CBC Archives

In a brainstorming session with the class, ask students to identify everything they know about grasshoppers. List their information on a chart for future reference. If samples of grasshoppers are available, have them examine specimens under magnification to assist them in understanding the physiology of these insects.

Have the students listen to and/or view clips 3 and 6, and the additional clip “Grasshopper invasion!” from Devastating Dry Spells: Drought on the Prairies on the CBC Radio and Television Archives Web site.

Ask pairs of students to research the life cycle of the grasshopper, Biblical references to grasshoppers and locusts, and stories of plagues of grasshoppers. They will use their information to create a poster or brochure about the grasshopper and its impact on farms in times of drought.

Invite students to display and present their work to the class. Discuss the impact of grasshopper plagues on farms, and the effects on the economy of their devastation of crops.

Students can write a series of five diary entries in role as a farmer whose crops are lost to drought and grasshoppers.