Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes

Part A: Revising the relationship of bees and plants

15 minutes

Part B: The power of the flower - dissection

45 minutes

Part C: The bee's knees

15 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions

Students will...

understand the anatomy of flowers and how their structure aids in attracting pollinators.
explore the symbiotic relationship between bees and flowering plants, focusing on adaptations that support pollination.

Success criteria

Students can...

dissect a flower to identify its anatomical parts and explain their role in reproduction.
explain how the structure of a flower and the body morphology of bees work together to facilitate pollination and food production.

Part A: Revising the relationship of bees and plants

Step 1

Begin this lesson by revising students' knowledge on the relationship between bees and plants. Draw a large mind map on the board with the words 'Bees' and 'Plants' evenly spaced across the width of the board (see the finished example below). Invite students to suggest keywords that come to mind when thinking about these terms and record them on the board. Some examples might include:

food
flowers
pollination
insects
fruits
honey
humans
fertilisation
hive
queen bee.

Step 2

Next, invite students to suggest if any of these keywords are connected or if a relationship exists between them. As students suggest connections, draw a line between the keywords and ask students to justify why they think the two terms are connected.

Literacy tip: Asking students to verbally justify their reasoning is a great way to build communication and critical thinking skills. If students need more prompting with their response, use questions such as 'Why do you think that?' or 'What makes you say that?' to draw out their thinking.

Step 3

Facilitate a class discussion by drawing students' attention to all of the connections on the mind map, explaining that bees and plants have a special relationship called 'symbiosis'. Bees and flowering plants have a mutually beneficial type of symbiotic relationship, whereby the bees assist with the fertilisation of the plant by collecting nectar and pollen not only for themselves but also to feed their young. Bees have a number of specialised adaptations that make them particularly good at carrying large volumes of pollen. They can visit many flowers before returning to the hive, which increases the success rate of fertilisation of the plants. As bees are excellent pollinators, they play a pivotal role in farming, food production and the health of our ecosystems.

Part B - The power of the flower - dissection

Preparation:

Before starting this activity, set up a number of workstations with butcher's paper, scissors, tweezers, grey lead pencils, magnifying glasses (if available) and a collection of flowers for dissection. You can purchase flowers, find flowers in the school gardens or ask students to bring in samples of flowers that are different shapes, sizes, colours and perfumes (only pick enough flowers for 1-2 flowers per group). Make sure none of your students are allergic to any type of flowers.

Step 1

Distribute three sticky-notes and the Adaptations - Bee and Plant Factsheet to each student. Ask students to silently read through the factsheet, highlighting information they find interesting or puzzling.

Next, instruct students to devise three questions that they want to know more about. The question grid below can be used as potential 'question lead-ins', which encourage students to think more deeply about the type of question they are asking.

What is...	Why is...	How is...	Who is...
What might...	Why might..	How might..	Who might..
What would...	Why would..	How would...	Who would...

Students should draft their questions on the Student Worksheet and then record their final questions on their three sticky-notes. Once finished, attach the sticky-notes on the wall of the classroom ensuring they are spread apart so that another note can be added next to it later. During the reflection section of the lesson, students will answer each question by attaching another sticky-note next to it.

Step 2

Explain to students that they will be working collaboratively to explore the parts of the flower that help to make pollination possible.

Divide the class into small groups and assign each group to a work station.

Discuss with students that in nature, flowers come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, scents and colours in an attempt to attract as many pollinators as possible who will assist in completing the life cycle of the flower by transferring pollen from flower to flower.

Step 3

Invite students to simply look at the flowers and complete the 'Observe Table' on the Student Worksheet. Explain that in scientific investigation, we use all of our senses to make observations. This activity prompts students to use sight, touch, smell and hearing to make as many observations of their flower as possible.

Step 4

Next, students create a cross-section of their flower by cutting through their specimen longways so that the inside of the flower can be observed. Remind students to be careful when using the scissors.

