Spider Activities and Crafts

1-2-3 Come Do Some Spider Craftivities With Me

My Y5's LOVED the story The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle. I especially liked it for sequencing practice. The Very Busy Spider is also an easy story to review beginning, middle and end concepts.

To introduce the story, and grab your students' attention, do the Spider Cuts scissor activity. While your little ones watch, inform them that you are "busy" and ask them what they think you are making.

I got the spider idea over at Green Baby Guide. She didn't have a pattern, so I thought I'd make one. Add some wiggle eyes for pizzazz. Click on the link to view/download Spider Cuts.

The Very Busy Spider is super to sequence! My little ones always enjoyed sequencing stories, because I'd pass out picture cards or manipulatives to them.

Prior to passing out "stuff" to quiet children, I'd explain that if they played with it and didn't listen to the story, they would get the card or item taken away; this really kept them from fooling around with any story props that I handed out.

When I came to a picture in the story that was on a card, I'd pause, the child with the matching card would come up and place it in the pocket chart or on the white board.

So that everyone could have a turn with the cards, as well as provide another opportunity to review the story, I'd pass the cards out again, and we'd try to put them in order without the help of the book. You can make extra sets so that children can transition and play Memory Mathching games.

Click on the link to view/download The Very Busy Spider Sequencing cards. Included in this packet is a mini sequencing sheet that students can do as a center, or run off copies for all of your students to cut, glue and sequence.

I enjoy looking for interesting videos on YouTube that match an activity. There's almost always a professional reader out there who's made a nice Power Point of a story.

There were quite a few for The Very Busy Spider. One that I think was rather well-done, is read by an English gal. The moving graphics of the spider and buzzing fly are sweet. Click on the link to check it out.

As another fun way to review the story, have your kiddo's watch it and do the mini sequencing activity at the same time. Afterwards, as a transition activity, students can choose a partner and play the Spin To Win Busy Spider game. This is also included in the packet.

As part of our review, I'd use pocket cards that said: characters, setting, and events on them.

After reading the story, we'd discuss each one as it pertained to the book. I've included a set for The Very Busy Spider.

Understanding the concept of beginning-middle-and end of stories enables a child to better retell it. Knowing this organization, will also improve writing.

Because of this, I always followed up story telling, by asking children what happened in the beginning, the middle and at the end of the story. After you review this orally, have your students write their thoughts on The Very Busy Spider (beginning-middle-end) graphic organizer. All of these items are in The Very Busy Spider Story Packet. Click on the link to view/download it.

To nail even more Common Core State Standards-- print, laminate and trim The Very Busy Spider Grammar Cards. Put them in a pocket chart or on your whiteboard and read the sentences together as a whole group.

spid web wand For added fun make a spider pointer or web wand, with the spider & web patterns; glue them to a Popsicle stick and have children use them to point to the words as you read the pocket cards.

Using a red dry erase marker, have a child come up and circle any letters that should be capitalized. Another student can add the end punctuation.

Review parts of speech by having children circle nouns, underline verbs and put a square around adjectives.

You can also practice vowel identification. Have a student come up and circle the vowels with a green marker. I have set up the content of the cards, so they also provide a nice discussion and review of the story.

Click on the link to view/download The Very Busy Spider Grammar Cards.

To put their grammar skills into practice, have students write a page for your class book: The Very Busy Students and Their Spiders. Click on the link to view/print a copy.

Finally, it's always fun to throw in an art activity if you have time. I set the "glittering web" craftivity up as a center, where 3 children come up and do the project with me. While they are working, I have each one tell me a spider fact that they learned, or ask them what their favorite part of the story was.

This photo does not do the artwork justice, as it's truly lovely; it doesn't capture the sparkling and glittery effects.

Since you might not be able to find a colorful little stationery web that my kiddo's attached to their webs, you can either skip this step, or print off the Very Busy Spider one that I made. I've included my little poem on it.

To make a busy spider glitter web, pre-cut black circles to fit inside a metal cake pan. Each child holds one. I squirt a dollop of white paint that has been mixed with Elmer's glue, in the middle of the circle; children place a large marble on top of the "paint-puddle."

The object of this project is to make an orb spider web by having the marble roll back and forth + up and down through the paint. As it does so, it "spins" a web. When students are pleased with their web, and while the paint is still wet, children sprinkle opalescent or silver glitter on their creation.

I squirt a blob of Elmer's glue wherever they want me to, and they plop a black plastic spider or fly on it. They write their name on the little spider web Halloween tag and glue it to a corner.

These look smashing on a bulletin board, wall, or hung back-to-back from the ceiling. Your caption can be: "Our students and spiders have been very busy!" Click on the link to view/print the Glittering Web craft.

Thanks for visiting today. Sorry this article got a bit long. I have so much to share, so I hope you can pop back tomorrow for more FREEBIES. Feel free to PIN away.