Lesson Plan

Beekeepers and Scientists Join Forces to Protect the Pollinators

Overview

This nine-minute video explores colony collapse disorder, which scientists first identified in the 2000s. The phenomenon has caught the public’s attention. So did a fact few realized: honeybees play an integral role in the national food supply. One result of awareness about colony collapse disorder is a new concern and respect for the honeybee. This lesson plan moves beyond concern for the agricultural importance of honeybees to explore the role that pollinators play in ecosystems. Students will learn how pollinators support the sexual reproduction of plants and healthy ecosystems.

Lesson Plan: Beekeepers and Scientists Join Forces to Protect the PollinatorsStudent Activity: Beekeepers and Scientists Join Forces to Protect the PollinatorsCollection: Environmental Education

Objectives

Students will:

  • Analyze text structure and apply their knowledge.
  • Evaluate descriptive writing and select passages that support the thesis.
  • Evaluate graph data to write a Claim Evidence Reason (CER) paragraph.
Subjects
  • Environment
  • Social Studies
  • Science
Topics
  • AP Environmental Science
  • Environment
  • The Environment and Natural Resources
  • Human Geography
For Teachers

Essential Questions

  • What is colony collapse disorder and how has it affected bee populations?
  • Why are honeybees essential to agriculture?
  • What role do pollinators play in their habitat and ecosystem? What role do they play in sexual reproduction?

Additional Resources

Transcript for "Beekeepers and Scientists Join Forces to Protect the Pollinators"Retro Report 
Helping Agriculture's Helpful Honey BeesFood and Drug Administration 
Insect Pollination – Much More Than Just About Our FoodBee Safe 
Biology of Plants: Pollinators (text and diagram)Missouri Botanical Garden 
Pollinators need you. You need pollinators.Pollinator Partnership 
Focus on Native Bees, Not Honey BeesCool Green Science 

Standards (Common Core State Standards)

Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative, connotative and technical meanings.

Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas.

Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection and research.

Standards (AP Environmental Science)

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