Activity to accompany Living It Up in a Fire Ant Nest, Youth Module

Activity: Insect Condominiums

• Overview

The students will use problem-solving techniques and critical thinking skills to build and maintain a home specifically suited to their insect pets.

• Objective

To familiarize the students with ecologically based concepts such as niche, habitat and survival requirements of insects and to reinforce the importance of observation in the scientific method of problem solving.

• Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) (other states may have similar systems)

Science

3rd grade: 3.1.a, 3.1.b, 3.3.c, 3.8.a, 3.8.b, 3.8.c, 3.8.d

4th grade: 4.1.a, 4.1.b, 4.3.c, 4.5.a, 4.5.b

5th grade: 5.1.a, 5.1.b, 5.3.c, 5.9.a, 5.9.b

• Materials

Insects, either purchased at a pet store or caught by students

Paper, one sheet for each participant

Pens or pencils, one for each participant

Various sizes and shapes of plastic containers (suggestions include 2-liter bottles, juice containers, ice cream buckets, etc.)

Scissors

Clear packing tape

Netting (pantyhose, tulle, screen, cheesecloth)

Permanent markers

Other odds and ends such as beads, buttons and craft items for decorating

• Activity

1. Either the students can go outside to catch insects, or the teacher can buy crickets, mealybugs or other insects at a pet store and bring them to class.
2. Have each student draw a blueprint of his or her family’s house.
3. Discuss with the class what things all of the houses have in common and why these items and rooms are included in most homes. Also discuss the differences and benefits or drawbacks these would have in other homes.
4. Have the students create home for their insects using recyclable materials. Each student may use one container or attach several together. The student will need to devise a way to open and close the container without losing the insect. Methods for watering and feeding will also need to be devised. The students may decorate the houses with markers or by gluing craft items onto them. The teacher may need to help cut, glue or tape if the students wish to connect more than one container.
5. The students should then look for and collect the necessary materials for the insect to live in its condo — grass, leaves, soil, water, other live animals, bedding materials, etc.
6. Later, the students should release their insects outside.

• Wrap-up

Have the students explain their condos to one another; what components did they include and why?

Discuss how the condo model relates to the insect’s natural habitat.

Note to teachers: You may want to refer to the KIDzANTS Teacher Manual, which is from the original release of KIDzANTS made by Texas AgriLife Extension.

PLEASE PROVIDE FEEDBACK

The fire ant eXtension youth team would love some feedback from your experience. Please contact Paul Nester (p-nester@tamu.edu) with questions, comments, testimonials, and particularly images of your students' accomplishments and the students engaging in this activity. If you send images that include students, please be sure that parental approval has been given to use the image. Most schools routinely have parents sign a photographic release form. If you are unsure whether a permission form has been completed, you can use this form and send it along with the image: Photography Release Form