TEKS: Grade 3; Systems- (8) Living Organisms Needs
a. Observe and describe habitats within ecosystems
Baby food Jars
Observation sheets
Cotton balls
Markers
Fingernail Polish
Remover Paper
Nets
Pencils
Ant Farm
Small flower pot
Four different types of food
Chocolate pudding/Oreo cookies
(Fruit, bread, vinegar, peanut butter)
Chocolate covered raisins
Beating Sheet and Stick
Film canisters
Books/Ants
Different scents (peppermint, vanilla, vinegar, lemon, pickle
juice)
Aluminum foil
Brown construction paper
1. Time to Eat- Find an ant hill and place the four different
food sources around the mound and watch the ants. Find out if
the ants like one kind of food over the other. How long does it
take the ants to find the food?
2. Lets Get Us Some Insects- Take the students outside
and have them look in four different habitats. Have the students
compare the insects that they find in the different habitats.
Is there any difference in the amount or kind of insects that
are found? Students will do observation sheet on insects found.
The observation contains: a picture, number of legs, number of
antennae, number of wings, is it an insect, Illustrate each habitat
and put the insects found in each habitat. Compare each habitat
and discuss the differences between them.
3. Let's Build an Ant Farm- Have the students collect ant
from the schoolyard and place them in an enclosed container to
observe how they make their tunnels. Watch and observe the ant's
behavior. Do the ants have any particular tunnels that are used
for specific purposes?
4. The World of Ants by Melvin Berger- Talk about the title
of the book and discuss the front cover of book. What is the ant
doing on the plant? (Feeding on the nectar of the flower) What
else do ants eat? (Food scrapes, insects, fruits, other plant
parts) Where do ants live? (Everywhere but cold parts) Explore
the children's feeling about ants. Point out that ants can be
pests but they are also very valuable. They eat insects that may
do harm to plants. They are an important food source for birds,
frogs, and other animals. Also, ants that dig underground nests
improve the soil by breaking it up and mixing it. How might this
be helpful? (It helps the soil absorb water better and allows
more air to move through the soil, which helps plants grow) When
reading the story, ask questions about the ants. Also, refer to
the song we sang the day before and ask the students what the
difference is between the ants and other insects body parts. (Only
the queen and the smaller males have wings)
5. Amazing Anthony Ant and Ant Cities books- Read Amazing
Anthony Ant, by Lorna and Graham Philpot, and discuss the
different ant tunnels and sing the song, "The Ants Go Marching".
Song is written in the book.
6. A-Maze-ing Ants- Have students draw on a paper plate
simple mazes to represent ant nests. Cut ant shapes from construction
paper and glue paper clips to other side of the shapes. When dry,
put ants on paper plate nests with paper clip side facing down.
Place magnets underneath plates to cause ant to scurry about.
Manipulate ants along tunnels to different rooms.
7. Ant pheromone game- Have film 10 canisters with different scents within them. Each student will be given 1 canister with a scent and will have to match that scent to one found in the room. This is a means of communication between ants and a way in which they can find their home.
They leave pheromone trails when they venture from home so they know
where to return. If you take one ant from one mound and place
him in a different mound, the ants will fight because he doe not
have the same scent.
8. Eat an ant mound- For the snack, the students will build
an ant mound with pudding, oreo cookies, ant chocolate covered
raisins.
9. Plant a flower- After eating their snack, the students
will decorate their flowerpots with paint. After decorating their
pots, they will plant a flower to be used the following day related
to bees.
Closure
Journal activity- At the end of the day, the students will write or draw in their journal three facts they learned about ants.
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