Nothing embodies the spirit of Halloween quite like spiders! While some kids think they are creepy, others think they are cute! No matter their opinion, students will love learning all about spiders during the month of October with these 25 interactive spider activities and craft for kids! Your students will be super engaged as you easily integrate science, math, literacy and social studies into your nonfiction spider unit!

Each day, we complete one or two spider activities in our interactive spider shape book. Some spider activities are completed whole group, while others are completed during centers.

At the end of the week, the students will have a handy spider shaped book containing all sorts of facts about spiders. This is a great way to capture their understanding!

Literacy Spider Activities

In order to activate prior knowledge, explore our wonders, and document our learning, I kick things off with a whole class KWL anchor chart.

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On day one, we begin by filing out the “K” and “W” sections of our KWL chart. It is always so fascinating to hear what students know (or think they know) about spiders!

Next, we move onto reading our nonfiction text all about spiders. This text not only introduces students to facts about spiders, but it also helps them become familiar with nonfiction text features. Through bold words, diagrams, maps, labels, captions, and a picture glossary, students explore a spider’s life cycle, diet, habitat, and more.

After reading the nonfiction text, we add the “L” section of our KWL chart, clearing up any misconceptions about spiders along the way.

Students, then, work on recording three facts they learned about spiders on their student response sheet.

Next, we read our emergent reader all about the life cycle of a spider and practice these same mix and fix sentences in a pocket chart.

Throughout the week, students can practice the pocket chart sentences and reading their emergent reader during centers.

We also complete some spider activities for labeling the parts of a spider by looking back at the diagram in the nonfiction text.

Students can label the spider by adding the beginning sound; or for a more advanced version, the students can write the entire word using the nonfiction text for spelling support.

We also complete a mix and fix sentence where we cut out the sentence, “I can see the spider.” and glue it on our student page correctly.

Toward the end of the week, we do a whole class “Can, Have, Are” chart. Afterwards, students independently fill in their shape book page.

Science Spider Activities

As we are completing our literacy spider activities, we are also integrating science along the way. The students love learning about the life cycle of a spider, their diet, habitat, and predators.

One of the best ways to support our newly learned spider vocabulary words is with the use of these picture vocabulary cards. Throughout our unit of study, we refer to these picture cards often.

To help us learn more about the life cycle of a spider, we use the life cycle picture cards to create a whole class life cycle of a spider anchor chart. Then, the students independently color, cut, and order the stages for the life cycle of a spider in their interactive shape book.

Another one of my favorite spider activities that we complete midweek is examining the diet of a spider. We sort picture cards based on what spiders eat and what they do not eat. Then, students complete the corresponding “Diet of a Spider” student page as they color, cut, and glue the pictures.

Next, we revisit prey of a spider and predators of a spider in our nonfiction text before completing the student pages.

Then, we discuss the difference between a baby, mother, and father spider before completing the three corresponding student pages.

We also take a closer look at the spinnerets and mouth of a spider. We talk about how all spiders make silk insider their body and the silk comes out through the spinnerets, which are located at the backend of the abdomen.

To catch their prey, a spider’s mouth has grabbers called chelicerae. At the end of the chelicerae are fangs.

Last, we explore the habitat of a spider as we draw a spider in each habitat.

Math Spider Activities

Not only do we complete literacy and science spider activities, but we also complete math spider activities!

The first math activity is this “Appearance of a Spider” color by number activity. This activity is great for working on number recognition and identifying colors.

Then, we number the body parts of an insect vs. the body parts of a spider.

After that, we complete a doubles fact number sentence as we draw in the legs of the spider on the opposite side.

We also conduct a survey in which we tally friends that think spiders are creepy vs. those that think spiders are cute. Then, we graph and analyze the results.

Social Studies Spider Activities

Before wrapping up our unit on spiders, we complete a social studies spider activity in which we determine the location that spiders live.

We color six spiders before cutting and gluing them on our map. We are careful not to glue them on Antartica, as that is the only continent spiders are not found.

Spider Shape Book Craft

At the end of the week, it is time to assemble our spider shape book craft.

First, students must create the spider cover by gluing the eyes, legs, and teeth to the thorax and then the thorax to the abdomen.

Last, we take all of the interactive shape book pages and stack them behind the cover, creating a complete book of facts all about spiders!

More Interactive Shape Book Activities

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