Mentor Text Monday: Mealworm Life Cycle

 

Hello all!  It’s that time of year again!  It’s time to study the life cycle of the mealworm or darkling beetle!  Are you ready?  I have a fantastic book that is perfect for your study and a Mealworm Life Cycle observation freebie!

This post contains an affiliate link to Amazon (if you would like to get your own copy of this book!).  
 
 

I came across this awesome book several years ago when I started teaching second grade.  I always try to introduce a new topic with a book.  This one is awesome for teaching the life cycle of the darkling beetle! 

From Mealworm to Beetle Following the Life Cycle by Laura Purdie Salas

Image of the cover of From Mealworm to Beetle following the life cycle.

This book is fantastic!   It takes your students through the entire life cycle of the Darkling Beetle from egg to beetle! The illustrations are big, bright, and detailed. Perfect for reading aloud.  This book would also be excellent for teaching your students about Non-Fiction Text Features!

Open book image of inside pages.

My students LOVED this book.  I usually read it several times over the course of our mealworm unit.

Mealworm Observations

Image of Darkling beetles
 
After reading this lovely book we do our first mealworm observation.  We do a lot of observing in science, so we talk about what makes a good observation.  Writing down things like “They are cool!” or “They are gross” is not what a scientist would write.  They would write down things that see or hear and what they are wondering about.  The mealworms are all together in a big container, so the kiddos take their Mealworm Life Cycle observation sheet and a magnifying glass and write down their observations!  I also encourage the kiddos to talk about what they are noticing with the others who are observing with them.  Their conversations are great!  
You can get the observation sheet that I use with my kiddos by clicking on either of the pictures below.
Image of Freebie, click to get the freebie.

 

Image of Freebie, click to get the freebie.
 

Did I convince you?  Do you need this book now?  You can use this affiliate link to get it for yourself!  I will receive a small commission with no cost to you.

Are you looking for other great ways for your students to respond to what they are reading?  I have a ton of fun freebies and reading responses in my TpT store!  You can check some out here:

Reading Response Journal image

 

 
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