Review basic ant information through questioning.

1. Who can tell me what kind of INSECT we have been learning about this week?

2. I wonder how many legs ants have, who can tell me?

3. What do ants use their legs for?

1.Bugs

[ants]

2. 4, 3 etc.

[6]

3.Getting to the food

Fighting

[Movement, crawling]

Activate/build on prior knowledge.

1. Where are the ants in our classroom?

2. Why do we keep the ants in the ant farm?

3. Why do we need to feed our ants?

1. On the walls

On the floor

In the anthill

[In the ant farm]

2.So they don’t get out

So they don’t bite us

They are the class pet

[So we can look at/observe the ant’s behavior, CHAMBERS, TUNNELS]

3.Because they are hungry

[They need food to survive, and have energy]

Relate ants to students’ personal experiences. Tell students your own experience, “There were cookie crumbs on the table at my house. I saw ants crawling on my table!”

Ask students to share where they have seen ants outside of the classroom.

Call on 2-3 students to share.

1. How do you think the ants got into my house?

2. Why were they crawling on the table?

3. Who would like to tell me where they have seen ants? What were they doing?

1. Entertain ALL responses

[The ants PROBABLY got in through a crack in the door or window]

2. They crawled up there

They were hungry

To be with other ants

[To get the food (cookie crumbs) and take it back to their nest]

3. Entertain all student responses.

Today we are going to talk about. SCOUT ANTS and their important job!

The teacher should entertain all responses, but not immediately tell students the ants’ roles. Tell the students that they will discover what these special ants do by watching and “being” ants!

Those are all great predictions! Now I need everyone to watch me ears on! We will all have a chance to be ants.

1. Who has an idea (prediction) of what a scout ant does?

1. Is like a boy scout?

Crawls

Eats food

[Searches for food]

[Those are all great predictions!]

(Have the drama set up beforehand, see attached set up sheet)

Explain to students, once they watch you act out the scout ant drama, they will be doing some acting as “ants”. (2^nd activity-15 mins)

Present a drama to introduce the idea that ants that find food, leave scent trails, and are called SCOUT ANTS (1^st activity-15 mins).

Scout Ant Drama

(1^st activity-15 mins):

A little girl named Kimi is sitting outside one day eating a snack. She says, “I don’t want to eat this cracker. I’ll leave it in my lunch bag and take a nap.” (Make Kimi put the cracker in the bag and lay down.)

While Kimi sleeps, look what is happening nearby (Make an ant climb out of out the anthill, walk towards the bag and climb in.)

The hungry ant finds the cracker (Break off a piece of the cracker and hold it next to the ant’s mouth).

1.What do you think the ant is doing?

2. What did Kimi leave in the bag that the ant might want?

3. What do you think the ant will do with the cracker?

1. Looking for food

Crawling in the bag

[Accept all reasonable answers]

2. Food

[The cracker]

3.Eat it

Share it

Take it back to the nest

[Take it back to the nest, but others are acceptable]

As it walks back to the anthill, the ant dabs the end of its body on the ground  (Dab the abdomen of the ant on the ground) Review the word abdomen.

(Have the ant carry the cracker into the anthill and disappear)

1. Why do you think the ant is doing that?

1. It is tired

It is hurt

[The ant is leaving a smell (scent) on the ground so the other ants can find food]

Look what’s happening! Other ants are using their antennas (feelers) to smell! (Make several ants walk single file from the anthill to the bag, dabbing their antennae on the ground).

They have found the scent!

The ants are following the scent trail.

1. What do you think the ants will find if they follow the scent trail?

1. food

Kimi

[Cracker]

Kimi wakes up and wonders where her cracker went.

1. Class, can you tell Kimi where her cracker went?

2. What do you think the ants that find food are called?

1. The ants took it

The ants ate it

[Entertain all reasonable answers][The ants took it back to the nest using a scent trail]

2.Hunters

[Scout Ants]

Review drama for understanding through questions.

Allow for free exploration. Leave the doll, paper ants, “anthill”, bag and cracker out.

1. How did the scout ants tell the other ants where the crackers were?

2. What part of the ant’s body did it use to help it find the scent(smell)?

1. Talked to them

Told them

By smelling

[They left a scent trail for them to follow]

2. Nose                    

Feelers

Abdomen

[Antennae or feelers]

Following Scent Trail Drama

(2^nd  activity-15 mins):

Have the children sit with you inside the “child-sized anthill.”Pretend you are all hungry ants!

