Bee Lesson Plans
What the Bees Need: Pollinator Nesting Phenology (Grades 6-12)
This lesson brings real native pollinator data into your classroom! Students will improve their graphing and quantitative skills by exploring citizen science-generated data from the University of Colorado’s Bees’ Needs program. The lesson explores the phenology, or timing, of native pollinator nesting behavior and the environmental factors that trigger this behavior. It also incorporates the concepts of variation in populations and natural selection, as well as the effect climate change is having on species-environment relationships.
Insect Pollinator Diversity: Activity Cards and Bee Bingo ( 6-12)
This activity is a fun way for students to explore the amazing diversity of bees and wasps. Students are given incomplete pollinator species cards that they must fill out before moving on to the next activity. Using the ScienceLIVE website students can research their species and complete the needed information regarding it's natural history and ecology. Once completed they will use the species cards in an educational game of "Pollinator Bingo".
Build a Pollinator: Bee and Flower Anatomy (Grades 3-8)
This is a fun way to explore pollination and the complexity of the relationship between the flower and the pollinator. Students will learn the anatomy of a flower through (fake) flower dissection, learn about the anatomy of a bee, and create their own bee out of art and craft supplies. Looking at simulated flowers they can reflect on what draws the pollinator to the flower, how the pollinator accesses its reward, and how the pollinator collects pollen while visiting the flower.
