Recommended Grade Level: 1st Grade

Description: In this lesson, students will be introduced to insect species diversity. Students will learn about the characteristics of insects and the biologists at the Florida Keys Mosquito Control that study mosquitoes to help protect the community from mosquito transmitted diseases that can make us sick. This lesson is followed by an identification lab that challenges students to identify different insect species based on their characteristics.

Sunshine State Education Standards:

• SC.K.L.14.3 Observe plants and animals, describe how they are alike and how they are different in the way they look and in the things they do.
• SC.K.N.1.5 Recognize that learning can come from careful observation.
• SC.1. L.14.3 Differentiate between living and nonliving things.
• SC.1. L.16.1 Make observations that plants and animals closely resemble their parents, but variations exist among individuals within a population.
• SC.1. E.5.3 Investigate how magnifiers make things appear bigger and help people see things they could not see without them. 
• HE.1.PHC.1.5 Tell about behaviors that avoid or reduce health risks.