Crazy Cool Facts About Cicadas to Foster Curiosity and Compassion

You can get your students excited to practice informational writing and foster empathy for other sentient beings at the same time! TeachKind’s cicada factsheet will have young people asking, “Wow, really?” and will inspire kindness toward these enchanting insects. We’ve even included discussion questions to help students develop critical thinking skills and perspective-taking. Cicadas are “crazy cool” and pose no threat to humans or other animals.

Students can learn that all animals are unique individuals who deserve to enjoy life, no matter their size or species. Fear, dislike, and indifference usually stem from a lack of knowledge and understanding, and learning about cicadas can help spark young learners’ curiosity, compassion, and respect. The discussion questions provide students with an opportunity to practice empathy and think, “If I were a cicada, how would I want to be treated?” Learning to be kind and respectful to insects helps kids be kind and respectful to everyone.

Children need lots of opportunities to practice the skills necessary to become effective writers. You can help students identify three facts they think are “crazy cool,” and more advanced students can also craft a topic sentence and conclusion. They can use the informational writing worksheets to help them organize their ideas. For additional fun, they can also color their own cicada friends with the cicada coloring sheet from PETA Kids.