a metal spoon
a saucepan
a potholder
a sheet of wax paper
food coloring (optional)
4X4 pieces of cardboard
colored pencils
crayons
scissors
Vocabulary
abdomen—rear
section of an ant made up of the waist and gaster
antennae—movable feelers
on an insect's head that also smell and taste
chambers—rooms in the
nest created for resting, eating, storing food, and caring for the queen and
her brood
colony—a group of ants
living closely together
crop—the stomach of an
ant where food is stored to share later with nestmates
entomologist—scientist
specializing in the study of insects
exoskeleton—hard outer
covering of an ant
harvester ants—ants that
build elaborate underground nests with tunnels linking the chambers together
insect—a small animal
with six legs and a body divided into three main parts,
the head, thorax and abdomen
larvae—second stage of
ant development, larvae resemble little white worms
mandibles—powerful pair
of ant jaws used for holding food, carrying things, digging, cutting and biting
enemies
pheromones—chemicals produced
by ants that are used to communicate with one another
pupae—third stage of ant
development, a cocoon spun by larvae becomes pupae
queen—only egg-laying
member of the colony, larger than the other ants in the colony
thorax—midsection of an
ant where the three pairs of legs are attached
workers—female members
of the colony who do all the work but are unable to lay eggs
Pre-Viewing
Activities
Start
by taking the students outside to observe ants in their natural surroundings.
Have the students take notes as they observe the ants. Have the students identify
one particular ant and follow that ant to observe its pattern, its path and
perhaps its anthill. Students may then collect some ants for an extended,
up-close study back in the classroom. If so, warn the students that they must
handle the ants carefully.
Focus
for Viewing
The focus
for viewing is a specific responsibility or task(s) students are responsible
for during or after watching the video to focus and engage students viewing
attention. To give students a specific responsibility while viewing say, “You
are going to watch the Magic School Bus: Gets Ants in it Pants and
you are going to learn some truly amazing facts about ants. Watch the videotape
to see if you can discover how ants live, what the job of the queen ant is,
and be able to explain how ants communicate with one another."
Viewing
Activities
Begin the videotape at the title screen that shows
"Magic School Bus: Gets Ants in its Pants.”
Pause the video when the girl says, "Some animals work together in
groups called communities." Ask the students, "Do you know any other
animals that live and work together in communities?" Ask the students
to make a list and perhaps also list the ways the animals might work together.
(Animals such as wolves and gorillas live in very social communities.) Resume
the video.
Pause the videotape after,
"Your star ant has been telling the other ants in the nest about the
mallowblaster." Ask the students if they can imagine how the ants could
talk with each other or communicate with each other when they don't even speak!
Explain to the class that ants "talk" to each other by rubbing their
antennae together. Remind the students that deaf people are sometimes not
able to speak but are still able to communicate in many ways. Ask the students,
“Can you think of any ways that deaf people might be able to communicate?"
Accept all possible answers. Resume the video.
Pause
the videotape after, "An ant whose job it is to find food is a forager
ant." Ask
the class, "Do you think every ant nest has forager ants? What kinds
of foods do you think the forager ants bring back to the nest?” Explain to
the class that ants have large jaws called mandibles and that these are used
for picking up objects. Ants are the "super weightlifters" of the
animal kingdom. Some ants can carry objects that are ten times their body
weight. Others can carry objects up to fifty times their body weight. If a
human could match this amazing strength, a 100-pound person would be able
to pick up a small car and carry it seven or eight miles on his back! Also
explain to the class that ants scurry around in search of food and as they
do they lay scent trails. Then other ants can follow these scent trails to
the food with their antennae. Resume the videotape.
Pause
the videotape after Keisha says, "This movie is my responsibility so
I will check out the ants and then tell you what to do next." Ask the
students, "What kind of ants do you think Keisha has just met outside
the anthill?" Explain
to the class that it is the responsibility of the guard ants to protect the
nest from predators and other ants that might come near. Resume the
videotape.
Pause
the videotape after, "The guard ants use their antennae to smell if we
are friend or foe." Ask the students, "What would it be like to
have two antennae
on the top of your head? What other things do you think the ants use their
antennae for?" Explain to the class that ants use their antennae to
smell, touch, taste and hear. They also use them to touch and groom nestmates,
pick up and taste food, and navigate inside and outside the nest. The antennae
are very important to the ant's survival. Resume the video.
