World Bee Day eltsustainable.org

20th May:

World Bee Day

Why are

Teacher'snotes

Bees Important?

This slide introduces the topic. Ask students to have a look at the photo and let them discuss the question in pairs. Feedback in groups. The second picture will appear after 60 seconds. Ask students to continue their discussion with this new information. Collect some vocabulary and interesting points mentioned. To avoid paper usage, open a word document on your projector if you don’t have a whiteboard. If you would like to create a mind-map you can use online tools such as https://app.mindmapmaker.org/#m:new. Share the files with your sts via dropbox or similar.

The bees

Teacher'snotes

are important for several reasons!

Students work in pairs or small groups to come up with a list of possible reasons, e.g. They are worried about their future the government isn't doing enough they are worried about polar bears When they watch the video, they check if these things are mentioned.

An illustration of what all honey bees, and a colony of honey bees, do for us in the UK each year. However, pollination is from all invertebrates, of which honey bees are a significant contributor.

You are going to watch a short video with the title: The case of the vanishing honeybees.

Teacher'snotes

What do you think this video is about? Make some predictions of potential causes.

Students work in small groups or pairs to discuss their ideas and note down some reasons. They can check if their predictions were right and their reasoning mentioned when watching the video.

Watch the Video and compare your ideas from the previous exercises with the ideas mentioned.

Teacher'snotes

This video has authentic language, but the speaker has a clear American accent. Students may not understand everything, but it is an excellent practice for their listening skills. The previous task has primed them to 'attack' the text. Praise them for what they do understand. A second listening may be needed, and you can pause the video to discuss the meaning and language with students on the second viewing. After viewing go back to the list of ideas they made and check if any were mentioned. You can also add other ideas the speakers mentioned.

Checkanswers!

Match the words to the definitions!

1. Dinosaur extinction is believed to have been caused by a meteorite impact.
2. Deforestation has caused tiger populations to dwindle in India.
3. Compared to humans ants are minuscule.
4. Once a bird is old enough it vacates its parent’s nest.
5. Overfishing causes fish populations to collapse.
6. Turtles lay their eggs on the same beach they hatched. After the big storm last night the beach town was left in disorder.
7. Dogs were domesticated from wolves a long time ago.

a) To break down completely b) to give up possession or occupancy of c) a coming to an end or dying out d) very small. e) to emerge from (the egg) f) to live in close association with human beings as a pet or work animal g) lack of order or regular arrangement; confusion: h) to become smaller and smaller; shrink; waste away

Activate the pencil and match!

TRUE or FALSE!

Checkanswers!

Put students in pairs or groups to discuss these statements and then check as a class. Encourage them to justify their answers. This tests comprehension for more detail. Answers:

1. False – In affected colonies, the food stores remain untouched.
2. False - Bees are farmed for their honey, but they also pollinate crops on an industrial scale, generating over 1/3 of America's food production this way.
3. True
4. False – One-third of food
5. True

1. In affected colonies there is no queen bee.

2. Colony collapse disorder will only affect the price of honey.

3. Humans have domesticated bees since the 1600s.

4. Honeybees generate over one fourth of food in the United States by pollinating crops.

5. Pesticides are chemicals used by farmers to protect their crops from pests.

Fill in the gaps!

Checkanswers!

Put students in pairs or groups to discuss these statements and then check as a class. Encourage them to justify their answers. This tests comprehension for more detail. Answers: 6. queen 7. Pesticides 8. Extinction 9. minuscule; pest

6. The ___ is the core of a healthy hive.

queen

7. _____ damage the honeybees' homing abilities.

Pesticides

8. Domesticated honeybees aren't necessarily in danger of _______

extinction

9. The Varroa mite, a ______ red _____ that not only invades colonies and feeds on bees, but also transfers pathogens.

minuscule, pest

Some BEE talk!

Are there particularly important crops that you think should be protected especially from the effects of colony collapse disorder? Why is it necessary for scientists to consider all the possible causes of colony collapse disorder? What could be the value of wild bees in this scenario?

queen

Teacher's notes

Ask students to answer the questions in pairs, now that they have collected a lot more information about bees. If they find the questions really challenging encourage them to research more into the topic.

SAVE OUR BEES!

Teacher's notes

This is a freer discussion about how to protect the bees. Accept all answers but ask students to give reasons. Ask students to collect ideas in small groups and present them to each other afterward. Potential homework – Write a letter to the government/school to suggest measurements to be taken on a small and big scale. This completes the lesson but if you would like to know more about bees and how to protect them, look up #worldbeeday on Twitter and Instagram. There are many great infographics on this site. Discuss in a group where you could use them and who would benefit from seeing them. https://www.worldbeeday.org/en/toolkit.html

Thank you for participating!

eltsustainable.org

Lesson plan by Owain Llewellyn

aliceinmethodologyland.com

Digital material by Milica Vukadin

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