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In this lesson, students will be able to focus on exploring different bees species’ nesting sites and practices and how unique adaptations help bees survive in a variety of settings.
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Click and watch this teacher preparation video to help you understand how to teach this lesson. Here is a YouTube link of the teacher video for your reference: https://youtu.be/uWAJ2vvPT50
Building with Bees Bee Nests Teacher
Students will be able to list and describe the three types of bee nests
Students will be able to differentiate between physical and behavioural adaptations
Students will be able to describe how disturbances can help and hurt bee nests
Students will be able to recognize the role of environmental pressures and disturbances in driving adaptation
Communication
Creativity
Project Based Learning
This project was developed with the American Beekeeping Federation’s Kids and Bees program. Explore three new worlds, created by Lifeboat, and use new lessons to introduce students to bees' dynamic and fascinating roles in their own hives and in broader ecosystems. “Bee Nests” is Lesson 3/3 for the Beetopia World.
What is an adaptation?
What can bee nests tell us about adaptations?
Let the class know that in this lesson, they’ll be exploring lots of different kinds of bee homes to learn about adaptations in different bee species. Remind the class that an adaptation is something that helps an organism survive; adaptations can be behavioral (something that an animal does) or structural/physical (a specialized body part that an animal has). Adaptations develop very slowly, as certain individuals survive and reproduce, while others die, eventually allowing a species to become better and better suited to survival in a particular environment. Remind students that the first bee existed 120 million years ago, and that today there are more than 20,000 species of bees worldwide, each with its own special adaptations!
Describe the three kinds of bee nesting habits: cavity, tunnel, and ground. Hand out one copy of the “Bee Nests: Comparing Adaptations” worksheet to each student. Explain that you are going to show examples of each of these kinds of nests, and ask students to make close observations and notes about what they see, filling in one line of the chart for each example. Be sure to number the examples and have students write the number at the beginning of each row so they can compare their observations. Pause between each example to give students time to fill in their answers. To help students answer the second question (“What kinds of environmental conditions might encourage the bees to build their nests this way?”), pose questions such as: “If there were no trees in an environment, where would a bee choose to make her nest?” and “If an environment was extremely hot, where would a bee want to live?”
After each example, invite students to compare their answers in pairs, small groups, or as a whole class. Ask students to defend their reasoning about whether the adaptation is an example of a physical or behavioral adaptation.
Show at least one example from each of the three nesting types. If showing only one example from each type, the starred ones are the recommended choices.
Cavity Nesting Bees
Tunnel Nesting Bees
Ground Nesting Bees
Direct students to load the Kids and Bees Minecraft world and go to the Beetopia area. If you haven’t completed Lesson 2: Life Cycle of a Colony, tell students to talk to the NPC Bee Girl, who will introduce Beekeeper Sarah. Sarah will teach the students about what a bee colony needs to survive, and about the challenges bees face.
Please download the teacher's guide from the "Supporting Resources" section for the complete lesson.
Total time - 80-130 minutes
This lesson will enable students to:
List and describe the three types of bee nests
Differentiate between physical and behavioural adaptations
Describe how disturbances can help and hurt bee nests
Honey Bees in a Hive image: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ee0074a979d8a04d59d9f7d/t/5ee7c00945a1d73fa273cc86/1592246306797/IMG_1346.JPG
Honey Bees in a tree image: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ee0074a979d8a04d59d9f7d/t/5ee8043854dba3178d1133b6/1592263754808/dreamstime_m_107988278.jpg
Queen Bee vs. Mouse video: https://www.britannica.com/video/180427/queen-bee-nest-site-hole-mouse
Leafcutter Bees Flying in Slow Motion, Carrying Leaves & Pollen YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4U2xRs1mpY
Watch This Bee Build Her Bee-jeweled Nest YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPbH1YhsdP8
Mason Bee Nesting in a Snail Shell YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-mAM0P5SrA
Ground Bees YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_t5KaBbEtU
Sweat Bees image: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ee0074a979d8a04d59d9f7d/t/5ee804526a0793583026eaa7/1592263762200/sweat+bees.jpg
Burrowing Bees YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u0JtJUoYpA
Check out the Tips & Tricks video playlist that will help you and your students better use Minecraft: Education Edition in the classroom:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkh9rrdH-ARER03ojhFYtmoFDVuACYJLa
More videos added periodically so make sure you check often for more content!
Click and watch the student pause and play video with your class, pausing and playing as needed. This will help your students understand how to navigate through this lesson and Minecraft world and complete the activities located within them. Enjoy!
Check out the YouTube link for your reference: https://youtu.be/Cc_Rc6yyuME
Building with Bees Bee Nests Student
208-5 state a prediction and a hypothesis based on background information or an observed pattern of events
208-2 identify questions to investigate arising from practical problems and issues
209-1 carry out procedures controlling the major variables
211-2 communicate questions, ideas, intentions, plans, and results, using lists, notes in point form, sentences, data tables, graphs, drawings, oral language, and other means
211-5 defend a given position on an issue or problem on the basis of their findings