Bee Investigations

In fifth grade, the big idea extends the study of environments and insects studied in previous grades. Students seek to understand the importance of pollinators, the causes of the decline of the bee population, and how they can advocate for bees. Research is conducted using videos by a professor of entomology at the University of Minnesota that specializes in native bees. Bee labs from the university are also utilized. Students view Queen of the Sun to learn about the decline of the bees and how it affects people and other organisms. Comparisons are made between bees and wasps and students learn from daily science readings. For the fair, students produce Adobe Spark videos to share their new learning. After the fair, they will be writing advocacy letters to further share their insights.