Spider Spins a Web

Spider Spins a Web

The children will learn the body parts of a spider, the importance of spiders, life cycle, types of webs, and that spiders have silk, and use it to wrap up food.

Materials

  • Spider costume
  • Spider abdomen with rope (silk) inside
  • Spider egg sack
  • Pictures
  • Spider Puppet
  • Animal Puppets
  • Spider Book

Spider Puppet –using spider and act like the spider puppet is talking with you about the benefits of having spiders.

Why spiders help us.
– Eats harmful bugs
– Help pollinate plants
– Food source for other animals – birds, fish, mammals

Are you afraid of spiders?

Dress a spider

Spider hat with eyes, spider body parts, and (2) 8 legs
Listing the characteristics for a spider/arachnid contrast with insect.

Spider:
2 body parts
8 legs
Exoskeleton
Pedipalps (catch food, eat food, clean face)
2-8 eyes – count eyes
Spinnerets
Venom
No wings

Insect:
3 body parts
6 legs
Exoskeleton
Compound eyes
Antennae
Wings

Spider Life Cycle

Discuss the spider’s life cycle by having three children come up and help put the life cycle in order. Talk about that some female spiders hide other carry – hundreds of eggs
→ spiderlings and ballooning
→ adult on magnet board.

Role play the spider and egg sack

Have the student gather in a group. Cover them up with the white sheet, which is the egg sack. Tell the kids that they have to balloon away so they don’t get eaten when the egg sac is removed. Explain that they have to freeze when you say freeze. Any spiderlings too close are my lunch.

Spider Safari

Tell the kids that they are going to go on a spider safari. Tell students that they have to be quiet so they don’t scare away spiders. Ask them that they might not see spiders, but they might see signs of spiders. Then explore the classroom.

Spider Silk

Some spiders do not spin webs. Other spiders do use spider silk; spider silk is the strongest natural fiber known! Spider silk is so strong that many threads together (pencil thick) could stop a jet plan in flight! Spider webs are also used for:

  • Some birds use spider webs to hold their nest together.
  • Some people used spider webs as bandages!
  • Some spiders will recycle their webs by eating them.
  • Spiders have different types of silk

Do all spiders use a web? Show various kinds of spiders and webs.

Orb weavers/net weavers
Hunting (no webs)
Funnel weavers
Cobwebs weavers

Spider Web Activity

First thread is the hardest – hand rope to one child, then the Y shape. Demonstrate and start the activity.

  • Have children sit or stand in a circle.
  • Using the spider abdomen with rope (silk).
  • Weave the rope to all the children in the circle to show an orb spider web pattern.
  • Have the children sing ‘the spider spins a web’ as you pass around the yarn.
  • Then throw the insect puppet into the center.
  • This is how a spider know that something is in the web, by the vibrations.
  • Have the children close their eyes and every time the feel a vibration have them say ‘yum yum.’ Toss animal puppets on the web.
  • Have them drop the yarn.

Song

The Spider spins a Web sung as you weave the silk between the kids.
(Tune to: The Farmer in the Dell)

The Spider spins a web,
The spider spins a web,
Round, round, up and down,
The spider spins a web.
Additional verses if time:
She spins it in and out.
She spins it back and forth.
She spins it good and strong

How a spider eats

Have a child come up to talk about

  • How a spider bites and stuns its prey
  • Quick puts a little webbing on it to hold it still
  • Then wraps it in webbing – show picture
  • Suck up all the liquid

Read Book Spiders Up, Spiders Down

Wrap up questions

How many legs does a spider have?
Are they insects?
Do all spiders spin webs?
Do some spiders have good eyesight?
Do spiders have venom or poison?
Does that venom or poison work on people?
Is spider silk strong?

Activity provided by:

Story County Conservation Board
56461 180th Street
Ames, IA 50010
Story County Conservation

Age:
_ 0-1
_ 1-2
_ 2-3
_ 3-4
✓ 4-5
✓ 5-6

Category: Group Activities

Iowa Early Learning Standards:
8.2, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4, 11.2, 12.1, 12.2, 12.4, 13.2, 13.3

Related Kindernature Resources: Other Resources: