Learning from Our Roach Friends
We can learn about many different natural processes and scientific topics by observing our hissing cockroaches. As two of our hissers are currently pregnant one of our upcoming activities will be to study the life cycle of a hissing cockroach. As roaches usually take around 7 months to reach adulthood after they are born, this activity is one that spans almost the full length of the school year. We will take photographs and draw pictures of the roaches at their different stages of molting, noting changes in their appearance and behavior. We will use graphs and tables similar to these pictured to keep track of the data from our observations.
Related PA Standards:
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3.1.3.A3: Illustrate how plants and animals go through predictable life cycles that include birth, growth, development, reproduction, and death.
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3.1.3.A9: Ask questions about objects, organisms, and events.
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3.1.3.A9: Understand that all scientific investigations involve asking and answering questions and comparing the answer with what is already known.
Some other activities we may do with our hissers throughout the school year include:
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Tracking eating habits and taste preferences
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Study walking/crawling habits by having the roaches walking in paint and then place them on a clean sheet of paper
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Observe reactions to different types and intensities of light
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Observe reactions to different types and intensities of sounds and music
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Track length of digestion time by putting food coloring in different foods
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Observe territorial behaviors of males
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Study physical anatomy of roaches