Grade 1

 

Ant Behavior

Driving Question:

What can ants teach us about how we work together?  How can we share our learning?

Literacy Game

Our Methods

PBL Components

Here is a summary of the major Project Based Learning components that guided our class through the lesson.

Driving Question

What can ants teach us about how we work together?  How can we share our learning?

Project Overview

Students will observe ant colony behavior.  Students will record observations and conduct experiments related to ant group behavior.  Students will work in partners to create their own ant farm.  Students will create a museum exhibition/display.

Reflection

The teamwork games and simulations of an ant colony working together to smell a piece of food and move it into the colony was very interesting for the students.  They enjoyed and participated in these group games, and were able to apply the games to the lifestyles and behaviors of ants.  I was surprised by their level of interest in learning the scientific vocabulary and names of the body parts of ants.  The students felt proud of their “Ant Museum” for their final exhibition.  Many of the students appeared confident and enjoyed talking with others about their knowledge and their project creation process.

Our Standards

Academic Standards

The subjects in this project hit upon our school standards, summarized here. Teachers include additional standards during these projects, but here are some highlights.

In this project SAIS students created an ant museum, including ant model, ant farms, murals of ant colonies, and observation logs.

Next Generation Science Standards

 

  • 1-LS1-1 (adapted): Observe how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs
  • 3-LS2-1: Construct an argument that some animals form groups that help members survive.
American Education Reaches Out Social Studies Standards

 

  • 2.e: Explain why people live in social groups.
  • 2.f: Identify roles and behaviors that people demonstrate when in group situations.
  • 2.c: Describe how we depend upon people with specialized jobs.
Common Core State Standards: English Language Arts
  • 1.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
  • 1.5: With guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions and suggestions from peers, and add details to strengthen writing as needed.
  • 1.7: Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., explore a number of “how-to” books on a given topic and use them to write a sequence of instructions).
  • 1.8: With guidance and support from adults, recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
  • 1.1: Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about grade 1 topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.