Ask students to create a scientific drawing of their flower on the Student Worksheet. Remind students that a scientific drawing is a precise record of specific details of their specimen. Make sure students:

use a grey lead pencil
draw their image as large as their page will allow, ensuring enough room for labels
draw clean lines - do not shade or cross-hatch
make careful observations - do not draw what isn't there

Step 5

While students are creating their scientific drawings, sketch the cross-section of a flower on the board (see below).

Once students have finished their own scientific drawing, explain that each of the structures they have drawn has a specific function. Label the anatomy of the flower and discuss the function of each structure with your students. Draw attention to the fact that some parts of the anatomy are female and some are male.

Anatomy	Male/Female	Description
Petal	-	Colorful leaf-shaped pieces. They are often colourful or unusually shaped, in order to attract pollinators.
Stem	-	The main trunk of the flower used to support the flower.
Filament	Male	A slender stalk that supports the anther.
Anther	Male	Sits on top of the filament and is where pollen develops.
Pollen	Male	Fine, powdery yellowish grains or spores.
Stigma	Female	The sticky bulb that you see in the center of the flowers and is where the pollen lands and starts the fertilisation process.
Ovary	Female	Large bulb at the bottom of the stigma where the ovules are produced.
Ovule	Female	Small egg cells which develop into seeds after fertilisation

Step 6

Next, invite students to take a look at their own flower specimen and try to identify its anatomy, adding labels to their drawing on their Student Worksheet.

Part C: The bee's knees

Step 1

As a class, watch this short film that features images of bees collecting nectar and pollen from flowers.

Bees at Work (https://youtu.be/Xpm8do76Xx4)

While the clip is playing, focus students viewing by asking:

Do you notice bees visiting every flower in a particular order, like stepping stones? Or do they follow a different pattern?
What parts of the bee's body might help transfer pollen?

When the clip reaches the footage of the passionflower at 2:10min, recap on the last activity by asking students to identify different parts of the flower.

Can you identify the anther and filament? Does it look the same as your flower dissection?
Can you identify the stigma? Does it look the same as your flower dissection?
Does it look like the nectar and pollen can be found in the same spot on the flower? What makes you say this?

Step 2

Explain to students that just like plants, bees have many adaptations that make them excellent pollinators. Project the infographic below as a stimulus for class discussion and talk through each part of the bee's anatomy.

Source: https://actforbees.org/resources/education/

Use the following questions to guide discussion:

What body parts are involved in pollination?
How do the legs of the bees assist in collecting pollen?
What other adaptations of the bee's body surprised you?

Reflection

1. Revisit the sticky-notes displayed on the wall (created during Part B of this lesson). Divide students into teams of three and provide each team with another three sticky-notes (ensure they are different colours to the sticky-notes with the questions on them).

Invite teams to collaboratively select three random questions from the wall and attempt to answer each one. They should record their response on the blank sticky-note and attach it next to the original question.

Any questions that teams cannot answer can be used as a whole class discussion prompt. To help stimulate students thinking you could also play this 'Pollination' video. It may help students recall parts of the pollination process and the adaptions of bees and flowering plants.

To conclude the lesson, or for homework, ask students to finish these sentences on the Student Worksheet:

Bees pollinate flowers because…
The parts of a bee's body adapted to pollination are…
The parts of the flower adapted to pollination are…
Bees and flowers have a special relationship because…
Humans need bees and flowers because...

2. If students started the ‘Hive of Reflection’ activity in the ‘Beeing Curious’ lesson, distribute another exit slip to each students and ask them to respond to the prompt. As you progress through each lesson in the Love Food? Love Bees! unit, students can continue to reflect on their learning by add new cells to the honeycomb of the Hive of Reflection wall display.

Differentiated Learning

Extension:

Students could conduct independent research regarding different bee species OR find out the kingdom, phylum, class, order, family and species of European honeybees.

Provisional Learning Support:

Students who need additional learning support could be placed in groups that include more capable students who can assist their learning.

Adaptations - Bee's Knees and Flower Power

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Summary

Learning intentions

Students will...

Success criteria

Students can...

Lesson Guides and Printables

Lesson Details

Skills

Curriculum Mapping

Resources Required

UN Sustainable Development Goals

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