Ant Trail Teacher Guide
Smelly Science
Teacher Facilitation Guide
Grades
1 - 2
Lesson Objective
Students will model how ants use antennae to follow scent trails (pheromones) to communicate and locate food resources.
Materials Needed
Scented cotton balls (Vanilla/Lemon)
Ant Mission Worksheet
Drawing Paper & Crayons
Scavenger Hunt "Treasure" (Cookie/Treat)
Lesson Flow
- 5m The Hook: Scent Sniffing
- 5m Watch: How Do Ants Find Food?
- 20m Activity: Scent Trail Hunt
- 10m Reflect: Drawing Trails
Step 1: The Scent Hook (5 min)
Spray a safe scent (vanilla or lemon) on a cotton ball. Hide it or walk around the room. Ask: "Who can smell this? Can you tell where it's coming from without looking?" Explain that ants use smell to find things every day, but they don't use noses!
Step 2: Video Discussion (5 min)
Play the video. Pause at these key moments to check for understanding:
- 0:40: Ask "Who lays the eggs in the anthill?" (The Queen)
- 1:28: Ask "What do ants use to smell?" (Antennae)
- 2:24: The Car Analogy. Ask "How strong are ants?" (50x their weight!)
- 2:45: Pause at the "Red Mist". Explain this is an invisible smelly trail.
Step 3: Scent Scavenger Hunt (20 min)
Teacher Preparation:
Create a trail of scents around the classroom leading to a "cookie" (can be a drawing of a cookie or a safe snack).
- Hide scented cotton balls at intervals (e.g., behind a chair, under a desk).
- Students must use their "antennae" (imaginary or nose) to move from point to point.
- Encourage teamwork: If one student finds the scent, they should "recruit" others to the trail.
Step 4: Reflection & Drawing (10 min)
Distribute the Ant Mission Worksheet. Students will label an ant's antennae and draw a diagram showing a group of ants following a scent trail from the anthill to a food source.
Antennae
The sensory feelers on an ant's head used to smell.
Scent Trail
An invisible "smelly" path ants leave to help others.
Teamwork
When ants work together to carry heavy food home.
Ant Trackers Slides
SMELLY SCIENCE
How Ants Find Their Way
Let's Explore!
Can You Sniff It?
Close your eyes...
Take a big sniff!
- What do you smell?
- Is it sweet? Sour? Yucky?
- Where is it coming from?
Your nose is a superpower!
Let's Watch!
How Do Ants Find Food?
Embedded media
No Nose? No Problem!

Antennae
Ants use the two feelers on their head to "smell" the world.
Super Smellers
Their antennae are even better at smelling than our noses!
Invisible Maps
Scent Trails
Ants leave a "smelly" trail for their friends to follow. It's like leaving breadcrumbs!
Teamwork
When ants follow the trail together, they can carry big items back to the anthill.
Mission Time!
Scent Trail Scavenger Hunt
- 1 Use your nose to find the hidden scent!
- 2 Find the next scent "stop" on the trail.
- 3 Work with your team to find the cookie!
Become the Artist
Your Task:
Draw a picture of an ant family following a smelly trail from a picnic back to their anthill.
Don't forget to draw the ANTENNAE!
Ant Mission Worksheet
Ant Mission: Follow the Trail!
NAME:
DATE:
Part 1: The Super Sensor
Ants don't have noses! Can you circle the part they use to smell?
Antennae Area
These are called: ____________________________
Part 2: The Scent Trail Diagram
Draw a group of worker ants following a scent trail. Where is the food? Where is the anthill? Show how they use teamwork!
ANTHILL
FOOD SOURCE
Think Like an Ant
If you had super-smeller antennae, what is the first thing you would try to find?