ideas for info, diagrams/pics, etc. that I could include in this grade-school presentation???

All suggestions warmly welcomed!!

Much thanks!

 

[l4nsky]

When my "jobby" inevitably gets brought up in conversation by someone and the group discussion includes someone completely unaware of my passion, I always give them a "quiz" to immediatly change the paradigm in their head that all tarantulas are big, hairy, brown nightmare fuel. Once that's complete, 90% of the time fear turns to fascination and in the future, they'll usually go out of their way to ask about my animals.

Anyways, the quiz is simply I show them a picture and they quickly tell me if the spider is real or fake as I flip through 30 odd pictures of different vibrant species. The first one is always a rose hair or Brachypelma spp, the prototypical tarantula most people have seen. The second picture is a chipmunk photoshopped with eight legs to see if their paying attention, and then I tell them the pictures are going to get way harder after that as I roll through them. In the end, when you inevitably tell them all except the chipmunk were real, they will have a new perspective.

 

[Gevo]

Start by thinking of 3-5 things you want these students to know about tarantulas and let that guide the bulk of the content and activities you choose.

If I were doing such a presentation, I'd probably start by getting a sense of prior knowledge, asking the kids to tell me what they already know about spiders or asking them an easy and short true/false set of questions. Maybe you'll find that one is already a spider nerd and is excited to share a lot.

Then, to avoid overwhelming them, I'd pick something easy to grasp as the first focal point. At that age level, you could pick a species to focus on and talk about where in the world it's from, how it lives, what it eats, etc., and if you have a molt to show them, that'd make a good artifact to bring (not to touch though if it's got urticating hairs!). Or, you could pick a geographic area and choose a few species from there to highlight. Or you could say there are three main types (arboreal, terrestrial, and fossorial) and show examples of each. This is like an anchor that gives them some digestible information to get them comfortable with the topic. Use lots of visuals.

From there, I'd probably offer some interesting general facts, like the fact that they're basically blind and feel their environment through their bodies, or that they breathe through book lungs instead of their mouths, or that when they molt, they also grow new fangs, lungs, and eyes. Stuff like that. Kids at that age like factoids.

If they have lots of questions, you can just riff on that for the last 10 minutes or so, but you could also plan an activity, like a short wrap-up game based on the info you covered, Jeopardy-style or fill-in-the-blank or something. Bring spider stickers or Halloween spider rings or something as giveaways.

 

[viper69]

I only show people pictures of Ts that one would never dream possible!

 

[Charliemum]

If you have one maybe an ow moult so they can touch it and see how soft without the fear of being itchy. Maybe a n outlined drawing of a tarantula they can colour themselves with little arrows to information about the part they colour eg, pedipalps, tarantulas use these for all sorts of things from catching food to cleaning. Or abdomen this is where the tarantulas heart is and where they store their food . It would give them something they could take home and do there maybe spreading more info to others

 

[Brewser]

Lots of Large Colorful Pictures showing Ts from all corners of the World.
Also show the physical variations, Behavioral differences, Habitat, etc.

 

[TheraMygale]

I gave a child an old webbed up enclosure by a p murinus to bring to show and tell. It showed the intricate web tunnels. Kids, no matter the age, love to see and touch things.

i keep molts in ziplocs that way we can look at them without the risk of UrS and we don’t touch the spider. It also lets the kids measure the DSL and see the fangs.

 

[MrsHaas]

I’m thinking… I’m probably only gonna have half an hour with them because I can’t imagine that they would be able to pay attention longer than that lol - I have to remember that they are young kids and I can’t go into too much depth with them because they will easily get bored or it will be too advanced for them to really comprehend.

I’ll bring in a worksheet for the kids and talk about:

Reasons u don’t have to be so afraid of tarantulas!
anatomy (diagram) - I’ll tell them all the parts of a tarantula and say what each part does. At the same time, I’ll have them draw the parts of the tarantula that I’m covering as I'm talking about them
Tarantula vs true arachnid/tarantula features
Diet and how they eat
Species/habitat and location
Sex, maturation and mating
Molts!! (My favorite- I’m going to bring one)
Arboreal vs terrestrial
old vs new worlds (defense mechanisms)
30 sec power point w diff colored tarantulas ( @viper69 !)
Also I’m bringing in an AF curly and a ½” curly sling to show how they grow.

