Is a wētā a spider or insect?

Is a wētā a spider or insect?

Pencil and paperOnline interactive
Overview
Using this Resource
Connecting to the Curriculum
Marking Student Responses
Working with Students
Further Resources
This task is about classifying wētā.
weta-diagram-600.png
A wētā was found on Mr Ropitini's driveway.
His daughter April thought it was a spider.
Her father said it wasn't a spider, it was an insect.

Question Change answer

a)  When scientists decide what group an animal belongs to, they look at all its features. 
     In the chart below are features of spiders and insects that we can see by looking at them. 
     Look at the wētā and highlight on the chart the features it has.
  • Features of a weta.
Spiders Insects
8 legs 6 legs
2 parts to body 3 parts to body
   antennae (feelers)
skeleton on the outside skeleton on the outside

Question 2Change answer

b)  Select the right word to finish the sentence.
     A wētā is a spideran insect
 
c)  What is one thing that is the same about insects and spiders?
     
Task administration: 
This task can be completed with pencil and paper or online (with SOME auto marking).
Level:
3
Curriculum info: 
Science, Understanding about science, Living World
Keywords: 
evolution, classification, insects, spiders, weta
Description of task: 
Task: use a chart comparing the features of insects and spiders to decide which group a wētā belongs in. Assessment Focus: classification.
Curriculum Links: 
Science capabilities
The capabilities focus is brought about by the conversations you have and the questions you ask.
 
Capability: Use evidence
This resource provides opportunities to discuss using evidence in texts and diagrams to make inferences.
 
Science capabilities: 
Use evidence
Answers/responses: 
 

Y6 (11/2004)

a)
Spiders
8 legs
2 parts to the body

skeleton on the outside
 
 
 
 
Y
Insects

6 legs
3 parts to the body
antennae (feelers)
skeleton on the outside
 
Y
Y
Y
Y
 
Easy
Difficult
Very easy
Easy
b) an insect Very easy
c) They both have skeletons on the outside/exoskeleton. Easy

 

Diagnostic and formative information: 

A surprising number of students, even those who otherwise did well in the trial, stated that a weta had two body parts. This could be due to any of a number of factors.

  • It is difficult to see the three sections of the body.
  • The overlapping pieces of the exoskeleton may have confused them.
  • They may not have counted the head as a body part.
  • They may have been relying on an incorrect knowledge base, and not looking at the diagram.
Research
Research (e.g. Learning in Science Project at Waikato University) shows that children commonly use just one feature when they are classifying animals, and they are inconsistent about which features they focus on. For example, sometimes they may classify an insect according to its small size, and at other times according to the number of legs it has.		 Further reading on children's conceptions of insects and spiders:
What do students know in science? Analysis of data from the Assessment Resource Banks. (http://www.nzcer.org.nz/system/files/journals/set/downloads/set1999_2_012.pdf)

 

Next steps: 
a) If students have difficulty applying all the criteria for classifying animals, give them further practice with this skill. Refer to activities in the Building Science Concept book, Is this an animal?
b) Students could use a key to identify other invertebrates. This will encourage students to observe their features carefully. Two suitable resources are:
 
i) Ministry of Education (2001). Building Science Concepts, Book 6, Soil Animals. Wellington: Learning Media.
ii) Crowe, A. (1999). The life-size guide to insects and other land invertebrates of New Zealand. Auckland: Penguin.

 

Sara's spider – the features of a spider
Insect or spider?– features of insects and spiders
Garden animals– identifying insects from a set of small animals (including spiders), and describing 2 of their features

 
  • Crowe, A. (1999). The life-size guide to insects and other land invertebrates of New Zealand. Auckland: Penguin.
  • Ministry of Education (2004). Building Science Concepts, Book 62, Spiders everywhere. Wellington: Learning Media. Science notes for teachers include information about the characteristics of insects and spiders.
  • Ministry of Education (2003). Building Science Concepts, Book 39, Is this an animal? Wellington: Learning Media.
  • Ministry of Education (2001). Building Science Concepts, Book 6, Soil Animals. Wellington: Learning Media.