Overview
The Christmas beetle is an iconic part of our Australian summer experience. Celebrate with Buzz, the Christmas Beetle, as he journeys through the outback to the annual Christmas Bush Bash.
Students will learn how to identify the features of this unique, iridescent beetle while celebrating its role in maintaining our environment. Students are provided with art materials to complete their very own Christmas cards featuring Buzz.
Background Information
These insects play an important ecological role. Since they emerge in the summer months when many reptiles, mammals and birds are producing and raising their young, Christmas beetles are an important protein and fat-rich food source for many animals. The larvae of Christmas beetles also tunnel through the soil helping to aerate it and to recycle organic matter.
Year Level: F-2
Duration: 1 hour
STEM in a Box
Yes
Prior Knowledge
No prior knowledge is required.
Learning Intentions
In this program students will:
- Explore beetle body parts
- Link different parts of a beetle with their functions
Activities
In this video conference students will:
- Create a Christmas tree decoration featuring a Christmas beetle
- Listen to a storybook with Australian environmental illustrations
- Complete a diagram representing beetle body parts
- Engage in discussion questions involving various Christmas beetle species
Victorian Curriculum 2.0
Science: Science Understanding
- Plants and animals have observable features that can be used to group them in different ways (VC2S2U01)
- Plants and animals have external features that perform different functions to enable their survival; in plants these features include roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruit, bulbs, trunks and branches while different features in animals enable them to move, breathe, eat and respond to their environment (VC2S2U03)
- Plants and animals have basic needs, including air, water, food and shelter; the places where they live meet those needs (VC2S2U02)
Design and Technologies: Creating Designed Solutions
- Explore, generate and communicate design ideas through describing, drawing or modelling, using manual and digital tools (VC2TDE2D02)
Visual Arts: Creating
- Use visual conventions, visual arts processes and materials to create artworks that communicate ideas, experiences and observations (VC2AVA2C01)