Lesson video

Hello, everyone.

How are you today?

I hope you're feeling really good.

My name is Ms. Afshan and I'll be your teacher for this lesson.

I'm feeling really pleased about that because I think we've got quite an interesting topic ahead.

Today we are looking at insect life cycles.

That's the title of our lesson.

It comes from the unit of work, Reproduction and life cycles: animals.

So I wonder how much you know about insects, their life cycles.

So I wonder how much you know about insects and their life life cycles.

Don't worry whether you know a lot or a little.

We are gonna be getting right into this topic today.

So if you're ready with some focus, energy and enthusiasm, we'll begin our lesson now.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can describe the stages in the life cycle of different insects.

I hope that sounds of interest to you.

We have some keywords in our lesson.

Let's go through them one at a time.

My turn.

Your turn.

Insect, life cycle, larva, pupa, metamorphosis.

It was great to hear those keywords.

And now let's find out what these keywords mean.

So an insect is an invertebrate animal that has antennae, six legs and a body divided into segments.

A life cycle is the way in which a living thing changes as it ages.

Larva is the life cycle stage that some animals go through before metamorphosis into their next form.

Inside of pupa, an insect changes from one form to another.

Metamorphosis is a major change from one form to another.

So these are our keywords: insect, life cycle, larva, pupa and metamorphosis.

Let's be on the lookout for them.

Let's listen out for them.

They'll be coming up in our lesson today.

Today's lesson is called Insect Life Cycles and it consists of two learning cycles.

First of all, insect life cycles and next, life cycle diagrams.

Let's begin by exploring insect life cycles.

Insects are cold-blooded, invertebrate animals that have six legs, a pair of antennae and a segmented body in three parts.

Many insects also have one or two pairs of wings.

And here we can see a range of insects on our screen.

Pause here and share with someone, have you seen any of these insects or, indeed, any other insects?

Thanks for sharing.

And what do you know about the life cycles of insects?

Pause here and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing your ideas.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Which of these is not a characteristic of insects?

A, coldblooded.

B, invertebrate.

C, segmented body in two parts.

D, six legs.

Pause here while you decide which of these is not a characteristic of insects.

Well done if you selected answer C.

Indeed, segmented body in two parts is not a characteristic of insects, whereas the other three are.

Insect life cycles begin with eggs.

There we can see some insect eggs on the screen.

Insects usually lay lots of eggs at once.

I wonder if you can make a quick estimate of how many eggs there are on each of those images on the screen.

Pause here while you do this.

Thanks for sharing your estimates.

When insect young hatch, they are called larvae.

The insect larvae eat lots to prepare for the next stage of their life cycle.

On the left there we can see a ladybird larva and on the right we can see some silkworm larvae.

The larvae is the plural of larva.

The next stage in the insect life cycle is the pupae.

The insect appears inactive during this stage, but it is still alive.

A pupa, singular, is a protective casing inside which the insect goes through a huge transformation.

This big change is called metamorphosis.

And there on the screen we can see a ladybird pupa and a silkworm pupa and there is a lot going on inside there.

Huge transformation is taking place.

When the insect has completed its metamorphosis inside the pupa, it emerges in a completely different form to the larva.

And there we can see butterflies emerging from their pupae in a very different form to how they began as larva.

The insect is now in its adult stage and is able to reproduce by laying eggs.

There we see the adult ladybird laying eggs and an adult silkworm moth.

Let's have a check for understanding.

In the life cycle of a butterfly, the pupa.

.

.

Finish the sentence in one of these three ways.

A, is not alive.

B, is alive.

C, will soon be alive.

Pause here while you decide how to complete the sentence.

Well done if you selected answer B, is alive.

Let's read the whole sentence.

In the life cycle of a butterfly, the pupa is alive.

And there we can see an incredible looking butterfly pupa.

So much going on inside there.

Let's have another check for understanding.

Use the words to fill in the blanks.

You may not need to use all of the words.

So here are the sentences to complete.

An insect's life cycle begins with?

When these hatch, a young insect called a, comes out.

After some time spent eating lots of food, the insect then becomes a?

Inside, the insect goes through a complete transformation called?

When the insect emerges from its pupa, it is a fully grown adult and is able to?

So pause here while you choose from the words: baby, an egg, evolution, larva, metamorphosis, reproduce, spawn and pupa to fill in the blanks.

I'll see you when you're finished.

So how did you get on with that check for understanding?

Let's see how you completed the sentences.

Perhaps, like this.

And insect's life cycle begins with an egg.

When these hatch, a young insect called a larva comes out.

After some time spent eating lots of food, the insect then becomes a pupa.

Inside, the insect goes through a complete transformation called metamorphosis.

When the insect emerges from its pupa, it is a fully grown adult and is able to reproduce.

And so the insect life cycle continues.

Well done if you filled in the blanks in this way.

We can find out about insect life cycles by observing how insects reproduce and change over time.

We can also learn about insect life cycles by carrying out research.

And here's a secondary source about insects.

Let's have a check for understanding.

How can we find out about insect life cycles?

Choose from one of the following.

A, drawing a diagram of an adult insect.

B, observing insects over time.

C, carrying out research using secondary sources.

D, carrying out a fair test using insects.

Pause here while you decide how we can find out about insect life cycles.

Well done if you selected answer B and C.

Indeed, we can find out about insect life cycles by observing insects over time and by carrying out research using secondary sources.

And now it's time for your first task.

I would like you to choose an insect and research what it looks like at each stage in its life cycle.

Use your findings to complete the table with a simple drawing of each stage.

Label the point where metamorphosis occurs.

Now pause here while you have a go at this task, carry out your research and then complete the table with your findings using simple drawings to illustrate each stage.

I'll see you when you're finished.

