Lesson Plan - Squash This Bug!

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Learning Objective

Students will identify reasons the spotted lanternfly is considered a dangerous invasive species in the U.S.

Text Structure

Sequence, Cause and Effect

Content-Area Connections

Life Science; Earth Science

Standards Correlations

CCSS: RI.3.1, RI.3.2, RI.3.3, RI.3.4, RI.3.5, RI.3.6, RI.3.7, RI.3.8, RI.3.10, L.3.4, SL.3.1

NGSS: Ecosystems

TEKS: Science 3.10

1. Preparing to Read

Watch a Video: What You Need to Know About the Spotted Lanternfly
Discuss: Why are lanternflies seen as a problem here in the United States?

Preview Words to Know
Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know.

  • invasive
  • fungi
  • pesticide


Set a Purpose for Reading
Draw attention to the “As You Read” question. Have students look for ways they can help stop the spread of spotted lanternflies.

2. Close-Reading Questions

1. Why was finding a lanternfly in Kansas bad news?
It was bad news because it meant the insects had spread west.
(RI.3.1 TEXT EVIDENCE)

2. The expression “the genie is out of the bottle” comes from an old story. Today we use it to talk about something that is done— and very hard to undo. Why does expert Michael Raupp use it in this article?
Raupp uses the expression in the text because there are already large populations of spotted lanternflies in Eastern states. It is now very hard to stop the insects.
(L.3.5 FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE)

3. What are two ways spotted lanternflies hurt plants?
Spotted lanternflies hurt plants by sucking out nutrients the plants need to survive and by making honeydew, a substance that causes fungi and mold to grow on plants.
(RI.3.3 CAUSE/EFFECT)

3. Skill Building

FEATURED SKILL: Public Service Announcement
Use the skill builder “Spread the Word!” to have students write a public service announcement about lanternflies. 
(W.3.2 INFORMATIVE WRITING)

Differentiate & Extend

Multilingual Learners
Use the skill builder “What I Learned” to assess comprehension. Sentence stems and other question formats help scaffold understanding.

 

Striving Readers
Review the Words to Know slideshow together, then invite students to list, define, and illustrate other domain- specific words used in the article (ecosystems, populations, etc.).

 

Small Groups
Group students who need to review the cause/effect text structure, and have them use the Find the Causes and Effects skill builder in SN’s online Graphic Organizer Library.

Text-to-Speech