Love Food? Love Bees! - Bees, Pollination and Food

Australian curriculum content descriptions:

Year 5 Science:

• Living things have structural features and adaptations that help them to survive in their environment (ACSSU043)

Year 5 English:

• Clarify understanding of content as it unfolds in formal and informal situations, connecting ideas to students’ own experiences and present and justify a point of view (ACELY1699)
• Use comprehension strategies to analyse information, integrating and linking ideas from a variety of print and digital sources (ACELY1703)
• Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive print and multimodal texts, choosing text structures, language features, images and sound appropriate to purpose and audience (ACELY1704)

Year 5 HASS – Economics and business:

• Types of resources (natural, human, capital) and the ways societies use them to satisfy the needs and wants of present and future generations (ACHASSK120)
• Influences on consumer choices and methods that can be used to help make informed personal consumer and financial choices (ACHASSK121)

Year 5 Mathematics:

• Solve problems involving multiplication of large numbers by one- or two-digit numbers using efficient mental, written strategies and appropriate digital technologies (ACMNA100)
• Solve problems involving division by a one digit number, including those that result in a remainder (ACMNA101)
• Use efficient mental and written strategies and apply appropriate digital technologies to solve problems (ACMNA291)

Year 6 Science:

• The growth and survival of living things are affected by physical conditions of their environment (ACSSU094)

Year 6 English:

• Use comprehension strategies to interpret and analyse information and ideas, comparing content from a variety of textual sources including media and digital texts (ACELY1713)
• Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive texts, choosing and experimenting with text structures, language features, images and digital resources appropriate to purpose and audience (ACELY1714)

Year 6 HASS – Economics and business:

• The effect that consumer and financial decisions can have on the individual, the broader community and the environment (ACHASSK150)

Year 6 Mathematics:

• Select and apply efficient mental and written strategies and appropriate digital technologies to solve problems involving all four operations with whole numbers (ACMNA123)

General capabilities: Ethical Understanding, Personal and Social Capability

Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability OI.1, OI.2, OI.3

Relevant parts of Year 5 English achievement standards: When reading, students encounter and decode unfamiliar words using phonic, grammatical, semantic and contextual knowledge. They listen and ask questions to clarify content. Students create texts for different purposes and audiences. They contribute actively to class and group discussions, taking into account other perspectives.

Relevant parts of Year 5 HASS achievement standards: Recognise that choices need to be made when allocating resources. They describe factors that influence their choices as consumers and identify strategies that can be used to inform these choices. 

Relevant parts of Year 5 Science achievement standards: Analyse how the form of living things enables them to function in their environments.

Relevant parts of Year 5 Maths achievement standards: Students solve simple problems involving the four operations using a range of strategies.

Relevant parts of Year 6 English achievement standards: Students select and use evidence from a text to explain their response to it. They listen to discussions, clarifying content and challenging others’ ideas. Students create detailed texts elaborating on key ideas for a range of purposes and audiences. They make presentations and contribute actively to class and group discussions, using a variety of strategies for effect.

Relevant parts of Year 6 HASS achievement standards: Explain why it is important to be informed when making consumer and financial decisions.

Relevant parts of Year 6 Science achievement standards: Describe and predict the effect of environmental changes on individual living things.

Relevant parts of Year 6 Maths achievement standards: Solve problems involving all four operations with whole numbers.

Unit of work: Love Food? Love Bees!

Time required: 90 mins.

Level of teacher scaffolding: Medium – facilitate class discussion.

• Student Worksheet – one copy per student OR computers/tablets to access the online worksheet
• Chalk-Talk Visible Thinking Tool print-out (one per group)
• Learning about bees – maths questions
• Glue or sticky tape,  Blu-Tack, sticky-notes
• Hive of Reflection print-out. Projector and speakers

This lesson is designed to build students’ competencies in the following skills:

• Critical thinking
• Collaboration
• Communication
• Ethical understanding
• Social Skills

This lesson has been created in partnership with ACT for Bees. ACT for Bees is a not-for-profit organisation taking action to preserve these essential pollinators, ensuring a food-secure future.