Primary school teaching resources – Mini beasts

Mini-beasts printables

The worksheets, lesson plans and other teaching materials on this page are designed to support the Mini-Beasts Key Stage 2 component of the UK national curriculum.

As a charity, we offer these free KS2 teaching materials to support these aims:

  1. children to be safe from biting and stinging mini-beasts,
  2. children and teachers to be aware of the risk of TICK BITES, and
  3. staff to know what to do if a child is bitten by a tick.

These KS2 free Mini-Beasts worksheets, lesson plans and presentations may be downloaded and printed out for use in schools. They may not be sold for profit, and Caudwell LymeCo Charity must always be recognised as the owner of these materials.

Biters and Bloodsuckers (1)

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Do your children know how to tell a tick from a spider? Do they know which kind of flies drink blood?

This lesson teaches children to recognise mini-beats which bite and drink blood, how to stay safe and what to do if they are bitten. It focuses in particular on ticks, which are by far Britain’s most dangerous mini-beast as they spread Lyme disease.

This infection which attacks the nerves, brain, heart, eyes and joints and can cause skin rashes, and which leaves at least 1/3 of its victims with incurable symptoms. Children are particularly prone to catching Lyme disease because of the way they play on grass, and vulnerable to the most severe symptoms.

Biters and Bloodsuckers 1 – ENJOY THE COUNTRYSIDE SAFELY – worksheet

Biters and Bloodsuckers 1 – ENJOY THE COUNTRYSIDE SAFELY – teacher notes

Biters and Bloodsuckers Powerpoint Animated Presentation (The animation is controlled by mouse clicks)

Biters and Bloodsuckers Presentation PDF format (A printable version of the presentation)

Buzzers and Stingers (2)

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Do your children know how to avoid getting stung by a wasp? Would they know what to do if they did get stung?

This lesson teaches them how bees, wasps and other stinging mini-beasts are important for our natural environment and how to minimise the risk of being hurt.

Buzzers and Stingers 2 – ENJOY THE COUNTRYSIDE SAFELY – worksheet

Buzzers and Stingers 2 – ENJOY THE COUNTRYSIDE SAFELY – teacher notes

Fact files

MINI BEASTS fact files (A set of printable pages with photos and descriptions of mini-beasts, for handy reference.)

Poisonous plants (3)

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Do you know how many wild plants in Britain are poisonous? Could your children recognise which plants are too dangerous to touch?

Mini-beasts couldn’t exist without plants, so this is a logical support for your mini-beasts lessons. We certainly couldn’t enjoy the countryside without them!

Poisonous Plants 3 – ENJOY THE COUNTRYSIDE SAFELY – worksheet

Poisonous Plants 3 – ENJOY THE COUNTRYSIDE SAFELY – teacher notes

Extra resources

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Mini-beasts challenges & activities – ENJOY THE COUNTRYSIDE SAFELY – teacher notes

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FOR THE SCHOOL MEDICAL OFFICER

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CAN YOUR SCHOOL HELP?

Ticks are by far our most dangerous mini-beasts.

Lyme disease, caught from tick bites, is spreading at 14% a year across Europe.

Up to a third, or possibly even more, of people who catch Lyme disease never get completely better. We still don’t know why, and we don’t know how to help them.

Children are especially vulnerable to the most severe symptoms. We as a charity advise families whose children have been left partially paralysed and brain damaged by this disease.

Caudwell LymeCo Charity raises money to fund desperately needed research into Lyme disease.

If you have found these resources useful, please would you consider organising a fundraising event at your school to help us? Follow the link to find heaps of fun ideas.