Patrick Harman
LESSON PLAN
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
LESSON ORGANISATION
Year Level: 4 Time: 9:00 am Date: 25/10/19 Students’ Prior Knowledge:
Living things can be grouped on the basis of
Learning Area: Science and Technology observable features and can be distinguished from non-
living things
From previous lesson students have learnt there are
social bees and solitary bees both with unique life
cycles. Native bees in Western Australia are almost all
solitary, singles and docile.
Strand/Topic from the Australian Curriculum Students have also been informed that the bees
Design Technologies and Processes and Production skill pollinate many of the crops that we eat ( one third of
Generate, develop, and communicate design ideas and the food we eat).
decisions using appropriate technical terms and graphical
representation techniques (ACTDEP015)
Science Understandings
Living things have life cycles (ACSSU072)
General Capabilities (that may potentially be covered in the lesson)
Literacy Numeracy ICT Critical and Ethical Personal and Intercultural
competence creative thinking behaviour Social understanding
competence
Cross-curriculum priorities (may be addressed in the lesson)
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia Sustainability
histories and cultures
Proficiencies:(Mathematics only)
Lesson Objectives (i.e. anticipated outcomes of this lesson, in point form beginning with an action verb)
As a result of this lesson, students will be able to:
Create an annotated drawing of a bee hotel.
Predict what will happen if the bees are unable to find a home to raise their young.
Collaborate with group to find a solution to the design brief issue.
Teacher’s Prior Preparation/Organisation: Provision for students at educational risk:
Bee suit and school staff member to wear suit. Enable: Collaborative learning, weaker students in
Prepare seesaw file for Hand drawn/ digitally drawn group with medium and high achieving students.
pictures to be uploaded. Extend: Students who are working well can be asked
Thinking Hats slide and A3 posters. to draw their concepts to scale with some teacher
Butchers paper assistance.
Crayons Special needs: ASD students given a personal step by
Websites QR codes step guide on what they need to do.
Bee books ADHD students carefully paired with positive group
leaders to help guide them.
Design session can be extended to allow students
more time
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LESSON EVALUATION (to be completed AFTER the lesson)
Assessment of Lesson Objective and Suggestions for Improvement:
Teacher self-reflection and self-evaluation:
[OFFICIAL USE ONLY] Comments by classroom teacher, HOPP, supervisor:
LESSON DELIVERY (attach worksheets, examples, marking key, etc, as relevant)
Resources/References
Time Lesson two follows lesson one: the life cycle of bees and native bees.
Align these with the
9.00 Motivation and Introduction: segment where they will
be introduced.
Bee ambassador enters the room and presents design brief saying: “the
kingdom of honey needs your help! Our children are running out of places to Bee costume
live. We need you to build us a home (OI.5) and place it in your backyard so
our population can continue to grow and pollinate your flowers to produce Design brief
your food”(OI.1, OI.2 and OI.3).
Teacher then follows up with “we need to know the needs of our local bees”
Bee ambassador: “Our local bees need a home to grow our younger bees.
Most of us Perth local bees do not build hives we need to burrow little holes
into the timber, bamboo or clay. Some of us can make our own holes some us
rely on others make the holes for us. Once we have the hole, we can make a
comfortable home for family and in a few days out comes our children ready
to repeat the process. Have to go now but I’ll be back for questions later.”
9.10 Lesson Steps (Lesson content, structure, strategies & Key Questions):
Introduce the design brief and discuss “Native bees are losing their homes in
the bush due to land clearing. We need to build more places for these native
bees to live, in our backyards, what do we think will happen if the bees run out
of places to live?”
Ask students to discuss the life cycle of a bee and present to teacher on their
white boards. Teacher can then visually rub out the reproduction part
breaking the cycle.
Read through design brief
Hand out design brief
Do we have any new words we can add to the hexagon word wall? Building
9.15 on lesson one learning new words relating to bees.
Students are in pre-determined Kagan structured groups with balance of
ability students.
Thinking hats discussion:
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Teacher explains: “We now need to think about what we know about the
topic. Each hat has their own style of thinking you must stick to that style of
Thinking A3 posters
thinking. The hat and its style are in the top right corner of the A3 paper.”
Run through an example: “If the topic was ice cream, a white hat thinking Think hat slide on screen
would be, we know ice cream is cold and yummy…” Teacher can continue
with an example for each, emphasising the point a black hat could not write
the ice cream is yummy, they would have to write ice cream has a lot of
sugar.
Ask 3 students to repeat back the instructions.
