Cicadas are Coming! - a social story

Cicadas Are

Coming!

A social story written by:

Kim Singleton, MS CCC-SLP &

Fran Teller, OTR/L

Cicadas are insects.

• They – have six legs.– lay eggs. – have wings and can fly.– can be up to 2 inches long.

They have been living underground for 17 years.

• Underground cicadas are called “nymphs”.– Nymphs:

• live under the grass• are soft and white.• eat the sap from tree roots.• are 1 inch long.• can crawl • don’t have wings to fly.

Many cicadas will come up out of the ground in May.

• The nymphs will crawl out of the ground.

• They crawl up trees and bushes.

• Overnight, they change from “nymphs” to “cicadas.”

• Their bodies get harder and darker.

• They get wings and can fly.

People feel differently about the cicadas coming.

• Some people are– excited – curious – nervous

about these insects.

• curious• nervous• excited• anxious• happy

How do I feel?

Cicadas like trees.

• They fly into trees and hang from the branches.

Cicadas come in a group. • There will be many, many cicadas

in May and June.

Cicadas are noisy.

• They sing.• The song that a boy cicada sings is

his way of getting a girlfriend.

People act differently around cicadas.

• Some people will– ignore cicadas.– touch cicadas.– explore cicadas.– hurt cicadas.

I can act calm around cicadas.

• I can look at them.• I can ask questions about them.• I can tell an adult if I feel nervous.

• I can take a deep breath.• I can relax my body.

Cicadas do not hurt people.

• They don’t sting.• They don’t bite.• They don’t carry diseases.

The cicadas will leave by July.

• They will go back underground and stay there for the next 17 years.

See you in 17 years!

Bye!See you later!

The next time the Cicadas will come will be 2030.

• How old will I be in 2030?

??

?? ?

?

Why couldn’t the cicada sing?

Because he was a sick-cada!

A funny cicada joke!

The End

Questions or comments? Please contact us!

• Kim Singleton, MS, CCC-SLPSpeech Language Pathologistkim@kimsingleton.com

• Fran Teller, OTR/L Occupational Therapist

fran.teller@lakotaonline.com