Activity Descriptions/Instructions	Answer Keys
Words to Know • Students use this interactive, multiple-choice activity to become familiar with lesson vocabulary words. • In each exercise, students read a sentence containing a vocabulary word, then use context clues from the sentence to select the best definition for that word. • Students must select the correct definition for the current exercise in order to move to the next exercise.	1. antennae: long, thin sense organs located on the head of some animals, including insects and shellfish 2. exoskeleton: a hard covering that protects or supports the body of certain animals, including insects and shellfish 3. segments: the parts into which something is divided; each part of an insect's body is a segment
Before You Read: Those Amazing Bugs • Students share prior knowledge about insects and their relatives in the phylum Arthropoda. • Students learn about the amazing feats of several different insects. • Students are directed to print out or copy the worksheet (if needed) before proceeding to the reading selection.
"A Tale of Two Bugs" • Skill: Comparisons • Students read this nonfiction selection which describes the main characteristics and behavior of centipedes and millipedes. Students learn that knowing how these bugs are alike and how they are different can keep them from suffering a painful bite. • Students complete the worksheet. The worksheet contains a Venn diagram that students use, as they read the selection, to record the similarities and differences between centipedes and millipedes. Skill Reminder: When readers think about how things are alike, they are comparing. When readers think about how things are different, they are contrasting. Comparing and contrasting help readers deepen their understanding of a selection.	Worksheet Which can hurt you with a painful bite, the millipede or the centipede? The following information should appear in the appropriate sections of the Venn diagram: Centipedes: name means "a hundred feet"; have one pair of legs per body segment; have as many as 340 legs; eats snails, slugs, worms, and insects; when disturbed, may bite with poison jaws that can harm people Millipedes: name means "a thousand feet"; have two pairs of legs per body segment; have as many as 230 legs; eat rotting plants; when disturbed, usually coil up Both: arthropods; jointed legs; segmented bodies; exoskeleton; two antennae
Rate Yourself Students use this self-evaluation to assess their performance in the reading lesson.
Bug Safari: Observing and Drawing Bugs • Students print a worksheet to take home that directs them to conduct a Bug Safari. During the activity, they observe bugs in their neighborhood. They then select one bug for which they draw a detailed, labeled diagram. • Students can share their drawings in class to compare and contrast the bugs they have found. Have students work in small groups to identify similarities and differences between their bugs. Suggest that they record the details in a Venn diagram. • You may want to provide reference sources with information about insects for students to use to learn more about their bugs.	Evaluation Guidelines Look for the following as students share their bug drawings with each other: • Does the drawing look complete? • Are all of the parts of the bug labeled? • Are the labels accurate? • Are students able to identify similarities and differences between their drawings?