It's good to be back with you.

How did you get on with that task using your findings to complete the table with a simple drawing of each stage?

Here's Andeep.

I found out about the life cycle of an ant.

Which insect did you choose?

I wonder.

So let's have a look at what Andeep has here.

So there's the image of the egg, then we have a drawing of the larva.

Next is the pupa.

And Andeep has highlighted that metamorphosis occurs here inside the pupa.

I wonder if you did that too.

And finally, we have the fully grown adult.

Well done for having a go at this task.

And now we're onto our next learning cycle, Life cycle diagrams.

Scientists create life cycle diagrams to show the stages in an animal's life cycle.

The diagram shows each stage and the order they come in from birth to adult.

So here we can see the ladybird life cycle diagram.

So we can see the egg, up at the top there and then there's an arrow taking us to the next stage, which is the larva.

Arrow takes us to the next stage, the pupa.

Remember that's where the metamorphosis takes place.

And then emerging from the pupa, the next arrow takes us to the adult and the fully grown adult is able to reproduce and lays eggs.

And so the ladybird life cycle continues.

Let's have a check for understanding.

What is missing from the life cycle diagram?

Pause here and share with someone.

Well done if you said arrows.

It's arrows that are missing from the diagram.

These are needed to show the direction the life cycle moves in.

Insects come in lots of different shapes and sizes, but they have the same characteristics and most have the same life cycle stages.

For example, a ladybird and a butterfly.

Can you see the similarities between the ladybird and butterfly life cycles?

Pause here and share with someone, the similarities between these two life cycles.

Thanks for sharing.

Perhaps, you said that in the life cycle of both a ladybird and a butterfly, there's an egg.

The egg then hatches and becomes larva.

The next stage of the life cycle is the larva becomes a pupa.

I wonder if you remember that it's in the pupa that the metamorphosis takes place.

And then the next stage is that from the pupa emerges the adult.

The fully grown adult is then able to reproduce and then the adult lays eggs and the ladybird and the butterfly life cycle continues.

So each of those four elements are the same for a ladybird and a butterfly: egg, larva, pupa and adult.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Which of these is not a similarity shared by most insect life cycles?

A, egg.

B, larva.

C, hatchling.

D, metamorphosis.

Pause here while you decide which of these is not a similarity shared by most insect life cycles.

Well done if you selected C, hatchling.

Indeed, this is not a similarity shared by most insect life cycles, whereas egg, larva and metamorphosis are.

And now it's time for your next task.

I would like you to create your own insect.

It can be completely imagined or you can take inspiration from real animals.

I'd like you to complete and label a life cycle diagram for your insect.

So here is your opportunity to get really creative, make up your own insect and complete and label a life cycle diagram for them.

So pause here while you have a go at this first stage of your task.

I'll see you when you're finished.

It's good to be back with you.

How did you get on with completing and labeling a life cycle diagram for your insect?

Here's Izzy.

Here is the life cycle diagram for my lightning bug.

Does your insect's life cycle have any similarities to mine?

Hmm, good question.

So let's take a look at Izzy's.

So she has the egg.

I like how she's drawn those.

Then arrow, very important to include the arrow, takes us to the larva.

From the larva we have an arrow taking us to the pupa.

And then from the pupa we have an arrow taking us to the fully grown adult.

And then we know that, that adult can reproduce and lay eggs.

So the arrow takes us back to the eggs.

What a fantastic life cycle diagram for your lightning bug, Izzy.

Pause here and share with someone.

Does your insect's life cycle have similarities to Izzy's?

Thanks for sharing.

Perhaps, you had those four elements: the egg, larva, pupa and adult.

And perhaps, you included arrows as well.

And now it's time for the next part of our task.

I would like you to make some notes describing how your insect has all of the characteristics of insects and goes through each stage of the insect life cycle.

You can use the checklist to make sure you've included all the features.

So we have six legs, segmented body in three parts and pair of antennae and four stages of the life cycle: egg, larva, pupa and adult.

So pause here while you make your notes describing your insect, all of its characteristics and each stage of your insect's life cycle.

Enjoy your task and I'll see you when you're finished.

It's good to be back with you.

How did you get on with describing your insect?

Here's Izzy.

My insect is called a lightning bug.

It has six legs and a segmented body in three parts.

The eggs are orange and the larvae are black.

Its pupae are shaped like a lightning bolt and the adults have bright yellow wings like a butterfly.

Love that.

And Jacob, my insect is called a box beetle.

It has three, rectangular parts to its body and six jointed legs.

The eggs and the larvae are green, so they're camouflaged on leaves.

Oh, nice idea.

It's pupae are box-shaped and after metamorphosis, the adults have a cube-shaped shell.

Oh my goodness, I love your creativity there with the box beetle.

And I hope you enjoyed describing your insect and its life cycle as well.

Well done for having a go at this task.

In our lesson insect life cycles, we've covered the following.

Insects are animals.

They're living things that grow and reproduce.

Many insects undergo a complete change in form called metamorphosis.

We can find out about insect life cycles by observing them over time or carrying out research.

Scientific diagrams are used to show the stages in an insects life cycle.

Well done, everyone, for joining in with this lesson on insect life cycles.

It was so great to find out more about these incredible animals, insects, and the fascinating changes that they undergo, especially when they're in the pupa form and go through the incredible process of metamorphosis.

I hope you enjoyed carrying out research and, especially, I hope you enjoyed creating your own insects.

There's some great ideas there.

I loved your creativity.

I loved you getting expressive and inventive with your insects and, hopefully, helping you to learn more about the insect life cycle.

I've really enjoyed teaching you and I hope you've enjoyed this lesson too.

I look forward to seeing you at another lesson soon.

Until then, stay curious.