Once children read this real-life mystery, they’ll be ready
to dig deeper. These activities will
really get them buzzing!
What’s The Story?
Part 1
Pretend Dave Hackenberg is your grandfather. Write a paragraph as if you were visiting him
the day he discovered nearly four hundred of his beehives were nearly empty.
Part 2
Now pretend you’re a reporter for your local television
station. Write a paragraph telling the breaking news story the U.S. is facing
because honeybees are vanishing. Be sure to briefly share the following:
·
How big a problem is this?
·
Where is it happening?
·
What are the reasons scientists believe it’s
happening?
·
What is offering hope for the future?
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.6 Compare and contrast a
firsthand and secondhand account of the same event or topic; describe the
differences in focus and the information provided.
Get The Buzz On Bees
Dig into books and search online to learn more about the lifecycle of a honeybee queen.
Write a short story about one honeybee queen.
Be sure to include an introduction that
explains how a queen is different than the other bees in a hive. Next have a
middle where something exciting happens, such as the queen leaves with workers
to start a new colony or other bees trying to steal honey attack the hive. Then
give your story an ending, including how long the queen lives and how many
young she provides the hive every year of her life. Just for fun, draw and
color pictures to bring your story to life.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.7 Conduct short research
projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a
topic.
Buzzzz Hunter
Go on an information scavenger hunt using only the book’s photos and captions to answer the following questions.
- 1. Why are cornfields not good places for bees?
- 2. What requirement does a hive have to meet to be rented for work in the California almond orchards?
- 3. Why was a tiny device glued to the back of some honeybees?
- 4. Why are varroa mites nicknamed vampire mites?
- 5. Is the U.S. President a beekeeper? How do you know?
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.2 Paraphrase portions of
a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats,
including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
Be A Bee Friend
What can you do to help honeybees?
Read “Help Your Local
Honeybees” and “Global Rescue Efforts” at the back of the book.
Next, choose one
way to help honeybees. Tell what you chose and why, in your opinion, that will
make a difference.
Make a list, in order, of what you’ll do. And, after
checking with an adult to be sure your plan is okay for you to do, go to work.
Your local bees need you!
