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A Free Homeschool UNIT STUDY: Cicadas
Each UNIT STUDY includes suggestions of books to READ, ideas to WRITE, crafts to CREATE, more to EXPLORE, snacks to ENJOY and other ways to LEARN about a specific topic! To read more about the concepts behind my UNIT STUDIES, read this.
If you find it handy to have a simplified printable of these suggestions, you can find one, along with several free printables, here in the FREE Cicadas Unit Study Printable Pack.
{Note: The links are pink! Just think, “pink link” if you are wanting to follow a link to something.}
Unit Study: CICADAS
For a girl who was born and raised in Southern California, CICADAS were something I had no experience with whatsoever…until one weird summer when we returned to visit my husband’s family in Mid-Missouri. They were everywhere. I mean….everywhere. It was the craziest experience, one which our six-year-old son found fascinating but his mama found downright disturbing. But, since that time, I have learned quite a bit about the creatures and find them truly fascinating. Whether you live where CICADAS will be emerging this summer or not, your kids should enjoy learning all about these interesting insects!
READ
Considering CICADAS are viewed by many as one of the most fascinating creatures, I think there should be more and better book options out there on the subject. I mean, how many stories of roly-polies and ladybugs do you see highlighted on the evening news? Gail Gibbons and Tish Rabe, please take note! But there are certainly enough to teach your kiddos about CICADAS!
Cecily Cicada by Kita Helmetag Murdock and Patsy Hemetag is a book written TWICE by a mother/daughter team. They first wrote the book in 2004 and then updated it for the 2021 CICADA emergence. It’s a cute fiction book that does a great job of showing little the life cycle of CICADAS with a lot more than a diagram. They also include some lovely choice of words that adds to the sweetness of the book. The FREE Cicadas Unit Study Printable Pack has two pages to complement the book; one for vocabulary and one for comprehension.
Cicadas! Strange and Wonderful by Laurence Pringle is probably the best non-fiction option available. It is fairly thorough covers both periodical and annual CICADAS along with their life cycle, body parts, etc. There is a one-page scavenger hunt in the FREE Cicadas Unit Study Printable Pack. The scavenger hunt would work with any non-fiction resource on the subject.
Cicada by Shaun Tan is a unique picture book for sure. My library had it cataloged in the Young Adult Department and I think that was probably the right choice. Though it could be read to younger kids and followed up with a conversation that connects the story to the life cycle of the CICADA, it is certainly a wee bit dark and sad in places. It does end on a happy note for the CICADA, but might cause kids to question the happiness of humans. There is one writing activity in the FREE Cicadas Unit Study Printable Pack.
My Life as a Cicada by M. Eigh is a fiction book with very cartoony illustrations, which are not my favorite, but it does do a good job of portraying the life cycle of a CICADA from the insect’s perspective. It also explains the pesky termites that it has to deal with, which most other books don’t cover. Overall, it’s a good option, especially for younger kids.
WRITE
The FREE Cicadas Unit Study Printable Pack includes a couple of writing activities. There is one designed to accompany the book, Cicada by Shaun Tan. But there is also one that is great for kids of all ages, regardless of where they got their CICADA info. It asks the student to write a sentence or two about the CICADA’s life underground and illustrate it. Then it asks the student to do the same about life above-ground.
There is also a Venn Diagram so kids can compare and contrast the CICADAS and butterflies.
There are additional writing activities and prompts found in the CICADA Fact Pack. More info about that below.
LEARN
There are quite a few printables in the FREE Cicadas Unit Study Printable Pack including a list of Ten Cool CICADA Facts plus some questions to go with it.
There are also two pages covering a CICADA’s body parts and
a couple of pages covering the life cycle of the CICADA.
For a more thorough and detailed pack, check out the CICADA Fact Pack. It includes a detailed explanation of the life cycle, more information on the body parts and a map of the current broods. It also includes questions to answer, pages to label and a crossword puzzle to complete. Use code 25OffCicadaPack to save 25% off the current price!
CREATE
With their simple bodies, CICADA art is fairly easy to create! This how-to-draw a CICADA tutorial is a simple nine-step process. This CICADA paper craft includes a free template. This toilet paper tube CICADA is kinda funny looking but totally endearing! And this origami CICADA may not be the easiest of the bunch but is a great lesson in following directions and creates a fun keepsake.
ENJOY: As mentioned above, my personal experience with CICADAS is limited to that weird summer in Missouri plus one lone bug last summer here in Kansas. But, that experience in Missouri sure left a lasting impression. I even remember that the local frozen custard shop was making CICADA frozen custard. And it was selling out every day! It ended up making national news and they had to stop selling it. Turns out, there was concern from the FDA about eating the crunchy critters. But, there are currently a ton of ideas of how to eat actual CICADAS but I just can’t contemplate that concept. Other than those icky ideas, the selection of CICADA-themed snacks is pretty limited. I did find these cupcakes but I would not call them easy to make but you might find a clever way to adapt them. But this sweet and salty CICADA snack is way more my style, both in the ease of making and choice of ingredients. It just takes two types of pretzels, a big chocolate peanut butter cup, a Nutter Butter cookie and a couple of red M&M’s.
EXPLORE
One of the most fascinating things about CICADAS is the molting process and this cool three-minute video shows it off perfectly! This video includes text that explains a bit more about CICADAS but is also short enough for any age. This site includes links to CICADA sounds along with other CICADA tidbits. But, this four-minute video from Sci Show Kids is my favorite. It’s designed for the younger crew but also speaks clearly about CICADAS to all ages!
A Free Homeschool UNIT STUDY: Cicadas
We have cicadas here! They are so loud! If my daughter ever stops being petrified of bugs I’d love to do this study with my kids. Thanks!