8. Ant Parade

Lesson at a glance: Ants are one of the most common animals on the planet! Every schoolyard has them. Students will perform a simple experiment with the ants they find.

Goal: Students will ask questions, observe, and collect data about ants in this simple experiment.

Oregon Content Standards:

Science

K.3 Scientific Inquiry: Science explores the natural world through observation.

K.3S.1 Explore questions about living and non-living things and events in the natural world.

K.3S.2 Make observations about the natural world.

Other Content Areas

Math—bar graph

Materials:

• Magnifying glasses
• One paper plate, divided into four sections with a marker
• Ant food, such as ripe fruit, sugar, meat, cheese, grass, bread, etc.

Time: 30 minutes

Activity:

1. Begin by asking students if they’ve ever seen an ant before. How did they know it was an ant? What did it look like? What did it do? Where was it? Draw an ant based upon their descriptions and record any other information they provided.

2. Tell students that they will be biologists for the day, scientists who living things. Show them the food you have selected for ants. Tell them the scientist question is: ‘which food they think the ants would be most likely to eat?’

3. Ask them what they expect to happen and why.

4. Take students outdoors for an “ant hunt.” (Remind students that some ants and other bugs can bite or sting, so don’t touch, swat at, or harass insects.) Look for an anthill or free roaming ants on the sidewalk, under rocks, along the bricks of your school building, etc.

5. When you have found your ants, place the plate of food nearby. Allow time for ants to locate the food. This is the test. As students wait, encourage them to observe the ants and their behavior. (You can also give them time for free play.)

6. Count the ants as they arrive at the different foods. Record the results by making a tally mark next to each food name on a sheet of paper. This is your data.

7. Graph the results. Draw a picture of each food at the bottom of a sheet of butcher paper. Have students take turns taping the Ant Graphing Unit above each food item. Each Ant Graphing Unit represents one ant.

Summary:

1. Discuss with students:

a. Based on the graph, which food do ants like the most? The least? (This is the conclusion. Sometimes tests don’t give clear result. Real scientists repeat their experiments.)

b. What new questions could they ask about ants from today’s experiment?

2. Look at the drawing you made during before they did the experiment. Is it accurate? Do you need to change anything? Why?

Extensions:

Observe ants closely. See how they touch their antennae—that’s how they communicate. Their antennae are sensitive and can detect chemical signals. Ants leave a trail of chemical signals called pheromones which other ants follow with their strong sense of smell. This is how ants make it back to the anthill after a long day of looking for food.

Crafts:

Paint small rocks to look like insects.

Songs:

The Ants Go Marching One by One

Snacks:

Ants on a log: Spread cream cheese or peanut butter on a celery stick. Put a row of ant raisins on top.