The Getting Ready section for each part of the investigation helps you prepare. It provides information on scheduling the investigations and introduces the tools and techniques used in the investigation. Be prepared—read the Getting Ready section first.

Plan ahead for the scheduling of the parts but remain flexible. The time from egg to larva to adult is highly variable, depending on temperature. The chart on the next page suggests one sequence for the investigations with the approximate starting times for each part. The investigations in this module work best when they are taught in the spring, summer, or early fall. Assessment is ongoing throughout the module.

While the investigations can be taught in any order, we suggest that you start with mealworms because they are the easiest to care for and will complete a life cycle in 10 weeks. They are also easy for students to observe, and each student can spend time with individual mealworm larvae. The investigations are numbered, and we suggest that they be conducted in that order, as the concepts build upon each other from investigation to investigation. Many of the sessions are short observation sessions.