| LU Title: Honeybees | Author: Beth Manchester |
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Grade Level: 3rd Grade |
School: Hermon-DeKalb |
| Topic/Subject Area: Science |
Address: 709 E. DeKalb Rd. DeKalb Junction, New York 13630 |
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Email: bmanche@mum.neric.org |
Phone: (315) 347-3442
Fax: (315) 347-3817 |
Overview
Honeybees are an integral part of agriculture. The students in third grade will learn the importance of bees to the farming industry, as well as to humans. They will learn about the life cycle of the honeybee, encounter the different types of honeybees, and learn their importance to the hive.
Throughout this unit the students will be using the Internet to research and gather information about their chosen honeybee. They will also use Microsoft Word to publish their project papers.
This unit will take approximately 2-3 weeks and will be taught in collaboration with a chapter in our Science book called “Life Cycles of Plants”.
Content Knowledge
| Declarative The students knows that |
Procedural The student knows how to |
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Essential Questions
How are honeybees an integral part in our agriculture?
Connections to Standards
Students may use Microsoft Word or any word processor to publish their culminating project. (See Day Eight for more information)
Initiating Activity
DAY ONE: I am introducing this unit with a visit by a local apiculturist, who will talk to the students about what life is like as a beekeeper. He will also discuss how important and helpful honeybees are to humans and the farming industry. Prior to the beekeeper coming, the students will begin a K-W-L chart (See Appendix A). They will start with what they think they KNOW & WANT to know about life as a beekeeper and how they believe bees play a role in the farming industry. After the students have written down their ideas, the chart will be put aside until the end of the lesson. Then the students will complete the chart by writing down what they have LEARNED. For snack the students will have a bag filled with the cereal, Honey Combs.
Learning Experiences
DAY TWO: The teacher will hand out an introductory letter to this unit (See Appendix B). Here the students will be given a brief explanation of what the unit is going to be about, and an explanation of the final project and what materials they might need and when it is due. The letter should be taken home to their parents. By handing this letter out in the beginning of the unit, the students have plenty of time to plan ahead and begin their project.
The teacher will introduce the new vocabulary for this unit: drone, worker, queen, pollen, larva, pupa, pollination, and nectar. Prior to the lesson, groups were formed according to how the students worked in cooperative groups and their reading level. We felt it would be best to have a some strong readers with some low readers. Each group is responsible for finding six facts about their vocabulary word. Dictionaries, science books, and the packet called “The Bee - Information” will help them with their search (See Appendix C). Each group will use the graphic organizer called “Blooming Words and Phrases” to arrange their facts (See Appendix D). The teacher will record the vocabulary words on chart paper and keep it posted throughout the unit. After all the groups have completed the graphic organizer, they will present their facts to the class. Within the groups, each person is responsible for reading at least one fact to the audience.
DAY THREE: The teacher will introduce the three different types of bees, their characteristics, and their importance to the hive. Using the provided reading material called “Roles” the students and teacher will read together and discuss the facts (See Appendix E). With guidance from the teacher, the students will highlight the most important facts on the sheet. With the information learned, the students will complete a diagram displaying the different honeybees, as well as tell what each bee’s job or jobs are. At the end of the lesson, the teacher will use the summarizer “Ticket to Leave” (See Appendix F). Each student will write on their ticket one important thing that they learned that day.
DAY FOUR (Refining & Extending):Using an overhead transparency, the teacher will review the life cycle of the butterfly, as well as introduce the life cycle of the honeybee (See Appendix G). The teacher may also use a variety of literature to display pictures and provide even more information for the students. Next, the teacher will draw a Venn diagram on chart paper and explain to them what it needs to be complete. Prior to the lesson, the teacher will need to write words/phrases on sentence strips. This will enable the students to complete the Venn diagram with little frustration. The teacher will then place the sentence strips floating around the diagram. Working in pairs, the students will decide where the facts should be placed and write them down in their blank Venn diagram (See Appendix H). The class will come together, discuss where the sentence strips should belong, and place them in the appropriate place.
DAY FIVE: The teacher will assess the students understanding of DAY FOURS lesson. The student will be given a blank Venn diagram and they need to complete it (See Appendix I). The teacher will leave the sentence strips up but in random order. A rubric will be used to assess the students (See page 5a).
DAY SIX: Using the Science text pages A46-A49, the teacher and students will re-read and discuss together the section on pollination & plant helpers. This discussion will lead them into the fact that pollination makes it possible for fruits, vegetables, and nuts to develop. The students will understand that their greatest contribution is its service—POLLINATION.
The teacher will provide the students with the graphic organizer called Storyboard (See Appendix J). The students will then sequence the stages of the pollination process. The teacher will check with individual students to visually assess their progress.
DAY SEVEN: Prior to watching the movie, The Magic School Bus: Inside a Beehive, the students will be given a sheet about the movie which needs to be completed (See Appendix K). After the movie, we will discuss together.
DAY EIGHT (Refining & Extending):The teacher will discuss with the students the contents of their culminating project. They will be given a rubric that will show them how they are going to be graded and what is expected of them (See page 5b).
Their project will include the following:
The teacher will pass around the basket of bee names and the students will select a bee for their project.
DAY NINE: The students will use the Internet to explore information on their bees. The teacher, computer coordinator, and aide when needed will provide assistance. The students will be allotted more time to research and utilize the resources available to them in their classroom, as well as library.
The following address is the site the students used when they were in the computer lab, www.pbs.org.
DAY TEN: The students will be given a final project checklist to help organize themselves (See Appendix L). Once checked off by the teacher, they can begin to use the graphic organizer called “Report Format” to help them organize their rough draft (See Appendix M). When complete they may use Appendix N to write their rough draft. After they have revised and edited their work, the teacher will check the final copy.
DAY ELEVEN & TWELVE: In the computer lab or in the classroom, the students may type their project papers using Microsoft Word or any other word processor. Assistance will be provided when needed by the teacher, computer coordinator, and aide. Using a rubric, the teacher will assess the students’ progress (See page 5c).
DAY THIRTEEN: The teacher will provide the students with time to work on putting their presentations together.
DAY FOURTEEN: The students will give their presentations. They will read their project papers and show their costumes to the class.
DAY FIFTEEN: If needed, the students will finish giving their presentations.
Culminating Performance
Task: The students imagine that they have been transformed into a bee and their task is to provide supporting facts about the characteristics of that bee and their importance to agriculture. To make this transformation “real” the students will create a costume that depicts their bee. The students will be using the Internet to research and gather information about their bee. They will process their project papers using a word processor.
Rubrics
Pre-Requisite Skills
Modifications
The projects for this unit were designed to meet the many different learning styles of the students in this particular third grade. Each activity can be easily modified to suit the needs of the wide range of abilities in the classroom.
This unit was taught to three third grade homerooms and thus required cooperation and time to prepare the activities. There was plenty of teacher supervision throughout this unit; three teachers were always in the room. The classroom setting required tables so the students could work in cooperative groups. A section in the room was designated for resource materials collected by the teacher as well as the students to look at any time.
Schedual/Time Plan
Technology Use
1.Word Processor used throughout unit ----KidWorks & Microsoft Word
2.Internet Access provided by the school
3.Movie: Scholastic’s The Magic School Bus: Inside a Beehive
4.Children’s Literature:
5. Student Packets: provided by New York Agriculture in the Classroom----- Bud’s World: A Plant’s View
6. Teacher materials: See Appendix A-M.