Chickadee October 2018 Teacher/Parent Resources. Animal of the Month The Hercules Beetle ANIMAL FAST FACTS

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Eustacia Caldwell
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Chickadee October 2018 Teacher/Parent Resources Animal of the Month The Hercules Beetle Hercules

The beetle larvae, which look like giant grubs, take about two years to grow into adults.

Photo: Royalty-free (Dreamstime Images) Did You Know?

1 Chickadee October 2018 Teacher/Parent Resources Animal of the Month The Hercules Beetle Hercules beetles are about the size of an adult s hand. The beetle larvae, which look like giant grubs, take about two years to grow into adults. ANIMAL FAST FACTS Larvae eat rotten wood, while adult beetles prefer fruit, nectar, and sap. Photo: Royalty-free (Dreamstime Images) Did You Know? The Hercules beetle is one of the strongest insects on Earth. The male can carry up to 100 times its own weight similar to a person carrying two minivans! This is a free teacher/parent resource from 1

2 Animal of the Month The Hercules Beetle Follow-Up Question: Where do Hercules beetles live? Classroom Connections: science, language arts, geography This is a free teacher/parent resource from 2

3 Discovery All About Mythical Creatures Read the article aloud to the class. Then ask students to suggest what they think the word mythical means. Some ideas you could discuss are: A myth is a type of story. Characters and creatures in myths often have superhuman or magical powers. Myths usually try to explain why or how something mysterious, like the beginning of the world, happens. Sometimes the word mythical is used to describe something imaginary, like a unicorn. Other words to explore and define from the article are: Ancient Mythology Folklore Legend Discussion Questions: Name some books or movies that feature the mythical creatures in the article. How are the mythical creatures in books and movies different from the ones in the article? How are they similar? Can you think of other mythical creatures? Make a short list. Then, as a class, talk about which real-life animals could have inspired the origins of the mythical ones. This is a free teacher/parent resource from 3

4 Discovery All About Mythical Creatures Follow Up Activities: Make mythical-creature trading cards. (Use Pokémon or sports cards as samples.) Include information about what the creature looks like, its magical powers, and what myths it appears in. Make up your own mythical creature and write a story about it or draw a picture. What real animal does your creature look like? Read about global mythologies in Korwin Briggs non-fiction Gods and Heroes: Mythology Around the World. Classroom Connections: language arts, art This is a free teacher/parent resource from 4

5 Dr. Zed Science Glow Up! Ask students to read this month s Dr. Zed Science page. Based on the experiment, discuss the concept of luminescence, which is light that s made without heat. This video from The Children s Museum of Indianapolis explains the idea a little more: watch?v=7exrtgmyz1e Then, as a class, try the experiment. (You could improvise with bowls of ice instead of a freezer, or use the staff freezer.) What do you observe? Now come up with a list of other things that glow, such as stars, fireflies, and jellyfish. Living creatures that can glow are referred to as bioluminescent. Learn more about glowing ocean animals in this video by SciShow Kids: Follow-up Activities: Try crunching on Wint-O-Green LifeSavers in the dark. Can you see any sparks? When you grind up the sugar and the wintergreen oil in your teeth, you create a tiny electrical charge the sparks. Celebrate Halloween with a batch of glow-in-the-dark slime. Find a recipe here: Send us pictures of yourself creating slime we might feature them in an upcoming issue or on the Chickadee blog. This is a free teacher/parent resource from 5

MYTHICAL CREATURES in Focus

LANGUAGE ARTS (Myths, Legends, Storytelling), MYTHICAL CREATURES in Focus Read a brief overview about field guides and mythical creatures. This Enrichment4You e- guide is a journey into imagination. We