Dining Out With Manduca
Lesson Overview:
Students will gather leaves from the school grounds or from home and see if Manduca prefers their leaves to that of a tomato plant. The teacher will need to purchase or have access to a tomato plant for this lesson. Because of the need for a tomato plant, this lesson will need to be executed during spring.
Subject Area Focus: Science
Objectives:
- Figure out which food Manduca prefers.
- Connect the fact that Manduca are only found in areas of the country where tomato/ tobacco plants are present.
Materials:
- Tomato leaf/leaves from a tomato plant
- A variety of other leaves from home gardens or school grounds
- Chart to record preference
Procedure:
- Have students gather leaves from the school grounds. Or as an assignment the night before, have students gather different leaves from their home gardens. Try to identify which trees the leaves come from. (maple, oak, pine, rose bush, etc.)
- Place Manduca on a plate with a variety of leaves to choose from. Track Manduca's preferences on a chart/graph.
- Help students make the connection that Manduca are present in certain areas because those areas contain their plant of preference. (tomato or tobacco plants)