Insect Observation Worksheet

The Insect Observation Worksheet does two jobs on one page: it teaches first graders the three facts that make an insect an insect, then sends them outside to use them. Part A prints three sentences with a word missing from each, and a word box holding two, three, four and six. An insect’s body has three parts, an insect has six legs, an insect has two antennae. Four is in the box on purpose and answers nothing.

Part B is the observation half, and it is where this Insect Observation Worksheet earns its name. The child draws an insect they have actually seen in a large box and writes three notes about it on the lines beside it. Those answers vary by design, because the insect on a playground fence is not the one in somebody else’s garden. A top-down beetle is printed beside Part A with all six of its legs on show, so children have something to count against while they work. The answer key fills Part A and marks Part B as answers will vary.

What’s Included

• Three fill in the blank sentences on the parts of an insect
• A four word box with one distractor that fits no sentence
• A large drawing box for the insect the child observed
• Three ruled lines for observation notes, sized for first grade handwriting
• Flat cartoon artwork of a beetle with six legs, two antennae and three body sections
• An answer key on the final page
• A print-ready PDF sized for standard letter paper

Three Reasons This Helps Kids

• Six legs and three body parts are the test a child can actually run in the yard: it is what separates an insect from a spider without any adult help.
• Drawing before writing gives a first grader something concrete to describe, so the three note lines are far less daunting than a blank page.
• The distractor in the word box means the last sentence cannot be filled by elimination, so all three facts get read.

Ideas for Teachers and Parents

Do Part A indoors and Part B outside if you can, with a magnifier and a clipboard. Ask children to count the legs on whatever they find before they draw it, and to say out loud whether it is an insect. Back at the table, the three note lines work well as one line for what it looked like, one for where it was, and one for what it was doing. This 1st grade insects worksheet also works as a science center, a nature walk record, or the first page of a bug journal.

Related Resources

• Insect Classification Worksheet
• Mammal Insect Reptile Worksheet
• Insects ABC Order Worksheet
• Butterfly Song