Third graders study bees
by Josie Robins, Lower School assistant head
Students share lessons learned on bees with lawmakers and schoolmates.
Third graders spent eight weeks on a unit called "Bee Aware." The large goals of "Bee Aware" were to investigate what makes a system, what happens when part of a system doesn't work, and whether they have an effect on the systems around them.
Students learned bees are crucial to our current food system as they pollinate a third of the food in our grocery stores.
Students learned bees are crucial to our current food system as they pollinate a third of the food in our grocery stores.
After learning bees have been declining in population since 2005 for a number of reasons such as pesticides, loss of habitat, and a disease called "Colony Collapse Disorder," all the students decided they wanted to do something to help the bees; they wanted not just to learn, but also to connect their learning with action in ways that could affect the system. This idea of linking learning with action is a goal to meet the needs of 21st-century learners.
Eighteen groups of four students each worked together "like bees in a hive" to create a project of their own choosing. Some groups spread awareness by selling honey, others wrote letters to government officials requesting a ban on some pesticides, while other groups made T-shirts or clay bees. One group presented to kindergartners how to stay calm when they see a bee. Two groups also met with State Sen. Steve Dickerson, also a USN parent, to hand him a poster and letter they made about bees.
The idea for this pilot came out of a Future of Learning conference that emphasized the need to make the learning experience for kids meaningful, relevant to their lives, and to have room for action.
Originally, students thought "Bee Aware" was chosen as the name of the unit because bees could sting you; now they know the world needs to bee aware of the plight of bees.
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Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: 615-321-8000
Fax: 615-321-0889
Email: info@usn.org
River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218
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University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.