Lesson Summary Students learn that the butterfly is an animal called an insect.  Students discover the characteristics that all insects share.  Show and discuss a labeled diagram of the butterfly’s body parts.  Discuss the main characteristics that identify insects: six legs, three main body sections (head, thorax, and abdomen), two antennae, and two pair of wings.  Students brainstorm other animals they think are insects.  Compare their list of insects with the insect characteristic list to determine if these animals are in fact insects.  Compare the butterfly’s body with a spider’s body. Teacher Background Nine out of every ten animals living on earth are insects.  There are over one million different kinds of known insects.  Many animals are often confused with insects: spiders, pill bugs, ticks, etc.  But, when compared with the common characteristics of insects students can define if the animal is an insect or not. Set-up/Management Tips On the activity sheet for this lesson, students will be asked to decide whether a spider is an insect or not.  Try not to give away the answer during discussion. Make a transparency of Figure 14-1 to help further illustrate the body parts of a butterfly.  Consider making a bulletin board showing the butterfly and/or another insect’s body parts. Literacy Support There are currently no VAST Mediagraphies listed for this unit.  Scientific Vocabulary The following words are key vocabulary words that will be introduced in this lesson and reinforced throughout the unit: insect