Exploring Urban Integrated Pest Management 13 Michigan State University Pesticide Education, 2001 ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Background Friend or Foe? Classroom Activity Grades K-6 #1 A pest is any living thing (plant or animal) that bothers or annoys us, our pets or animals, damages things we value, occurs where we do not want it, or causes or spreads disease. This is a pretty broad definition, and in fact people don’t always agree that something is a pest. A dandelion may be a pest to one person and a wildflower to another. We spend a lot of time and money battling pests. It is important to remember that pests aren’t “trying” to hurt or bother us. All living things have roles in the environment. Depending on their roles in food chains and food webs, living things can be producers, consumers, predators, prey or decomposers. Each of these roles is important for food webs to function. But what happens when decomposers like termites infest your house? Decomposing old trees in the forest is important. Decomposing your house is a problem, and makes them pests. Step 1: Discussion. Ask: What is a pest?What are things that pests do that make them pests to us? Key points include: bothers or annoys, damages things, occurs where we don’t want it, makes us sick. Ask: What are some examples of pests? Write the examples of pests on the board or overhead as the students suggest them. The first suggestions are usually brothers or sisters and insects. Encourage students to give examples of plants or mammals in addition to insects. Step 2: Pest or NOT a Pest Game. Hand out green and red pieces of construction paper to each student. Have the students write “pest” on the red piece of paper and “NOT a pest” on the green sheet. Read examples from the “When is a pest not a pest” teacher sheet. Instruct the students to hold up the red sheet when they think it is a pest, and the Doing the Activity Overview Subjects Objectives Duration All living things have roles in the environment. Through discussion, activities, and games, students learn how the location of a living thing affects whether it is considered a pest. Students will: • discuss what makes something a pest. • learn that being a pest can depend on the situation or location. “When is a pest not a pest?” teacher sheet, green and red paper, markers or crayons, pencils, plain paper optional: scissors, glue or tape science, language arts, art 1 hour Materials 14 Exploring Urban Integrated Pest Management Michigan State University Pesticide Education, 2001 green sheet when they think it isn’t. You may wish to start with silly examples like an elephant in your living room or a tree growing through the window into our classroom. With smaller groups you may choose to make one wall in the room “pest” and the other wall “NOT a pest.” Instruct the students to run or walk to the correct wall. Step 3: Craft Activity. Students choose one plant or animal. At the top of the page each student writes “Name of living thing can be:.” Divide the bottom half of the page into two sections. On one section write “a pest” and on the other section write a useful purpose for the animal (food, pollinator, decomposer, etc.). Draw pictures for each option. One adaptation of this activity is to make flaps to go over the pictures. Cut out the flaps from another piece of paper and tape or glue the top edge to the paper. From The Minnesota Department of Agriculture IPM Program, Join Our Pest Patrol-A Backyard Activity Book for Kids- An Adventure in IPM http://www.mda.state.mn.us/IPM/IPMPubs.html 1. What’s a Pest? http://www.mda.state.mn.us/ IPM/PestPatrol/WhatsAPest.pdf 2. Insect Pests and Pals http:// www.mda.state.mn.us/IPM/PestPatrol/ PestsAndPals.pdf Answers: http://www.mda.state.mn.us/IPM/ PestPatrol/Answers.pdf Supplemental Worksheets Step 4: Complete The Story. Start by saying a sentence about an animal to the class. For example, one day an elephant decided to go to the city. Go around the room and have each student add a sentence to the story. It can get very silly. Closure/Assessment: Ask the students what a pest is and what makes it a pest. Give students examples of pests, and ask for suggestions on what to do. For example: If I find a ladybug in my living room what could I do? Take it outside. If I see poison ivy in the woods, what should I do? Stay away. A mouse can be: a pest food Enrichment Ask students to write a story about an animal (real or pretend) that becomes a pest when it goes to the wrong place. Exploring Urban Integrated Pest Management 15 Michigan State University Pesticide Education, 2001 When is a pest not a pest? Teacher suggestions: The following are some examples for the Pest or NOT a Pest game in step two. As part of the activity, randomly read the name of an organism and where it is or what it is doing. Feel free to develop your own examples and embellish the ones below. For example, say: a rabbit eating the lettuce in my garden. Name Pest Not a Pest raccoon In house, garage, garbage cans forest mosquito biting us, spreading diseases food for bats and fish maggots making meat or vegetables rotten decomposing dead animals termites eating houses or buildings decomposing wood in forests rabbits garden field or woods deer in a cornfield, in your garden forest algae covering a pond food for fish mouse house, spreading diseases food for snakes, other animals fruit flies inside flying around fruit eating rotting fruit on the floor of an orchard bees sting us pollinating flowers and making honey lady beetle inside your house outside, eating aphids and other small insects house fly annoy us, spread disease food for birds, decompose animal waste Adapted from: “When is a Pest Not a Pest” in Jeffords, M.R. & Hodgins, A.S., 1995. Pests Have Enemies Too: Teaching Young Scientists About Biological Control, Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, IL, special publication 18.