INSECTS AS TEACHING TOOLS IN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY-EDUCATION

Insects offer a vast array of teaching opportunities for precollege st udents. Here we address the basics teachers need in order to use insec ts successfully in their curricula. We identify exemplary resources in the printed North American literature and point out potentially produ ctive places for teachers and students to search for ideas and materia ls. We review the roles of entomology in the educational framework, hi ghlight favorite classroom arthropods and less well-known examples, an d guide readers to entomological resources. Tips to help teachers iden tify, rear, and maintain classroom insects and find equipment and supp lies are included. The review concludes with a plea for greater classr oom and curricular involvement by those in the entomological professio n.