MARTIN SHIELDS
Biology 9-12
24 Dale Road
Ringwood, NJ 07456
Mshield@ix.netcom.com
973 839-9848
James Caldwell High School
Westville Avenue
West Caldwell, NJ 07006
Mshields@cwcboe.org
973 228-6981
TERMITE INQUIRY LAB
ABSTRACT:
The activity is an introduction to scientific inquiry. Students observe a termite continuously following a
red ink trail. Spontaneously at first, and then with some guidance, the students will engage in many of the
steps usually involved in the process of science such as: questioning, hypothesizing, predicting,
experimenting, and evaluating.
PROCEDURE:
1.
Give each small group of students a blank piece of unlined paper and a red Papermate pen. Have the
students make a simple drawing on the paper using continuous lines from the red pen (such as a large
figure 8 or a spiral).
2.
Carefully drop a termite onto each of the groups’ papers. Termites are fragile so touch them as little as
possible. The ideal way to move them is to tap the container or piece of wood they are in/on so that
they fall onto the student’s paper. Once on the paper students can move them by folding and tapping
the paper rather than touching them.
3.
The termite will follow the ink trail of the Papermate pen indefinitely.
4.
Students will ask why the termite is doing this (Questioning), some will call out possible explanations
(Hypothesizing). During these initial 5-10 minutes I say nothing, leaving the students to their own
impulses to question and explore.
5.
Next, I circulate from lab group to lab group reiterating their questions to them. The students offer
possible answers (eg. the termite likes red) and I respond only with “interesting idea, how could you
test that?”
6.
Students propose ways to test their ideas (Predicting, Designing Experiments) and I encourage them
to try them. Typically they will try different colors, different textures of pen, different brands of pen,
pencils, indentations made without a pen etc. to determine what it is about the ink trail that attracts the
termite.
7.
Each time a group claims to have solved the riddle I ask them to justify that they have ruled out all
other possibilities. Even if a group comes up with the “right” answer at this point I never tell them
that. Instead I prod them to collect as much evidence as possible to support their idea. The answer,
of course, is not the point of this activity as much as the process. I also enlist nearby lab groups to
help me critique other groups’ claims of having found the answer. Usually by the end of the 1 hour
period some groups have ruled out vision by running simple but elegant experiments with a termite
following a red line but not following one that is covered by something transparent like scotch tape or
an overhead sheet.
8.
I have the students keep a log of their experiments and the results/observations during the lesson.
9.
Near the end of the period we have a classwide discussion summarizing what each group has
discovered and attempting to make sense out of their findings (Analyzing, Drawing Conclusions). At
this point the students usually realize that they need more basic information on termites before they can
completely solve this riddle, and their homework becomes library research on termites (Collecting
Background Information).
10. The next day the students share important findings (eg. termites are blind, leave pheromone trails etc.),
and during a discussion they are able to further refine their hypotheses.
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THE EXPLANATION: (For teachers eyes only)
Subterranean termites (family Rhinotermitidae) follow pheromone trails laid down by other
termites. The ink in Papermate pens (of any color it seems) contains a chemical (a glycoprotein)
that is very similar to one left by termites on their trails.
*but don’t tell your students, and don’t let them know if they are right. Let them decide if they
have solved the mystery-and be sure to challenge them for evidence to support their idea or with
alternative possibilities that they have not addressed.
GETTING TERMITES:
-collect your own from rotting stumps, logs, or under boards on the ground
-order from Carolina but NOT from Wards. I have heard that the termites carried by Wards are
not subterranean, do not follow pheromone trails, and will not follow the ink trail.
REFERENCE:
The core idea was originally posted on a message board on the Access Excellence web site,
http://www.accessexcellence.org/ Another teacher, Lana Hays, has also developed a lesson
from this idea and it is in the Activities Exchange area of Access Excellence.