Pause
the videotape after, "But their bodies do make
scented chemicals called pheromones." Ask the class, "Can you think
of any other animal that has a strong scent and uses this scent to help protect
itself?" Explain to the class that ants, like a skunk, use pheromomes
in many ways. Some pheromones give off "alarm" smells, warning others
of danger. Other times they send the "come and get it" message.
Resume the video.
Pause
the videotape after, "Look Keisha, a cast of
thousands!" Ask the class if they think they can think of a number that
might tell how many ants there are in an anthill. Explain to the class that
some underground nests can go down 40 feet below surface, housing a population
of more than ten million ants! A huge nest this size may take up the space
of a football field! While other ants live in nests with only fifty or a few
thousand ants together. Ask the class, “What kind of chambers do ants build
in their underground nests?" Explain that ants are forever building and
remodeling their nests. The workers dig the tunnels or hallways that connect
the chambers. One large chamber is for the queen ant and her eggs. Other rooms
are designed for nurseries, or rest areas, pantries
where food is kept. When the weather gets colder, the ants descend to the
deepest rooms of the nest where it is the warmest. Resume the videotape.
Pause
the videotape after, "When they hatch from eggs, they are called larvae.”
Ask the students, "Why are larvae so very important to the nest?"
Explain to the students that larvae resemble little white worms. These larvae
will stay this way for about two to three weeks. Since the queen is the only
ant that can lay eggs, her job is very important. Some queen ants lay hundreds
of eggs while the African driver queen ant can lay three to four million eggs
a month! Resume the video.
Pause
the videotape after, "Why are they moving them?" Ask the class,
"Why is it necessary to move the larvae from one place to another?"
Explain to the class that nurse ants move the larvae from one chamber to another,
searching for the chamber with just the right temperature. They must also
lick the larvae to keep them from getting moldy. Then the nurse ants must
also feed the larvae by putting the food in their own mouths first and then
feed the small larvae the chewed food. Resume the video.
Pause
the videotape after, "The larvae makes cocoons called pupae." Ask
the students, "Do you know any other insects that spin a cocoon? What
do you think
is happening inside the pupae?" Explain to the students that inside
the cocoon, the pupae gradually changes into an ant. Resume the video.
Pause
the videotape after, "The rain made the nest cave in and they're repairing
it like construction workers." Ask the students, "Do you think that
all ants build anthills like the one in this video?" Explain to the
students that not all nests are the same. Different types of ants build different
types of nests. Harvester ants build tunnels underground. Tailor ants build
their nests by sewing leaves together, forming long tubular nests. Nomadic
ants roam from place to place moving across the forest floor or attach themselves
to floating logs and raft down a stream. Still others build nests in trees.
Resume the videotape.
Pause
after Keisha says, "This isn't about only one star, all the ants are
stars!" Explain to the class that ants are very social and that means
that they work together and help everyone in the colony. In order for the
colony to run smoothly, different ants have different jobs. Some ants are
farmers, gardeners, engineers, construction workers, tunnel diggers, baby-sitters
or soldiers. Every worker has a job to do all the time. Resume the
video to the end of the tape.
Post-Viewing
Activities
Following
the viewing of the videotape and the discussions, students will now make a
model of an anthill using the dough recipe and pattern below. Before starting,
they should sketch their anthill onto the 4x4 inch square piece of cardboard.
Using the basic salt dough recipe below, have the students create an anthill
complete with tunnels and chambers. [Teacher Note: You may need 5 or 6 batches
depending on your class size. The teacher should make the dough ahead of time
and store in air-tight plastic bags until classroom use. Dough will stay
soft for a few weeks.]
1 cup flour
1/2 cup of salt
1 teaspoon of cream of tartar
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon of oil
a metal spoon
a saucepan
a potholder
a sheet of wax paper
food coloring (optional)
4x4 pieces of cardboard , one for each child
pencils or popsicle sticks
Pour the flour, salt and
cream of tartar into the pan. Stir in the water and oil. Add food coloring
if you want the dough to be colored. Mix well. Cook over medium heat, stirring
until a thick dough forms. Use the potholder to move the pan from the stove.
