How Spiders Won Over a Classroom
- Feb 9
- 2 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
-by Gousia Taj. English Translation by Aditi Rao
An Educator's Diary#8
“Ma’am, we saw the signature spider!”
On 19/12/25, a workshop on animal homes was conducted for the 4th and 5th grade students of Tarabanahalli. One of the activities included a bingo game about spiders. The bingo sheet had pictures of different kinds of spiders. The children managed to find all the spiders except the 'signature spider'. They kept wishing they could find the signature spider too. So we allowed them to take their bingo sheets home and told them, “It’s okay if you didn’t find the signature spider here. Look for it near your house, on the way, or at school.”
About two weeks later, as usual, when I stepped into the classroom to call the children for the lesson, they shouted loudly, “Ma’am, we saw the signature spider!” I was startled for a moment. Usually the children greet me with a “Good morning, Ma’am,” but that day, hearing them shout that they had seen the signature spider shocked me.
I asked, “Where did you see it?” The children said, “It built a web in the grass in front of our school toilet. Ma’am, come, we’ll show it to you!” and they pulled my hand and took me there. When we went and looked, there were signature spiders in three places.
I told them, “Yes, children, this is the same signature spider from your bingo. It was missing, right? Now you can tick it.”
I saw so much happiness on the children’s faces about the spider. They were celebrating as if they had found a treasure. Seeing their excitement made me very happy too. I felt the workshop had left a deep impact on the children.
Later that same day, at the end of the lesson, we were setting up a table for an insect display. In the corner, a daddy long legs spider had built a web, which was sticking to our hands. I said I would bring a broom and clean it. But a student named Malappa said, “No Ma’am, let it stay here, poor thing,” and left it as it was. Hearing and seeing this made me feel very proud. At the same time, I wondered if I should not have asked to remove the web.
Overall, the children’s interest in observing spiders has increased now. Every time I go to teach, the lesson begins only after the children first share their experiences and stories about animals, birds, insects, and trees they have encountered.
Image credits- Priyanka Prakash, Aditi Rao
Written by : Gousia Taj- Facilitator at the Fig Tree Learning Centre (FTLC).
If you are an educator looking to engage with articles and opinion pieces on nature education and pedagogy, a student looking to explore discourses in nature education, or just curious about these things - here's a curated list of essential readings available online.