What Makes an Insect an Insect?

We are studying insects in science.  Our classroom is currently home to about 20 darkling beetles, 5 painted lady butterflies, and 200 silk worms.  Observing their life cycles has been an exciting experience for the students, and today we talked about the classifying features of insects.  

I started the lesson with a concept attainment flipchart, where students sorted insects and not insects, then discussed the commonalities between the identified insects.  Once we decided on what makes an insect an insect, I taught the students a song to help them remember.

To the tune of Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes

Head, thorax, abdomen, abdomen,

Head, thorax, abdomen, abdomen,

Antennae, six legs, and an exoskeleton,

Head, shoulders, abdomen, abdomen

After singing and dancing a few times, I gave the students the task of creating a new insect species, using a variety of head, thorax, and abdomen templates to choose from.  They were to properly piece together three body segments, add antennae, and six legs.  Some choose to add wings, since most insects have wings.  Once they were finished with creating their new species, they gave it a name, since we talked a bit about the name classification system.