Whats All The Buzz About

Mount Aloysius College

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Introduction Lesson Title: What’s All the Buzz About? Teacher Name: Ms. Mandi Skura Date Lesson is Taught: 10/12/20 Subject/Discipline: Science Grade Level: 2nd Grade Number of Students: 20 Allocated Instructional Time: 25 minutes Multiple Intelligences Addressed: Linguistic, Spatial, Naturalist Pennsylvania Common Core Standards or Early Learning Standards: • 1.3 2. J Acquire and use grade appropriate conversational, general academic, and domain specific words and phrases.

II.

Rationale and Background The purpose of this lesson is to teach students about the importance of bees on a local and worldwide level. Bees are a super-organism and without them; the human race could be in danger. Bees are so important, and students should recognize their importance because; 75% of our food crops come directly from the pollination from Bees. Bees are the only insect that produce goods directly for humans. Students should also experience this lesson to identify the many factors as to why the Bees are dying. These include: Colony Collapse Disorder, pesticides, and habitat loss. This lesson will meet the needs and relevance of the students’ lives by teaching them about the impact of Bees on their communities, their world, and their lives. The students are familiar with insects, Bees, and crops.

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Lesson Objectives TLWBAT: Talk about pictures and text using new vocabulary words or phrases. TLWBAT: Use new vocabulary when answering questions or describing situations or objects.

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Materials 1. Teacher Materials • Buzz Words i. Bulletin board 1

ii. Border iii. Word processor iv. Computer v. Printer vi. Construction paper • Book, What if There Were no Bees?, by Suzanne Slade • Smart Board • PowerPoint • World map • Creative Artwork i. White paper with lines at bottom ii. Pencils iii. Colored pencils iv. Crayons v. Markers • Buzz Word glossary i. Word processor ii. Printer iii. White paper iv. Created by teacher v. Staples vi. Stapler 2. Student Materials • Buzz Words i. Bulletin board ii. Border iii. Word processor iv. Computer v. Printer vi. Construction paper • Book, What if There Were no Bees?, by Suzanne Slade • Smart Board • PowerPoint • World map • Creative Artwork i. White paper with lines at bottom ii. Pencils iii. Colored pencils iv. Crayons v. Markers • Buzz Word glossary i. Word processor ii. Printer iii. White paper iv. Created by teacher v. Staples vi. Stapler

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V.

Procedures A. Introduction and Motivation To engage the students, I will introduce the wall of ‘Buzz Words’ for the week. Everyday, the list of Buzz Words will be added to. For the first lesson the Buzz Words will include: bees, habitat, and crops. Before I begin the lesson, the students and I will read each word from the word wall, come up with a definition, and then write it on the blackboard. After the students and I have gone over the Buzz Words, I will introduce and read to them a book entitled, What if There Were no Bees?, by Suzanne Slade. The book will introduce other new vocabulary and illustrations that offer context clues and insight to the importance of bees. During the reading, I will stop at each page and allow students to point out observations they are making, ask questions, and continue discussion. B. Lesson Body After reading to my students, I will introduce why Bees are dying throughout the world. I will make it a point that it is increasingly important for us, as humans, to make sure that we take care of the Bee population and support their ecosystems and environments. Some ways that Bees are dying include: Colony Collapse Disorder, pesticides, and habitat loss. I will define these terms and show them a PowerPoint including photographs. Furthermore, I will introduce a map to the students. I will explain to them that over the course of the Bee Unit, we will mark places that we learn that Bees live. At the end, we can see just how important they are to the world and all the places they impact by their help. To fully immerse the students into the ‘Buzz’ about bees; they will have an opportunity to be creative. At their desks, the students will be given a piece of white paper with the question ‘Why are Bees important to me?’ at the top and on the back ‘How can I help save the Bees?’. The students will be then be instructed to create a picture using various art mediums and then write one sentence at the bottom using their Buzz Words, vocabulary from the book, and vocabulary from the lesson discussion. After they complete their creative piece, the students will go around the room and showcase their artwork and talk about what they created. As the children create, I will have the song entitled, Flight of the Bumblebee, by Nikolai Rimsky Korsakov playing. Higher level questions to ask the students: 1. What are 3 ways that Bees are dying? (Remembering) 2. What are some other ways we can help to save the bees that we haven’t already discussed? (Creating)

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C. Simplification and Extensions 1. Gifted Child – instead of using the different mediums like pencils, markers, and crayons; these students can create their artwork with newspaper and magazine clippings and glue. They will also be instructed to write 2 sentences instead of 1. 2. Visually Impaired Child – allow this child to have their own copy of the book, sit them close to the front of the room, give them their own, smaller copy of the Buzz Words to have at their desk, and provide their artwork instructions in a bigger font size. 3. English Language Learners – find the appropriate equivalent to the Buzz Words in their native language, allow them to copy and learn them in both languages. Speak slowly so that the child can watch your lips, listen to your annunciation, speak loudly, and place the student at the front of the room. D. Closure/Conclusion To end lesson, I will call the students back over to the Buzz Word wall. Again, we will reach each term and make a definition based on what we have learned during the lesson. This time, they will copy down the definition into their ‘Buzz Word’ glossary which will be used later in the Unit. VI.

Home-School Connection/Homework Assignment/Independent Practice After the students share their creative piece, I will hang up their work on a clothesline with clothespins across the classroom. During the upcoming Parent/Teacher conferences, families can observe their children’s artwork. I will also post pictures of their artwork on our classroom website.

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Evaluation A. Student Assessment Formative Assessment: the students will show that they can talk about pictures and text using new vocabulary words or phrases and use new vocabulary when answering questions or describing situations or objects by creating their art piece that they will share with the class. Summative Assessment: the students will show that they can talk about pictures and text using new vocabulary words or phrases and use new vocabulary when answering questions or describing situations or objects by writing down their Buzz Words and their definitions. B. Reflective Practice/Self-Evaluation Reflect on your teaching experience and answer these questions: 4

1. What were two strengths of the lesson? 2. What are two areas of the lesson that need improvement? 3. What would I do differently, if I were to reteach this lesson?

4. What biases, if any, existed in the materials, activities, language, or interactions with children?

5. Did anything surprise me?

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