2a) Ask questions
b) Plan and conduct simple descriptive investigations
c) Use equipment and tools-extend senses
d) Explanations based on information
e) Communicate findings

OBJECTIVE: To introduce students to water habitats that contain aquatic insects . Also for students to recognize differences between habitats and their inhabitants, in this case water habitats and the aquatic insects that dwell in them. They will be able to recognize different water habitats; streams, ponds ditches and creeks and how each one has characteristics that contribute to the inhabitants there.

MATERIALS: Hand lenses, medium to large jars for collection of water samples (five), several shallow pans. Water from a ditch, a stream, a creek and a pond. Suggest that you do not collect these samples more than two days before you will teach the lesson. Be sure and poke small holes in lids once samples are collected. Labels for pans and a sharpie. Label two pans for each sample. I.e. two pans will be labeled "creek" and two will be labeled "stream" and so on. Pictures of aquatic insects for the students to use to identify what they see. You can obtain these off the Internet by using the key word Entomology or Insects. You can also find some references in the book A common Guide to Texas Insects by Drees and Jackman.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Explain what a habitat is. Explain that there can be several in one area. Explain the differences between water habitats that you are going to be studying. Explain the difference between a still body of water and a running or moving body of water. Give several examples of each.

ENGAGE: Bring out four jars of samples labeled. Set each one out on a long table for the students to observe. Ask the students if they know some differences between these samples. "Is the water clearer in one than in another? Would you expect to find the same type of insects in each jar? What do you think would contribute to different insects being in different jars?"

EXPLORATION: Now get out the labeled shallow pans and pour half of each jar into a pan until all the jars are empty. Group the students with each pan and have them record which pan they are looking at. First have them look at the pans with the naked eye. Then have the students look at the water samples with the hand lens. Ask them what they see differently with the hand lens. Is there something you did not see without the lens that you see now? Have the students that looked at the still bodies of water now look at the moving water samples and vice versa.

SAFETY TIPS: You may want to have a "keep the jars and pans on the table" policy to avoid breaks or spills. If the students touch the water, make sure they wash their hands afterwards and warn them to not touch anything until they do. This could help reduce any bacteria being spread. Another option is to just have them dry their hands off and to have some antibacterial gel for them to put on their hands.

EXPLANATION: Who can tell me what they saw in the ditch water? In the creek water? In the stream water? In the pond water? Are there any differences between what you each saw? What are some of those differences? There are differences between standing bodies of water and moving bodies of water as you know. Those differences allow for different things or insects to grow in them. Explain how some insects prefer moving water to still water and how it helps them in their reproduction. Some insects live in different types of water because of the type food they eat. Share with them how you can tell if the water is polluted or not by what lives in it. If there are mosquito larvae, snails and worms in it, it is polluted. If there are Stone flies, Mayflies and Riffle beetles in your water, chances are it is not polluted. Use the pictures of the aquatic insects to help the children identify what they saw. After they have identified the different insects, ask them where they saw each one. " Was the water you looked at polluted or not?"

GOING FURTHER: You can see how habitats work in your neighborhood or school grounds. Observe a sample of water close to your house and determine whether or not it is polluted.

CLOSURE: "Today you have learned the difference between two kinds of water habitats, both moving water and still water habitats. You have also learned how to tell if the water is polluted or not just by what is living in the water you observe. Who can remind the class of some of the insects that live in unpolluted water? Polluted water? What are three reasons why an insect may live in the habitat they live in?"

EVALUATION: Use a handout that has the different types of insects on it and ask the students to determine which water habitat these insects might live in based on what they observed. Then add as a critical thinking question, do you think that still or moving water is more likely to be polluted? If the students each score 85% correct or better on the worksheets, the lesson will be considered successful. Checking for understanding questions throughout the lesson is encouraged in all lessons to enhance the learning of the students and allow the teacher to note the clarity of the information and the effectiveness of the style in which it is being presented.

INTEGRATION: For a language arts exercise, have the students write a paragraph about what they saw. For social studies, use the locale of running and still waters as a geography lesson. As grade level increases, begin to elaborate on the meaning of habitat and branch out into other examples of habitats such as your lawn, or a vegetable garden. You may also want to use comparison and contrast for habitats.

REFERENCE: This lesson was adapted from a lesson Stephanie Miller uses in her classroom at St. Joseph school in Bryan, Texas.

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