Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Introduction

40 minutes

Part A: Are bees in danger?

30 minutes

Part B: The effect as a whole

20 minutes

Part C: Planet, people, profit...and bees

20 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions

Students will...

understand the various threats faced by bees and their effects on ecosystems.
explore the social, environmental, and economic impacts of declining bee populations.

Success criteria:

Students can...

Students canidentify and explain a specific threat faced by bees and present their findings to peers.

Introduction

Step 1

Start the lesson by reinforcing the impact that bees as pollinators have on the production of food. As a class, watch the video that features Beechworth Honey beekeeper Steven Goldsworthy taking a visit to a local kiwi fruit farm to explore the vital role bees play in pollinating the kiwi fruit.

Pollinating Australia's Fresh Produce - Beechworth Honey (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fw4Y6N_b5yA)

After watching the video, conduct a short class discussion using the following points;

Share one thing you have learned from the clip.
Share one thing that surprised you from the clip.
Share one word that sums up how you feel about bees.

Step 2

Next, project on the wall or print the picture below of 'food produced with the help of bees' that features a table full of fresh fruit and vegetables which have been produced with the help of bees. Lead a quick class discussion about what students see in the picture and ask students to tell the class what they wonder about the picture.

I wonder what types of food are in this picture?
I wonder what the foods need to grow?
I wonder how important food actually is?

If your class finds whole-class discussion challenging, you could run this first section of the lesson in a silent circle, with a piece of butcher's paper and some textas in the middle. When students would like to contribute, they could go the paper and write their thoughts and/or observations down rather than say them out loud, and you could lead a discussion to reflect on what students have written once their contributions are exhausted.

Step 3

Project on the wall or print the picture of 'food produced without the help of bees' for students to observe and consider. The picture is an illustration of the limited amount of food that would be available if bees were not around to act as pollinators.

Ask students to articulate their observations in either a class discussion or using the butcher's paper in the middle of a circle.

If required, you could guide the class to consider:

I wonder what happened to the food?
I wonder if bees are linked to the food disappearing?
I wonder what would happen to people and animals if we couldn't grow different foods?

Inform students that the remainder of the lesson will be devoted to finding out about what might cause bees to disappear, and making connections between the threats to bees and what the flow-on effects might just be.

Part A: Are bees in danger?

Explain to the class that the next section of the lesson will focus on learning about the different threats faced by bees. Discuss how bees around the world, including in Australia, are in serious trouble. Overuse of pesticides and herbicides are causing bees to become more vulnerable to disease and pests. Modern agriculture practices and urbanisation is greatly reducing bee habitat and food sources. As a result scientists are seeing large declines in bee populations. This poses a threat not only for our food production but our environment as a whole.

Step 1

Using the jigsaw classroom method, students collaborate to find out about the threats faced by bees. Start by dividing students into four-person jigsaw groups. Groups could be mixed ability, and one student from each group could be nominated by you or the group as the leader. It may be useful to ensure that the leader is a mature student with well-developed leadership skills. It may also be useful to have a class discussion to agree on the protocols for effective group work, as they will be required to work collaboratively throughout this lesson.

Invite students to sit in their groups around a table, or in a small circle.

Step 2.

Provide groups with the Bees Under Threat Factsheet. The factsheet has been separated into four different segments (each focusing on a different threat to bees' survival). Assign one section of the factsheet to each student to read so that they have one threat each. At this stage of the lesson, make sure students only focus on their own section. Allow students time to read over their section at least twice and become familiar with it (there's no need for students to memorise it). Students could use a highlighter or pencil to identify any words or phrases that they require clarification about. They could also paraphrase the information as they are reading it as a means of comprehending it more effectively. This section of the activity also lends itself to other reading comprehension strategies you may be implementing with your class.

Step 3

Once students have read and understood their information, ask them to move to sit in temporary 'expert groups' - one student from each jigsaw group should join other students assigned the same information. They will work in these groups to summarise and expand their understanding of the information they read, then practice a short presentation they will give once they return to their jigsaw groups.

Give students in these expert groups time to discuss the main points of what they read. You could suggest to students that they use the 'summarisation' comprehension strategy (wherein students identify Who, What, Where, When and Why within the information they read) to demonstrate their understanding of the information they have read. This may help them identify the key information. Students should write any notes they require on their information sheet. Once they have discussed and summarised the information they read, students should spend some time rehearsing what they will present back to their jigsaw group. Students can record their notes on the Student Worksheet.

