A PROJECT ON ANTS
Bette Gibson, a Head Teacher at the Brigham Young
University Lab School developed this project on ants because there were ants in her
classroom and two anthills on the playground just outside her classroom door. This project
was first introduced the first week of Spring/Summer Term of 1996 with four year olds,
many of whom were beginning their first formal school experience. This is a report of her
experience.
PHASE 1
Bette began by reading everything she could find on ants and then transferring her ideas
into a web. At the parent meeting, held several days before the start of Spring Term, two
ant farms were set up with magnifying glasses to stimulate interest in the topic, a parent
newsletter was given with instructions on how to make an ant farm, and parents were
encouraged to explore the topic at home.
 Several families did make ant farms that the children brought
in. One even had a queen ant in it. A couple of families read about ants ahead of time.
The children whose families provided informal learning experiences on ants really became
interested in the topic and the interest soared. Most of the families sent "bug
catcher" containers to the preschool so they could gather specimens. Here are a few
of the comments during Phase 1:
Carrie's family had read about ants before the project
started. She stated that "Ants have no backbone," and "Birds stick their
beaks down in the grass and eat ants."
Ben commented: "There are more ants than people."
He also defined the term colony as: "A big group of ants." When asked where to
find them he said, "I look down the cracks (at ants)."
Abraham: "People step on ants."
Nicole: "I found an ant on me. I picked the ant off of
me. They (the ants) stay in a line so they don't get lost."
When the whole group was asked how we could study ants, Ben
replied that we could watch a video, see how they get around, make an anthill for them and
we should put food out for them. (We did each of these things in our study.) Miss Bette,
(her title used by the children) told the children about the day she came into the
classroom and found ants all over the science area, in the fish food and even in Pookie's
(the pet gerbil) cage. A discussion about where the ants come from, what they look like,
where they live, and what they eat evolved. These are the questions the children wanted to
investigate:
- What do ants eat?
- Do they come from eggs?
- Why are ants everywhere?
- Do ants eat worms?
 These other questions come later:
- Do they have feet?
- How do they see?
The book, If You Were an Ant by S. G. Calder was used for
content and to stimulate discussion. The children then went out to the playground to find
ants and put them in small containers.
PHASE 2
 Observational drawings were done continuously both
individually and in small groups using the up ant farms already in the classroom.
 One committee actually set up an ant farm and tried to put
ants from the two anthills by the classroom door in it. Each child had the opportunity to
make his or her own model ant using styrofoam pipecleaners. Miss Bette set up this
activity as a way to introduce the parts of the ant. This was only partially successful
because the children were into making an ant rather than labeling one.
 (Only a couple of children became involved
in making their own labels of the body parts of an ant.)
 Another small group made an anthill with tunnels, chambers
and clay ants. The end product lacked some sophistication due to the age of the children,
but nearly every child verbalized at some point that ants make tunnels. (This was very
evident from the commercial ant farms.) Miss Bette created a large motor movement activity
to help the children act out the stages of development of ants. The children became
engrossed in this.
They also thoroughly enjoyed making antennae and wearing
them as we marched to the song, "The Ants Go Marching." At one point a short
segment was watched from the NOVA video "Little Creatures Who Run the World." It
was on Leaf Cutter Ants. Here are a few comments the children made while seeing this:
Kit: "I'm gonna tell Timmy (his older brother) how
much a leaf cutter ant can carry." The video taught that ants carry as much as five
times their body weight.)
 Abraham: "That's the queen ant. She's big."
Another child observed that the picture posted in the
science center was a Leaf Cutter Ant.
Other comments while watching the video:
"He (the leaf cutter ant) carries lots of leaves to
the nest."
"He calls lots of friends (to help carry heavy
leaves)."
To introduce the hard working characteristics of ants, the
fable "The Ant and the Grasshopper" was told with puppets. The children became
very involved with this story. Throughout the project a few minutes after snack was spent
talking to the children about their project work and letting them share with others what
they were learning.
 One of the most successful investigations was done when a
committee of children decided to put different food out by the anthills and to chart what
happened. Children made predictions as to what the ants would eat.
 The ants favorite foods were a piece of Dorito chip, lettuce
, peanut butter, and a part of a chocolate chip cookie. Cornmeal from the sensory table
that was outside was purposely NOT swept which enabled the children to watch ants carry
bits of cornmeal into their ant hills.
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Last revised: March 12, 1997 |