Teacher explains the topic: “Building a native bee hotel”
six A3 pieces of paper are distributed, one per group each piece of
paper has a different title:
White Hat: Facts what do we know about the native bees? What do they need
to survive? Where do they live? What questions do we have for the bee
ambassador?
Black Hat: What are the difficulties about this task?
Green Hat: How can we build the bee hotel differently? How can we improve
the design? Can Bees hotels have pools, gardens or be built like a castle?
Red Hat: How do I feel about the project?
Yellow Hat: What are the good things about this project?
Blue Hat: What have I learnt from questioning this topic?
Each A3 paper representing a hat way of thinking circulates around the room
for each turn to apply each style of thinking.
9.30 Teacher talks through the different poster of each hat that the class has done
together. Science groups slide on
Highlight some the important questions we have as a class for the bee screen
ambassador when she returns.
Address any misconceptions that may have appeared.
Separate class into science groups
Assign class into pre-determined groups, based around people that work well
and can challenge and help each other.
Teacher puts up a few different annotated concept bee hotels, such as bee
hotel built like a hotel or one designed out of old big computer monitors. Butchers paper
Teacher models a concept design he has prepared showing a bee hotel Crayons
looking like a castle with room for flowers close to the entrance. Slide on screen of goals
The teacher explains: “In your science groups you are to use the bee books, for session.
websites and design brief to inform you what you need to include in your bee
hotel”. The first session objectives are:
9.45 1. Students discuss how they want the bee hotel to look drawing
different concept ideas,
2. what materials they will need to build the hotel,
3. and what questions they still have for the bee ambassador.
Teacher monitors class to ensure each group has one or two question to ask
the bee ambassador.
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Lesson Closure:(Review lesson objectives with students)
9.55 Bee ambassador returns
Teacher then asks for the group to stand and talk through different features of
their designs of a bee hotel.
Teacher also askes probing questions about the ideas of the group.
Bee ambassador then answers any questions the class has and thanks
everyone on their hard work. Students take photos of
Transition: (What needs to happen prior to the next lesson?) their work on ipads and
Students upload work to seesaw via iPads. upload to seesaw.
Place design brief under desk mats
Assessment: (Were the lesson objectives met? How will these be judged?)
Teacher will assess the student’s ability to draw a concept drawing with
annotated notes, taking in the considerations of the design brief.
Teacher will ask students to write a prediction on what will happen if the bees
do not have a home to raise their young, as an exit ticket.
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Appendix 1. Websites QR
Aussie Bees ABC Bee Hotel
Appendix 2. Bee Books
A GUIDE TO NATIVE BEES OF AUSTRALIA
Written by Terry Houston.
Published by CSIRO Publishing, 2018.
ISBN: 9781486304066
BEES OF AUSTRALIA: A Photographic Exploration
Written by James Dorey.
Published by CSIRO Publishing, 2018
ISBN: 9781486308491
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Lesson Program for STEM project Bee Hotel
Lesson one
The lesson focus is learning about how bees like other living things have life cycles and depend
on their environment to survive. How unique native bees are and their importance to pollination
of crops (1/3 of the food we eat) and to the longevity of other plants.
Lesson two (Lesson plan above)
This lesson touches on the learning in the previous lesson and is the first lesson for the students
to start being creative drawing annotated concept designs for how they are going to build their
bee hotel. The students are introduced to their group members and are given time to research the
needs of the native bees.
Lesson three
Students are treated to an excursion of the local Yellagonga National Park (Lake Joondalup)
where they are shown the relationships between different living things. Students are taught about
the UN Development Goals and goal 15 life on land: Biodiversity.
Lesson four
Students learn the design process and plan out the next steps they need to take in order to reach a
deadline. Students can also use this time to continue their research and concept designs.
Lesson five
Students revisit their concept designs and consider how to build their bee hotel in a sustainable
way. Here students visit Tamala Park Refuse centre to see how landfill is managed and the
thrown away item that can be given a second life as a bee hotel.
Lesson six
Students begin to build the bee hotel with parents and staff help at school. Students learn about
the differences in materials and what is best for their bee hotel.
Lesson seven
Students revisit their design plans and review their plan, completing a reflection on the end
results, what they enjoyed about the project and areas they could improve. Students also take
home their bee hotels and record bee interaction with the bee hotel.
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References
Australian Broadcasting Cooperation. (2017). Bee Hotel. Retrieved from
https://www.abc.net.au/gardening/factsheets/bee-hotel/9440586
Australian Native Bee Research Centre: Aussie Bees. (2019). How do you make a bee hotel? Retrieved
from https://www.aussiebee.com.au/bee-hotel-building-tips.html