1. What kinds of foods would you like to eat as a hungry ant?

1. Crackers

Cookies

Bugs

[Confirm students’ answers]

Explain to students they are going to act like SCOUT ANTS.

1. Who can remind me what a scout ant’s job is?

1.Get food

Look for food

[Look for food, and leave a scent trail for other ants to follow]

As scout ants, you need to leave a scent trail when you bring food back to the anthill, so other ants can follow the smell. The smell comes out of the ant’s body (abdomen).

Pass around one of the scented cotton balls for the children to smell. “This is the special smell of ALL the ants that live in our anthill.”

1. What does the cotton ball smell like to you?

1.Sweet

Candy

[The actual scent will depend on what extract you used]

We are all going to take turns being scout ants! You will follow a trail to food, and will leave your special scent on the trail.

Show the children how to leave a scent trail by following the string trail to the paper bag full of crackers. Take a cracker out of the bag, and carry it back to the “anthill”, while dabbing your cotton ball on the string.

1. What am I making by dabbing my cotton ball on the string?

1.A trail

A path

A smell

[Scent trail]

Place your cracker on the tray. Tell the children you are pretending the tray is a special room in the anthill called a CHAMBER (where ants store their food).

1. Why do you think ants put food in chambers?

1. To keep it safe

To share

[To store/keep it]

Each “ant” in our class will now take a turn, one by one, bringing a cracker back to the “anthill” and storing it in the CHAMBER. When we all finish the ants will eat the crackers.

Give each child a scented cotton ball. Have each child take a turn dabbing scent on the trail while bringing a cracker back to the anthill to place on the tray (CHAMBER).Children should crawl on the ground, holding a cotton ball in one hand and the cracker in the other. Once each child has had a turn, the whole class can share the crackers.

Observe the children as they act out the role of a scout ant, to see if they understand what it means to leave/follow a scent trail.

1. Why are we dabbing our scent on the trail?

2. If we didn’t leave a scent trail what might happen?

1. To make it smell

To find food

[So other ants can follow the smell and find food]

2. It wouldn’t smell

Wouldn’t find food

[The other ants would not have a scent trail to follow to find the crackers/food]

Review the roles of scout ants.

1. What type of ant did we get to be today?

2. What is their special job?

2. What was fun about being a scout ant?

1.Ant

[Scout ant]

2. Looking for food

Making a scent trail

[Either are appropriate]

2. [Any response is appropriate]

Check for understanding of scent trails.

1. What was the name of the special trail we made today?

2. Why do ants use scent trails?

3. What do ants use to smell with?

4. What do we use to smell with? Why do we as humans need to smell things?

1. Smell trail

Trail

[Scent trail]

2. To follow

To show other ants

[To show other ants where to find food]

3.Nose

Legs

[Antenna or feelers]

4.Nose

[Nose; entertain all answers ]

Now I want you to pretend you are a scout ant again! Get a partner and leave a pretend scent trail for them to follow. Look for a new kind of food.

1. What kind of food did you find?

2. Where was the food?

[entertain all possible responses]

One meaning for the word scout is to hunt, look for, or try to find something.

1. Have you ever had to be a “scout” before? Did you have to search for something, like the scout ants looked for food?

[entertain all possible responses]

Make real life connections.

When are ants sometimes harmful to humans?

1. Have you ever been bitten by an ant?

2. Do we want ants inside our house? Why or why not?

[entertain all possible responses]

Orally ask students:

1. What is the name of the type of ant we learned about today?

2. Why is it called a scout ant?

3. What are the special trails they leave called?

4. What are 2 kinds of food ants might eat?

1.Ant

[Scout Ant]

2.It hunts

It makes a smell

[It searches for food]

3. Trails

Smell trails

[Scent trails]

4. [Entertain all reasonable answers] [Suggest grasshoppers, caterpillars, crackers, sweets etc.]

Draw a picture/scene of a scout ant, food, scent trail, and anthill. Remember when we acted out scout ants, this will help you with your drawing!

(Review the words on the handout, and encourage students to cross each one off after they have drawn each item)

(Older students can accompany their picture with a story and label the items in their picture)

.Ask students to share their drawings and talk about their picture.

Drawings can be complied into a class “SCOUT ANT” book.