Introduction

     The creatures in "James and the Giant Peach" make some fantastic claims about themselves while trying to educate James about bugs.  As an Entomologist, a scientist who studies insects, you want to find out the truth about these creatures. Did the author, Ronald Dahl, in his work of fiction invent facts about his characters or use true facts.  It will be your quest to learn the facts about one of the six characters in "James and the Giant Peach".  You will need to determine why the author portrayed these creatures in certain ways and how he conveyed his characterizations to the reader.

After reading the book "James and the Giant Peach" work with a partner to find out more information about grasshoppers, earthworms, ladybugs, spiders, centipede and glow-worms.
You will investigate:

• facts about your creature and your partner's creature
• the definitions of bugs and insects
• the families of your creatures
• the author's portrayal of your creature
• characteristics of your creature

1.  Your partner and you will each choose one of the creatures listed below and reads it's claim about itself. To find out about your creature click on the creature's name.

1.  The Grasshopper exclaims that he keeps his ears on his tummy. He also claims crickets and katydids have one ear in front leg, just below the knee. Grasshopper adds, "We 'short-horns' are the only ones who play music in a violin style, using a bow.
2.  The Glow-worm says, "Glow-worms are never worms. They are simply lady fireflies without wings.
3.  The Earthworm  states, "Every grain of soil upon the surface of the land, every tiny little of bit of soil that you can see has actually passed through the body of an earthworm the last few years."
4.  The Ladybug proclaims, "Farmers love us...they go out and buy live ladybugs by the sackful. We gobble up all the nasty little insect that are gobbling up all the farmer's crops. The number of spots  that a ladybug has is simply a way of showing which branch of the family she belongs.
5.  Miss Spider laments, "I am not loved at all. And yet I do nothing but good. All day long I catch flies and mosquitoes in my webs."
6.  The Centipede boasts, "I have a lot of legs. And a lot of feet. One hundred to be exact. I am a pest and proud of it!"

You will be graded on the following criteria
( each task equals 25 points ) :

• facts to disprove claim
• families of creature
• oral presentation or dialogue or model
• written presentation

Now that you have studied creatures from Ronald Dahl's book maybe you would like to discover some of your own.  List all the creatures you might find in your backyard.  Predict which will be the least and most numerous .  In an area of your yard under trees and bushes ( with permission from your parents)  dig up and area about twelve inches square and two inches deep.  Put your dirt on a piece of newspaper - count up and record the creatures you found.  You can make a chart and graph to illustrate your experiment, print it out and display it on our "Creature Counts" bulletin board.  Use some of the web sites listed to find out more about your neighborhood bugs.

Dahl, Roald. James and the Giant Peach. New York; Puffin Books, 1961
"James and the Giant Peach", Walt Disney Studios
Grasshoppers www.2learn.ca/currlinks/2teach/netsteps/grass.html
Worms www.yucky.com/worm/
Ladybugs www.enchantedlearning.com/subject/insects/ladybug.shtml
Centipedes www.sduk.com/mzoo/iw_8616.htm
Spider www.ufsia.ac.be/Arachnology/Pages/Kids.html
Spiders www.geocities.com:0080/athens/aegean/2221/spiderproject1.html
Insects www.sre.liverpool.k12.ny.us/SRE/Staff/Fifth/insects.5.html
Glow-worm http://iris.biosci.ohio-state.edu/projects/FFiles/