Step 4

Ask students to return to their jigsaw groups. Invite students to present what they learned about the specific threat to bees. The others in the group should be encouraged to ask questions for clarification. It may be useful for you to circulate between groups, observing the process. If you notice that any group is having trouble (e.g., a member is dominating or disruptive), encourage students to remind each other about what the requirements of the activity are. It may also be useful to encourage the group leader to handle this task by whispering an instruction on how to intervene.

Step 5

Ask each group to have a quick discussion about the following questions:

Which do you think is the most serious threat?
Are there any similarities to the cause of the threats?
What might the cumulative impact of all the threats be?
How might the impact of all the threats be reduced?

Part B: The effect as a whole - 'What if' thinker's key and effects wheel

This part of the lesson encourages students to connect their knowledge of bees as pollinators, the effect of bees on food production and the repercussions of a decrease in the bee population as a result of the threats explored in the previous step. Students will be working together to create an Effects Wheel - this will help to apply and extend their understanding of the impacts of a shrinking bee population as well as encourage students to employ analytical thinking.

Step 1

Students could choose to stay in the same groups or select a new group of classmates to work with. Share with the class that they will work collaboratively in their groups to create a diagram that considers some of the more far-reaching effects of diminishing bee populations. Give each class member a copy of the Effects Wheel Template.

Students could work collaboratively in small groups during this part of the lesson, but they should aim to create one Effects Wheel each.

Step 2.

Once students are in groups, ask students to phrase the threats faced by bees as their own 'What If...?' question. Students should come up with a question each.

E.g. 'What if all plants contained traces of neonics?' or 'What if people do not plant flowering plants?'

Once students have come up with a 'What If...?' question relating to a threat to bees, ask them to write it into the centre of their Effects Wheel.

Step 3.

Invite students to brainstorm the immediate effects the question raises about the issue and write these in the first layer of circles. If possible, students could fill in the third and fourth layers of circles to illustrate the flow-on effect of the threats faced by bee populations. The final product could look something like this:

If students are finding this activity difficult, you could complete an Effects Wheel as a class in order to model the requirements. You could also encourage groups to engage in conversation around the immediate and flow-on effects of the 'What If...?' questions as a small group.

This activity is also a great opportunity for formative assessment. You could assess whether students have a clear understanding of the threats bees face, and the importance of having a healthy, thriving bee population. Consider the skills students are illustrating throughout this activity, including the persistent mindset students are required to adopt in order to complete the task.

You could conclude this lesson by foreshadowing the next lesson, which focuses on some of the ways that the class and the local community can work together to ensure the survival of bees - all is not lost!

The Effects Wheel could be an addition to the bee wall display created in this lesson. The Effects Wheel could be attached to the wall around the images of bees, connecting visually to the organisms they impact upon.

Part C: People, planet, profit...and bees.

Step 1

The issues resulting from a decline in bee populations won't just affect our environment. There are also a number of social and economic implications. A change in bee populations could affect the earth's natural systems, the social systems that we live in, and economic systems - these systems could be referred to as People, Planet and Profit.

Introduce the concepts of Planet, People and Profit to the class by explaining that:

You could write the definitions above on the board so that students can refer to them throughout the rest of this activity.

Step 2

Draw a 3-circled Venn diagram on the whiteboard, and give each circle a heading: Planet, People or Profit. Draw a picture of a bee in the very middle of the Venn diagram. Ask students to think about the different ways that bees impact upon Planet, People and Profit, and fill up each circle with students' suggestions.

Step 3

Ask students to look at the Effects Wheel they created in Part C of this lesson. For each of the effects they listed, students should draw a symbol next to it to indicate whether Planet, People or Profit (or multiple categories) are impacted. Students could draw a blue circle to represent Planet, a stick figure to represent People and a $ sign to represent Profit. Some of the effects they have identified in their Effects Wheel may link to more than one category.

Step 4

Students may now have more ideas about the flow-on effects of their "What if...?" question - they could add them to their Effects Wheel and indicate whether they impact Planet, People or Profit.

Reflection

1. Students complete the Colour-Symbol-Image visible thinking tool on the Student Worksheet.

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 watch this clip online, and then create their own stop-motion or drawing video based on their Effects Wheel.

Provisional Learning Support: Ensure that students are in mixed-ability groups throughout this lesson. You could coordinate groups so that they discuss issues and their work in a way that ensures each student engages during group work. You could suggest that the groups hear from every group member at least once during each discussion.

What Are The Threats?

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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

Additional Info

Related Professional Learning

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