Be Nice to Spiders

After a few students in our second grade classroom witnessed an adult at our school reacting to a spider by stepping on it, the children were moved to action. This followed an extensive class study of spiders after which the children made posters to educate their peers and the community about the benefits of spiders. The posters were placed around the school and a few were given to local parks, gardens, and a local group that leads lessons in our creek area. Students regularly reported instances of how they had informed their families and other children in the school that spiders are important to the ecosystem, that spiders are not dangerous, and that spiders benefit people. As part of the unit, we also read books about people who were and were not afraid of spiders.