How to Write an Insect Report

TeachingWithATouchOfHoney
Jun 23
3 min read

Updated: 5 hours ago

Are you writing insect reports with your students? From bees and butterflies to ants and ladybugs, insects are small but mighty when it comes to sparking a young writer's curiosity. This guide walks through the exact process, so your students can go from choosing an insect to finishing a polished, illustrated report.

What Is an Insect Report?

An insect report is a piece of informative writing where a student researches an insect and shares what they learned with a reader. Students research categories like appearance, habitat, life cycle, diet, and predators, then organize their findings into a written report.

Insects make a great report topic because they are everywhere, from the backyard to the school garden, which gives students a real world connection to their research.

How to Write an Insect Report in 7 Steps

Step 1: Choose an Insect

Students can find their insect topic in a few different ways:

Choose their own insect
Pick an insect out of a hat
Be assigned an insect by the teacher

A ready made insect topics list takes the guesswork out of this step, giving students enough choice to feel ownership without an overwhelming decision.

Want a quick visual reminder of the whole process? Grab the free Report Writing 7 Step Poster and hang it up for students to reference anytime.

Step 2: Research the Insect

Once students have their insect, it is time to gather information using:

Kid friendly websites
Books
Magazines
Nature guides or field guides

Step 3: Make Jot Notes

This is often the trickiest step for young writers, and it is also the most important one. Jot notes teach students to pull out key facts about their insect instead of copying whole sentences from their source.

A jot notes template built around clear research categories makes this step much easier. Common categories for an insect report include:

Appearance
Habitat
Life cycle
Diet
Predators and protection
Other interesting facts

Structured note taking helps students find success from their very first attempt at an informative report, and offering different note taking options for different skill levels helps students focus on picking important facts instead of writing everything down.

Step 4: Write the Draft

With jot notes complete, students turn their insect facts into paragraphs. Each research category becomes its own paragraph, so a report naturally ends up with a paragraph on appearance, one on habitat, one on diet, and so on.

Step 5: Revise and Edit

Now it's time to make the writing stronger. A simple, differentiated checklist helps students revise and edit their insect report at their own level.

Step 6: Write the Good Copy

After editing, students write their final good copy of the insect report, using a differentiated template or regular writing paper depending on what they need.

Step 7: Illustrate the Insect Report

The last step is adding color with illustrations of the insect, based on what students learned in their research. It is a satisfying way to wrap up the project.

Bonus Step: Assess the Report (Optional)

Once the report is finished, a simple rubric makes grading straightforward. Many teachers also like to include a self assessment, so students reflect on their own work before it's handed in. For a closer look at how the assessments work, including self, peer and teacher options, check out How to Use Report Writing Resources in Your Classroom.

How to Differentiate Insect Report Writing

Every classroom has a range of writers, and an insect report is a great place to meet students where they are.

For reluctant writers, use a template that only asks for one fact per research category, keeping the task manageable and building confidence.
For students who are ready for a challenge, use a template that asks for three or more facts per category, pushing their research and writing further.

Printable and Digital Versions

This process works whether you are using paper templates or digital slides. Digital versions let students complete their jot notes, drafts, and final insect reports right on the slide, which is a nice option for classrooms using Chromebooks or iPads.

A Simple Recap

Writing an insect report does not need to be complicated. To recap, the seven steps are:

Choose an insect
Research the insect
Make jot notes
Write a draft
Revise and edit
Write the good copy
Illustrate the report

If you would like ready to use templates for every step of this process, including jot notes, draft pages, rubrics, and checklists, take a look at the Insect Report Writing resource on Teachers Pay Teachers.