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Teaching Integrated Pest Management in the Classroom—Elementary School Resources

Lessons By Subject:

These individual lessons have been sorted by subject to help you quick-search a lesson by a specific topic:

Curricula


  • Includes lessons, references, and activities on IPM for elementary students.

  • A PDF of four lessons that introduce IPM to elementary students.

  • Twelve full lessons with teacher prep fact sheets, list of resources and references on many urban IPM topics for K-6 students.

  • Basic lesson plans on IPM for K-12 students.

  • Over 40 full lessons related to IPM in entomology, green science, history and social science, land and plant science. Includes background, references, timelines and activities.

  • Lesson plans, interactive games, pest guide and more.

  • Teach students to become responsible citizens in their community by learning how to monitor and prevent the Asian Longhorned Beetle. Free Beetle Busters kits from the USDA for upper elementary, middle school and high school students.

  • Teacher PowerPoint, video, and activities for elementary students on ticks and Lyme disease.
  • (Colorado State Univ, Univ of Colorado, Washington State Univ.) Five inquiry-based, NextGen Science Standards-aligned lessons, grades 3-5

  • Six general lessons on insect investigations that can be adapted for elementary students to high school students. Other entomology resources and activities also listed.

Other IPM Related Projects, Games and Activities


  • Get your kids involved in The Lost Lady Bug Project! The focus of this project is to track lady bug species abundance and distribution as some native species become increasingly rare. You can help by taking your kids outdoors, searching for lady bugs and documenting where and when you found them. Includes K-6 curriculum, references and interactive games for students.

  • IPM Institute has an interactive webpage for K-7 students to investigate common pests. Word searches, crosswords and matching games.

  • A bingo like game that explores common beneficials and pests.

  • Interactive website about cockroaches from the EPA for kids. Learn facts about roaches and safe ways to prevent them from invading your home.

  • Head lice news, teacher resources and an interactive kids section that teachers young students basic facts about head lice and how it is spread. From the National Pediculosis Association Inc.

  • Interactive pest investigation game for students from the University of Nebraska- Lincoln. Kids navigate their way through a school searching for pests and ways to fix future pest problems using integrated pest management principles. Suited for older elementary students.

  • Sign up for a free interactive session with a scanning electron microscope to explore the microscopic world of insects.

  • Introductory video, interactive game and PowerPoint presentations on ticks and Lyme disease for grades 4-8 from the Lyme Disease Association.

  • Three Powerpoint presentations available for use in grade K-8 classrooms that teaches about ticks and Lyme disease.

Background References

Additional background information on integrated pest management, how it is applied and other IPM-related reference resources.


  • Thousands of IPM and insect images from the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health at the University of Georgia. Free to use for educational purposes.