Let the dough sit until it is cool—about 20 or 30 minutes.
Place a small amount,
about a tablespoon, onto a 4x4 inch sheet of cardboard that will serve as
a background for the dough. Have the students form the dough into an anthill
by spreading the dough with their fingers so that it lies flat on the cardboard
surface. Then, by using a pencil eraser or popsicle stick, carve tunnels and
chambers into the dough. Let the dough dry until hard. It may take from two
to four days depending on the thickness of the dough. To add more color, the
students may paint their anthills. Then, to preserve the sculpture, a coat
of high-gloss shellac may be sprayed over it. Students may then add small
plastic ants to their anthills and glue them down.
Post-Viewing
Activity 2
Using
encyclopedias and books that are available as guides, have students find pictures
of ants or read about different kinds of ants so that they might share their
information with the class. This information might be written onto narrow
slips of paper which could be stapled together to form an ant chain or ant
trail.
Post-Viewing
Activity 3
Students
might play the game, "Find the Food." Divide the class into three
groups. One person from each team leaves the room. Then choose one person
to hide a block or small object somewhere in the room. That is the "food”.
Call in the three players
from outside the room. Each of the players must try to find the "food"
but cannot be given any verbal clues or directions as to where it is. The
first player who finds the "food" wins five points for that team.
Switch players and continue until everyone has had a turn. The team with the
highest point wins.
Post-Viewing
Activity 4
The students
may use vocabulary words or names of ants to form a crossword puzzle. Or students
may draw an anthill, and inside each chamber, scramble a word. Share this
with other students for them to unscramble.
Action
Plan
Reinforce
the information learned by visiting a local museum such as the Springfield
Museum of Science or Pratt Museum so that the students may explore and observe
the displays on insects.
Extensions
Language
Arts: Read the following books: Effie, by
Beverley Allinson;Two Bad Ants, by Chris Van Allsburg; Ant Cities,
by Arthur Dorros;The Ant Nest, by Stephen Ray and Kathleen Murdoch;
Bugs, by Jinny Johnson
Language
Arts: "How would you like to be ant for a day?
There are many similarities between the life of an ant in an ant colony and
life in the city. Just like people, ants are social. They live and work together
in their own community called a colony. Pretend that you are an ant. What
kind of ant would you like to be? What kind of job will you do?” Have the
students write a short summary of their day as an ant.
Science:
Experience what it would be like to see with the "fixed eyes" of
an ant. Follow these simple steps: Cut an empty paper-towel roll into two
3 inch sections; place a roll up to each of your eyes; look forward. What
can you see? Now move your head slowly to the right. What can you see now?
Can you still see what you saw when you look forward? Move your head slowly
to the left. What can you see now?
Science:
Choose one ant outside and observe it carefully. Watch to see what it does.
Put some salt, sugar, bread crumbs, pieces of paper or anything else in front
of the ant. (Be sure not to hurt it.) Watch to see what the ant does with
the different things that you put in its path, then fill in the activity sheet
with what you observed.
Math:
Take the students outside and, using a ruler, measure the height and width
of an anthill. Have the students compare their measurements and add these
measurements to a graph.
Math:
Find an ant outside. Mark the spot where you first saw it. Follow the ant
for five or ten minutes. Where does it go? What does it do? Put an obstacle
in its path. How does the ant get over the obstacle? Put a larger obstacle
in its path. Was the ant successful in climbing over the second obstacle?
When the observation time is up, measure the distance that the ant has traveled
from the start of your observation. Compare results with others students.
Music:
Sing the song, "We are the Ants." Students may pretend to be ants
and follow the steps in the song.
Art:
The students will be able to make an ant mask with the attached pattern and
then will be able to color them, cut them out, and attach string or yarn so
that they may be worn. Students may wear these masks as they sing the song,
"We are the Ants."
Poetry:
Read aloud the poem, "The Ants at the Olympics" by Richard Digance.
Students
may pretend that they are the ants participating in the Olympic competitions.