Does this sound like a decent amount of info for a 30 minute presentation for 3rd graders?

Anything I missed?
If this seems like a good Smorgasburg of information for third graders, in what order should I address each of the above topics?

Again, all ideas welcomed!

 

[MrsHaas]

I gave a child an old webbed up enclosure by a p murinus to bring to show and tell. It showed the intricate web tunnels. Kids, no matter the age, love to see and touch things.

i keep molts in ziplocs that way we can look at them without the risk of UrS and we don’t touch the spider. It also lets the kids measure the DSL and see the fangs.

I could def bring some webbing to show the kids how strong it is! Good idea thanks!!!!

Also, even my own son won’t be touching the molts (ill bring one that’s mounted in a shadow box) or Ts - I’m just going to have groups of like 4 at a time come up to take a look at the sling and AF , both of which are in clear containers that I won’t be opening.

@Gevo my 8 year old son is the spider nerd loooool

 

[viper69]

Just tie them and force them to listen!!

 

[MrsHaas]

Just tie them and force them to listen!!

I’m gonna need some industrial strength rope in that case. And probably some duct tape for their hands and mouths.

 

[viper69]

I’m gonna need some industrial strength rope in that case. And probably some duct tape for their hands and mouths.

Duct tape has many uses! It’s a go to!

 

[MrsHaas]

So, my power point consists of a slide for each topic:

1) Tarantulas versus true spiders
2) Tarantula: anatomy, body parts, and what they do
3) Diet: what and how tarantulas eat
4) Habitats and locations: arboreal versus terrestrial, old world versus New World
Growth and molting (which will include mating)

then I will be taking out the sling and the AF to show each table of 4 children…
While each table is looking, all the other kids at different tables will be able to enjoy a 30 picture slideshow of tarantulas that come in all different sizes shapes and colors. That I will loop until everyone is finished looking at the actual live specimens.

Any good ideas regarding the info I should put in each slide will be greatly appreciated, again. Thanks peeps!

 

[viper69]

So, my power point consists of a slide for each topic:

1) Tarantulas versus true spiders
2) Tarantula: anatomy, body parts, and what they do
3) Diet: what and how tarantulas eat
4) Habitats and locations: arboreal versus terrestrial, old world versus New World
Growth and molting (which will include mating)

then I will be taking out the sling and the AF to show each table of 4 children…
While each table is looking, all the other kids at different tables will be able to enjoy a 30 picture slideshow of tarantulas that come in all different sizes shapes and colors. That I will loop until everyone is finished looking at the actual live specimens.

Any good ideas regarding the info I should put in each slide will be greatly appreciated, again. Thanks peeps!

I make a TON of decks. Remember to use large fonts if you are projecting, I typically bold the titles sometimes bold/shadow too so that font is easier to see, and always use light on dark colors. I usually use a white or a butter yellow over dark navy blue, sometimes I make the blue have a gradient.

Then after all this show/tell, they get a TEST! Make them sweat!

 

[TheraMygale]

I make a TON of decks. Remember to use large fonts if you are projecting, I typically bold the titles sometimes bold/shadow too so that font is easier to see, and always use light on dark colors. I usually use a white or a butter yellow over dark navy blue, sometimes I make the blue have a gradient.

Then after all this show/tell, they get a TEST! Make them sweat!

Indeed, big and bold font. Some kids have reading challenges and dyslexia. Bigger words retains their attention and some get to read what they couldnt.

 

[Charliemum]

I make a TON of decks. Remember to use large fonts if you are projecting, I typically bold the titles sometimes bold/shadow too so that font is easier to see, and always use light on dark colors. I usually use a white or a butter yellow over dark navy blue, sometimes I make the blue have a gradient.

Then after all this show/tell, they get a TEST! Make them sweat!

Viper are you a teacher? You seem to know alot about this stuff

 

[l4nsky]

Viper are you a teacher? You seem to know alot about this stuff

Close, motivational speaker

 

[Charliemum]

Close, motivational speaker

I nearly choked

Got visions of him telling a room full of ppl everything they know is wrong n the true way to happiness is lots of t's n spiders now

 

[TheraMygale]

Close, motivational speaker

Life coach? I need to book that right now. I have the green.

even if i am the only one there. I relish my privacy.

 

[viper69]

Viper are you a teacher? You seem to know alot about this stuff

No