Spiders seem to amaze both children and adults. What better subject for our first Internet Research Paper than Spectacular Spiders?

In order to get the students interested in learning all about spiders, I knew I would have to peak their interest first. The method that I used to accomplish this feat was human nature.  I deliberately placed several full-page color printouts of various spiders on the table where the students would immediately see them upon entering the classroom. They picked up the pictures and began talking about the spiders on the pages as well as spiders they had personally encountered.

Preparation of these pages was quite easy. I created a folder called Spider Research on my computer, I then searched various sites for images of both odd looking spiders and more common spiders known to the children. Once I had saved enough quality pictures to fill at least one full-page printout of nine wallets for each student, I printed out the samples and laminated them for handling purposes. There were so many pictures of spiders that this was not a difficult task.

After a few minutes of allowing the students to examine the pages closely, I  collected the pages and laid them out on the table in front of me. I then drew the students attention to one particular spider called the garden spider. I told them about my entanglement in a garden spider's web while riding my ATV during hunting season. Of course, this immediately resulted in student after student wanting to share personal experiences with spiders. I then introduced the book Spider's Lunch: All About Garden Spiders by Joanna Cole.  The book is beautifully illustrated and is written at a reading level 1 so that my special education students were eager to pick up the book and reread with a partner.

Although we knew quite a bit about spiders, we soon discovered there was so much more that we didn't know. I told the students that tomorrow we would be beginning a research paper that would eventually be published and displayed in the hallways for all of their classmates to enjoy,

Other books provided to the students were:

Spiders and Their Kin by Herbert Levi

Fishing Spiders by Louise Martin

Spiders by Dorothy Childs Hogner 

Were they hooked? I would say successfully so. The elementary librarian reported that several special education students specifically asked for books on spiders during their next library enhancement visit.