Praying Mantis Informational Article, QR Codes & Fact Sort
$3.00
Support life cycle research and informational writing with this Praying Mantis Informational Article, QR Code Research Page, and Fact Sort. Students read second/third grade-level articles, gather facts from QR code research links and videos, sort information by attributes, actions, and environment, and use their facts to write about praying mantises, life cycles, and metamorphosis.
Help students learn about praying mantises while building nonfiction reading, research, and informational writing skills with this Praying Mantis Informational Article, QR Code Research Page, and Fact Sort.
This resource includes informational articles filled with interesting facts and details students can use during reading and writing activities. It works especially well for research about life cycles, metamorphosis, insects, animal adaptations, and nonfiction writing.
Students can read the article, explore online resources with QR codes, watch videos, gather facts, sort information into categories, and use what they learned to write a research report.
What’s Included
This praying mantis resource includes:
- 7 informational articles about the praying mantis
- Article in two formats
- Two-page version with color photos
- One-page text version
- QR codes for online articles and videos
- Fact sort sheet
- Attributes
- Actions
- Environment
Informational Article Format
The praying mantis articles are written at approximately a second to third grade reading level. The text is controlled for sentence length and complexity, making it accessible for elementary students while still providing useful science content.
The article is included in two formats so you can choose what works best for your lesson:
- A photo-supported two-page format
- A simpler one-page text format
Research and Writing Support
This resource is designed to help students gather and organize facts before writing.
Students can:
- Read informational text about praying mantises
- Use QR codes to access online articles and videos
- Gather facts from multiple sources
- Sort facts into categories
- Organize information for a research report
- Write about life cycles, metamorphosis, or animal features
The fact sort helps students categorize information about the praying mantis before they begin writing, which supports stronger organization in their informational reports.
Fact Sort Categories
Students sort facts into three helpful categories:
- Attributes — what the praying mantis has or looks like
- Actions — what the praying mantis does
- Environment — where the praying mantis lives
These categories help students organize their research in a clear and student-friendly way.
Skills Covered
Students will practice important reading, research, and writing skills, including:
- Reading informational text
- Gathering facts from articles, websites, and videos
- Using QR codes for research
- Sorting information into categories
- Identifying animal attributes
- Describing animal actions
- Understanding animal environments
- Learning about life cycles and metamorphosis
- Organizing facts for informational writing
- Preparing to write a research report
Ways to Use This Resource
This praying mantis article and fact sort resource is flexible and easy to use in science and literacy lessons.
Use it for:
- Life cycle units
- Metamorphosis lessons
- Insect research
- Animal research reports
- Informational writing
- Nonfiction reading practice
- Science and literacy integration
- Research centers
- Small group reading
- Partner research
- Independent reading
- Mini-reports
- Extension activities
Important Note
This product does not include graphic organizers or comprehension questions. Graphic organizers are available in the separate Informational Writing Tools packet.
Some videos are hosted on YouTube, so please make sure YouTube is accessible at your school before using the video links with students.
Why Teachers Love It
Teachers love this resource because it gives students a focused, accessible way to research praying mantises. The articles, QR codes, and fact sort make it easy for students to gather facts from multiple sources and organize them before writing.
The controlled sentence length and complexity help support second and third grade readers, while the research format makes the resource useful for both science and writing instruction.
Build Research Skills with Praying Mantis Facts
This Praying Mantis Informational Article, QR Code Research Page, and Fact Sort is a helpful resource for teaching nonfiction reading, animal research, life cycles, metamorphosis, and informational writing. With articles, QR code research links, videos, and a fact sort organized by attributes, actions, and environment, students have the tools they need to gather and organize facts for a research report.
AedÃn L. –
Used this as a resource that I adapted to fit the needs of the small group I worked with. Has a lot of extra activities for students to interact with the text which I didn't use.
Kelsie Garrard –
We do Praying Mantis' every year. This was a great way to get the kids involved and excited. They loved all of the activities from this resource.
A Place 4 Teachers –
Great resource. This well designed and professional. Just what I was looking for! The activities are highly engaging!
Mary Ellen V. –
My students enjoyed learning about praying mantises. We had live ones hatch from the little pod - about 100 of them.
Amy S. –
This was perfect for when we hatched live praying mantises. The kids thought it was very engaging.