Inquiring Into Bees
On this page you will find resources and curriculum connections to help you lead students through an inquiry unit on bees and the role they play in nature. Bees are important to the Mi’kmaq because they are integral to the health of the environment. Plants used for food and medicine need bees to survive. This project was inspired by a Bee project done in Wagmatcook First Nation. This video comes from the Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources.
What is Inquiry?
Inquiry is the result of human beings’ wonderings and curiosities about the natural or constructed world (Barell, 2008; Krauss, 2013). Our natural inquisitiveness is the driving force to ask questions and formulate means of authentic learning, and it is this inquisitiveness and passion that moves us forward (Krauss, 2013; The National Science Foundation, ND; Pahomov, 2014) and pushes our ability to think in critical, creative and divergent ways (Bateman, 1990; Krauss, 2013). IBL is a student-centred learning process that emphasizes the importance of motivating students to engage in and learn through the process of purposeful experiential investigations and research in order to better understand the world (Abuhimed, Beheshti, Cole, AlGhamdi & Lamoureux, 2013; Galileo Educational Network, 1999-2014; Kanter & Konstantopoulos, 2010; Prince, 2004; Rusche & Jason, 2011). Inquiry invites children to explore questions of interest to them related to a given topic. Through inquiry, students can cover a large number of curriculum outcomes through authentically exploring a topic of relevance to them.
Why Inquire into Bees?
Bees are essential to the health of the environment and for food and medicines. Given recent concern about the loss of bee populations, it is important for students to understand the role bees play in our environment and how humans can help bees to survive and thrive.
How do I Connect this to Curriculum?
Teachers are encouraged to use the Inquiry Project Details below for the appropriate grade. These projects include links to provincial Mathematics (WNCP), Science, Social, English Language Arts, Mi’kmaq Language, and other content area outcomes. These guides also contain examples of essential questions that can be used to start an inquiry project on bead work. There are also suggestions about how the bead work inquiry fits within various units within the curricula.
Resources coming…
Links to Information about Bees
National Geographic KidsAnimalsHoneybees
