Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Introduction

40 minutes

Part A: The beauty of bees

30 minutes

Part B: Collaboration and decoration

10 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions

Students will...

explore the beauty and importance of bees through art and mathematics.
understand the threats to bees and ways to support their survival.

Success criteria

Students can..

create a visual display using the grid enlargement method to celebrate the role of bees.

Introduction

This lesson involves the whole class collaborating to create a bee wall display, which could become a centrepiece for the display of information and work students have completed throughout the rest of the Love Food? Love Bees! unit. Bringing students learning artefacts together into a display will further emphasise the symbiotic relationship bees have with plants and the benefit that this has for human food production. The wall display will also highlight the threats to the survival of bees, and some of the approaches we can take to support bees to continue their important work in our ecosystem.

Project these images of Bee Art onto a screen at the front of the classroom. Ask students about what they see. Talk about the messages in the art. What do students think the artists are trying to say with their images? Ask students to consider: Why do people create bee art?

You could introduce the lesson's activities by highlighting that people create art for a number of reasons. They may want to highlight and celebrate something that they think is special or beautiful, they might want to raise people's awareness about something.

Explain to students that they will be making their own bee art as a large wall display, which will highlight the beauty of bees, create an opportunity to explore more about bees and raise awareness around the issues faced by bees.

Part A: The beauty of bees

Artists often use the 'grid method' to enlarge images. The grid method involves drawing a grid over a reference picture, and then creating a grid of equal ratio on the work surface (paper, canvas, wood panel, etc). This will enable students to draw the image on their paper, focusing on one square at a time, until the entire image has been transferred. Once finished, students simply erase the grid lines, and decorate the image, which will be now be enlarged in perfect proportion.

Step 1

Before students begin, engage in some whole class teaching time. Ask students to sit at their tables and distribute the Bee gridline maths activity and a blank piece of A4 paper to each student. Then, introduce the concept of using a grid to enlarge an image.

Ask students to notice the shape of the blank paper. Ask them to notice the shape of the grid boxes. What do they see?
Ask students to measure the height of the blank piece of paper with a ruler. What is the height of the paper? (210 mm).
Ask students to measure the height of each box/gridline. What height is it? (10.5 mm). How much bigger is the A4 piece of paper than the gridline?
Invite students to consider how they can make it easier to accurately enlarge the section of the picture they're working with. Could they divide their blank paper into grid sections with a ruler and grey lead pencil? What will they then need to do to their grid segment? How can they ensure that the picture is the same proportion?

You could illustrate how to enlarge graphics using a grid for your class:

Draw two squares on the whiteboard, one with 20cm sides, the other with 80cm sides.
Split each square into a grid with nine sections.
Draw a picture (e.g a smiley face) in the small square.
Ask students how they would enlarge the picture in the smaller square using the gridlines as reference points.
Ask students to notice the smaller square and the space that exists between the lines of the picture in the grid.
Ask students to suggest strategies about how to use the grid to enlarge the image accurately.

Step 2

Allocate ONE grid segment of the bee picture to each student. This is the segment of the picture that they will be responsible for enlarging. Ask students to write the number of the grid segment on the back of their blank paper so that the 'hanging' of the enlarged picture is possible.

Step 3

Students then apply their understanding to enlarging the segment of the bee display they have been allocated to enlarge. Encourage students to draw a grid with a grey lead pencil and a ruler on their A4 paper, then draw a grid with the same number of segments onto their section of the bee picture. They should use the grid they have drawn to guide them to enlarge the section of the picture they are working on.

If possible, students could move to sit with the students who are working on the segment of the picture that will match theirs to ensure that the lines match up.

Part B: Collaboration and decoration

Step 1

Reconvene the class to discuss how they will decorate the bee. Inform students that their job is to work together to ensure the bee looks as realistic as possible. Ask students to think about the following questions;

What materials might we need to ensure the bee looks realistic? i.e pipe-cleaners for hairs.
How will we all work together to ensure all of the segments are decorated consistently?

Step 2

Give students time to decorate their segment of the bee wall display. You could circulate around the classroom and ensure that students have a common understanding of the goal the class is aiming for.

Step 3

Once students have finished decorating their section, coordinate the process of sticking each segment in order to a wall that has been cleared of all other displays.

Next steps

Are there any learning artifacts from other Love Food? Love Bees! lessons that students can add to the display? Or can they add something new? For example, students can demonstrate their understanding of the symbiotic relationship bees have with other living things by adding plants and animals around the bee. They can also highlight the threats to the survival of bees, and some of the approaches we can take to support bees so they can continue their important work in our ecosystem.

The finished product of the wall display could be included in the Bee Festival lesson at the end of the Love Food? Love Bees! unit. The class displays their learning and educates the community about the issues faced by bees (outlined in the Social Action section of this unit).

Reflection

1. Students complete a reflection on the Student Worksheet to explore the challenges they faced during the collaborative activity. They should focus on the procedural challenges of the task as well as how they were challenged by the skills the lesson content required them to develop and use. This reflection exercise could be a useful tool for you to assess student meta-cognition about how they overcame the challenges faced throughout the lesson.

2. If students started the ‘Hive of Reflection’ activity in the ‘Beeing Curious’ lesson', distribute another exit slip to each students and ask them to respond to the prompt. As you progress through each lesson in the Love Food? Love Bees! unit, students can continue to reflect on their learning by add new cells to the honeycomb of the Hive of Reflection wall display.

Differentiated learning

Extension:

Students who require a further challenge could be given the responsibility of a more complicated section of the bee wall display. If they enjoy art, students could collaborate with other early finishers to add more images or artifacts that represent the environment of bees.

Provisional Learning Support:

Students could practise grid enlargements with simple shapes before attempting the bee pictures using this Grid Enlargement Practice activity.

Beauty of Bees

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Summary

Learning intentions

Students will...

Success criteria

Students can..

Lesson guides and printables

Lesson Details

Skills

Curriculum Mapping

Resources Required

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Additional Info

Related Professional Learning

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