Termites will actually follow the trail of certain pens, but not all pens. Why is that so? Is it because termites prefer red ink? Or blue ink? Or they like to follow any ink that forms a circle on a piece of paper? Or is it the crease made in the paper by ballpoint pens that termites follow? Students will answer those questions and solve this mystery of what termites follow by designing their own experiments and applying scientific thinking to this problem.
Length: This program is about 45 to 60 minutes.
Costs: This is a FREE program!!
Grades: Most appropriate for grades 4 to 10
Curriculum benchmarks addressed by this program: See our teacher package below
How to schedule this program: If you would like to participate in this LADDERS program, please contact the Michigan State University virtual outreach program at 517.353.3882 or office@virtualoutreach.org, or go to www.virtualoutreach.org and fill out a program request form. We offer this program upon request.
Supporting materials: We have posted here our resources if you are interesting to learn more about our program!
Link to the Teacher Package (in PDF)
Link to the Student Handout (in PDF)
Download our Jeopary Game, specially written for this program! (Powerpoint file)
Link to a 10-min interview of a scientist, Dr. Chris DiFonzo, by a middle-school student. Dr. DiFonzo studies insects at Michigan State University.
Have you participated in this LADDERS program already? We would like your feedback!
Click here to fill out our anonymous feedback form
Do your students have questions for scientists? Come chat with us on our LADDERS blog, and connect with other teachers from all around the country that participate in LADDERS!
Link to LADDERS Discussion Blog
