Ladybugs at School Project
9 Lessons
The Ladybugs at School Project aims to map the current distribution of ladybug species across North America to better understand how and why populations of native ladybugs on the continent have declined.
Project participants find and photograph ladybugs, submitting them to the project website with basic information, or data, including date, location, the photos, a suggested identification, etc.
Ladybugs
Getting Started
What will Ladybugs at School help me teach?
The concept map illustrates how the concepts addressed in the monthly engagements relate to one another and concepts outside the scope of the project.
Where can I learn more about these concepts?
The linked content resources for teachers are intended to deepen teachers’ knowledge of the concepts addressed in the monthly engagements.
What additional student resources are available?
The media guide offers digital and print resources that can be used to integrate Ladybugs at School into literacy instruction and provide extension opportunities.
Considerations for Outdoor Learning
It would be helpful to think through the following considerations and questions and share clear expectations with your students prior to going outside.
Ladybugs
Class Objectives & Outcomes
Understand the interdependence of plants and animals with their ecosystem
Compare the characteristics of several common ecosystems, including estuaries and salt marshes, oceans, lakes and ponds, forests, and grasslands.
Classify the organisms within an ecosystem according to the function they serve: producers, consumers, or decomposers (biotic factors).
Infer the effects that may result from the interconnected relationship of plants and animals to their ecosystem.
Compare daily and seasonal changes in weather conditions (including wind speed and direction, precipitation, and temperature) and patterns.
Ladybugs
Monthly Engagements
In the Ladybugs at School sequence of activities, students work together to answer two overarching questions: Do you see differences in the types and number of ladybugs of each type that you find throughout the school year within your local area? Geographic variance: Do you see the same patterns across locations throughout your state?
1: August & September
Students are introduced to the Ladybugs at School project by learning about data collection procedures and practice identifying ladybugs using a field guide.
4: December
Students look for patterns in data they have collected to make sense of ladybugs’ survival practices in winter and critique perceptions of contrasting views on ladybugs.
7: March
Students consider the data they have collected in the context of weather conditions and seasonal variations.
2: October
Students create a School Grounds Map to supplement their data collection and will use it as a reference in future months for analyzing data.
5: January
Students learn how to analyze and interpret data from iNaturalist exports, their class map, and their class data recording sheets.
8: April
Students analyze what attracts ladybugs to certain habitats by comparing schoolyard features and conditions that meet ladybugs’ needs for survival.
3: November
Students compare the microhabitats on the school grounds where ladybugs have been found and focus on building an understanding of the role of ladybugs in an ecosystem.
6: February
Students compare findings across data sources to identify common features of microhabitats on school grounds where ladybugs have or have not been found.
9: Culminating Activities
Students develop presentations to communicate what they’ve learned and/or advocate for changes to their school grounds.