Science:
Make an ant colony or ant farm. Materials you’ll need: loose soil, small
shovel or large spoon, plastic bag with seal, large glass jar (with lid),
small glass jar (with lid) which will then be placed into larger jar, hammer
and nail, black paper, masking tape, small sponge and water. Directions: Put
the lid on the small jar and place the jar inside the larger jar. Poke holes
tinier than ants into the lid of the larger jar. Find the ants in good soil.
Quickly and carefully place the ants, soil, white eggs or larvae into the
plastic bag and seal it. Take all the ants from one hill or nest. Using a
spoon, put the dirt and ants into the space between the small and large jar.
Don't pack the soil down too much. Keep a damp (not wet) sponge lying on
top of the small jar at all times. Provide the ants with a little food. Overfeeding
will kill the ants, one drop of honey will feed 50 ants for a week. Experiment
with different kinds of foods. Put the lid on the large glass jar and cover
the outside of the jar with black paper so that the ants will tunnel close
to the glass. Tape the paper in place and remove it only for observation purposes.
Observe the colony in dim light. Keep the ant colony in a dim, cool place.
If, after few days, the ants are busy making new tunnels, they are happy.
Any other activity means they are unhappy and should be returned to their
natural habitat.
Math:
Have the students create ant word problems. Provide them with blank sheets
of paper on which to write the problems. Encourage them to illustrate them
with funny drawings. Start them off with these suggestions:
1. The queen ant starts
out alone
2. She lays twelve eggs
3. She gets hungry and eats four
4. Five of the eggs don’t hatch
5. The rest grow into workers
6. How many workers are there?
7. Then the queen lays eight more eggs
8. How many ants are there now?
Interesting
Internet Sites
Steve's Ant Farm
Location: http://sec.dgsys.com/AntFarm.html
This web site is a home page for ant lovers!
Welcome to the World of
Insects
Location: http://www.earthlife.net/insects/
Great information about all kind of insects.
Chris Van Allsburg Homepage
Location: http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/author/cva/question.html
Read why Chris wrote Two Bad Ants and how he writes books.
Ant Exhibit at Harvard
Location: http://133.25.20.32/Harvard/ANT_MCZ.html
Wonderful displays on ants, and lots of information.
Ant Archives
Location: http://www.softclin.com/antcam/AntArchives.html
Using a series of pictures, you can watch ants make tunnels.
Jeremy's Ant Page
Location: http://www.angelfire.com/hi/redant/
Great place to go for many additional sites on ants.
Uncle Milton's Ant Farms
Location: http://www.netstuff.com/milton
All kinds of products are sold on this site.
Myremecology—The study
of Ants
Location: http://www.myrmecology.org/
Tremendous amount of information here for ant lovers.
Fossil Amber of New Jersey
Location: http://home.earthlink.net/~skurth/AMBER.htm
Here you may view the world's oldest ants caught in amber.
Bibliography
Ants
and Termites, Gwynne Vevers. McGraw-Hill Book Company,
New York, New York. 1967.
I Wonder
Why Spiders spin Webs and other Questions about Creepy Crawlies,
Amanda O'Neill, Kingfisher Publishers, New York, New York, 1995.
The
Big Bug Book, Margery Facklam, Little, Brown and
Company, New York, New York, 1994.
The
Wonder World of Ants, Wilfred S. Bronson, Harcourt
, Brace and World, New York, New York, 1937.
An Insect's
Body, Joanna Cole, William Morrow and Company, New
York, New York, 1984.
Insects
and Their World, Carroll Lane Fenton and Dorothy
Constance Pallas, The John Day Company, New York, New York, 1956.
An Ant
is Born, Harald Doering and Jo Mary McCormick, Sterling
Publishing Co., New York, New York, 1964.
Insects,
Keith Brandt, Troll Associates, Mahwah, New Jersey, 1985.
Stranger
than Fiction, Melvin Berger, Avon Books, New York,
New York, 1990.
Wonders
of the Anthill, Sigmund A. Lavine, Dodd, Mead and
Company, New York, New York, 1960.
Two
Bad Ants, Chris Van Allsburg, Houghton Mifflin Company,
Boston, Massachusetts, 1988.
Ant
Cities, Arthur Dorros, Scholastic Inc., New York,
New York, 1987.
Bugs,
Jinny Johnson, The Reader's Digest Association Inc., New York, New York, 1995.
