Table 1 Description of Bee Unit Activities and Learning Goals

Giant Flower: Students collect nectar from a single large flower visible from the beginning of the activity.

· Introduction to the difference between nectar and pollen

· Introduction to the goal of bees (i.e., to collect nectar and bring it back to the hive)

Bee Foraging Play: Students as bees find hidden flowers and collect nectar to bring back to the hive.

· Bees need to forage from multiple flower patches

· Different patches have different quality nectar

· Different patches are different distances and directions from the hive

Waggle Dance Play: The students invent their own waggle dance to tell each other where flowers are. Next the students watch the computer-controlled bees do the waggle dance to tell them where hidden flower patches are.

· Bees must communicate the direction, distance, and quality of flower patches to their fellow bees

· Bees need to organize themselves to send more bees to better flower patches

· Not every bee should go to the same flower patch to avoid potential disaster

Pollination Play: Some students pretend to be flowers and others pretend to be bees. Flowers that are not visited multiple times by bees carrying the right type of pollen die.

· Bees pick up pollen by accident and distribute it to other flowers as they forage for more nectar

· Flowers depend on pollination to produce offspring