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Where would we bee without them?

Teacher guide Where would we bee without them?

TLF ID M020819

This is a unit of work about bees and their vital role in the food chain and in agricultural production. The unit supports primary students to understand the basic biology of bees and to differentiate between native bees and the introduced honey bees. The unit is divided into a number of activities that focus on: bee anatomy; pollination; the life cycle of the honey bee and the various roles in the hive. The unit concludes with a discussion of the risk posed by the Varroa mite and the importance of quarantine procedures to protect Australia hives from this destructive pest. The unit is accompanied by a video of the same title.

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Educational details

Educational value
  • This unit provides a valuable introduction to the life cycle of honey bees appropriate for the Science understanding strand of the Year 4 science curriculum. The illustrations are particularly valuabale in demonstrating the roles of different members of colony.
  • The activities highlight the mutally beneficial relationship between bees and plants in the environment and the discussion on the impact of the Varroa mite highlights the importance of the dependancy between bees and plants to the wider ecosystem.
  • The unit also provides opportunities to explore aspects of food production related to content descriptions in the design and technologies curriculum in years 5 and 6.
Year level

4; 5; 6

Topics Agriculture Food chains Beekeeping Animal reproduction Living things Bees Decomposition (Living things) Plant reproduction Breeding cycles Consumers (Food chains) Pollination Nectar Pollen Similarity (Classification)
Learning area
  • Science
  • Design and technologies

Other details

Contributors
  • Contributor
  • Name: Education Services Australia
  • Organization: Education Services Australia
  • Description: Data manager
  • Address: VIC, AUSTRALIA
  • URL: http://www.esa.edu.au/
  • Copyright Holder
  • Name: AgriFood Skills Australia
  • Organization: AgriFood Skills Australia
  • URL: http://www.agrifoodskills.net.au/
  • Publisher
  • Name: AgriFood Skills Australia
  • Organization: AgriFood Skills Australia
  • Description: Publisher
  • URL: http://www.agrifoodskills.net.au/
  • Resource metadata contributed by
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organisation: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Address: AUSTRALIA
  • URL: www.esa.edu.au
Access profile
  • Unknown
Learning Resource Type
  • Online
Rights
  • © AgriFood Skills Australia 2015. Except where indicated otherwise, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en