Spider Science Activities for Little Learners

Creepy crawly critters are definitely NOT my favorite creatures, but spider science has always been fun to teach.  It’s easy to see why!

Why Spiders?

Spiders are a great way to teach a variety of science skills.  From the basic needs of living things to life cycle and anatomy.  Spiders are designed specifically for their environment. And they are created to survive differently than many other living creatures.

Learning the differences between spiders, or arachnids, and insects can be done easily by reading nonfiction books together. Super Spiders and National Geographic Readers: Spiders are just a couple of my favorites.

Using science books to teach spiders creates a great opportunity to compare fiction and nonfiction.  As well as, how books can be used to collect data and information for many research activities.

Spider Game

After reading, it’s fun to get active together while learning a bit more about spiders.  Spiders have spinnerets to create webs that catch spiders food.  Here are two fun games we like to play to emphasize that unique trait…

We used a spider web bowl we picked up from Dollar Tree and some plastic insects to create a simple and fun game of Spider Toss.  Toss the insects to see if the spider web catches them.  Check out that concentration!

Don’t have the materials?

Grab some white yarn and build a web together.  Sit in a circle and toss the yarn back and forth around the circle to create a web.  Then, choose a child to be the spider and another child to be its prey.

Have the prey fall into the spider web and then the spider can wrap up its prey with the yarn.  Fun and a great visual of how a spider catches its food!

Spider Science Lapbook

If you need some more ideas for skills that can be taught during a spider unit, check out my Spider Science Lapbook over on my TpT Store!