Rvw #2 Please Pass the Pollen

I recently completed the second presentation of this highly engaging, outdoor lab - and feel strongly that I need to post a revised review of my experience. I began the lesson by using bla... See More

I recently completed the second presentation of this highly engaging, outdoor lab - and feel strongly that I need to post a revised review of my experience. I began the lesson by using black pipe cleaners and dry yellow tempera paint to allow my middle school students the opportunity to visualize the actual process and amount of time a bee invests into their labor of pollination. We placed the tempera flowerbeds on first, second, and third bases of a baseball diamond. Home base was the beehive where the pollen was deposited. Needless to say the lively discussion that followed reflected on the immense distance traveled compared to the small amount of pollen gathered and deposited. Students also conducted research about the current collapse of hives throughout our nation, drew cycles to illustrate the types of bees and their jobs in a colony, along with the step by step process it takes bees to gather a tiny portion of pollen on their bodies. After students obtained a strong base knowledge of bees, their curiosity was lit and they were able to appreciate and understand the data they were collecting. Knowledge, patience, compassion, and cooperative learning skills all showed an immense amount of growth!

5-8 Pollinators Math/Science

I wanted to find this chapter useful for middle schooll students - but this is definitely a home schooled or online student activity! The suggestion of taking your students (25-30) outdoors... See More

I wanted to find this chapter useful for middle schooll students - but this is definitely a home schooled or online student activity! The suggestion of taking your students (25-30) outdoors to quietly observe insects during their pollination process - and tallying the number of visits is beyond what you could ask of almost any middle school student.