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Lessons, Activities, and Curriculum Resources Usher in Spring

By Phil Nast, retired middle school teacher and freelance writer

Found In: Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, 6-8

A variety of curriculum resources for grades 6-8, focus on bees, the changing seasons, myths, and haiku.

Lesson Plans & Activities

Lesson Plans

Africanized Honey Bees on the Move
Students in grades K-12 learn about honeybees and bee safety with a variety of lessons and activities.

Build Your Own Stonehenge Activity
Students in grades 3-12 can use a compass, rope, and stakes to build a “Stonehenge” and record the track of the sun as the year progresses.

Honey Bees and Pollination
Students in grades 4-6 learn the importance of honey bees to agriculture.

Recording the Changing Seasons in Ancient Times
Students in grades 6-8 learn about Stonehenge and read some ancient myths and stories explaining the seasons.

The World of Haiku
Students in grades 6-8 explore the traditions and conventions of haiku, compare it to a related genre of Japanese visual art, and compose haiku of their own.

Activities

Guide to Bee-Friendly Gardens
Urban dwellers can help the honey bee and other bees too. (Grades K-12)

Stonehenge – Digital 3D Model
Requires download of free software. (Grades 6-8)

• Demeter and Persephone: A Reader’s Theater ( PDF, 52 KB, 5 pgs.) (Grades 6-8)

Background Resources

Haiku

Haiku
For older students. Links to essays on writing and aspects of Haiku.

Poetic Form: Haiku
For older students. This page provides a brief description of Haiku and links to examples in English.

Bees

The National Honey Board | Honey and Bees
A brief natural history.

Honeybee
Photo, range map, audio.

Silence of the Bees
The companion website to the video includes interviews and updates.

Decline of Honey Bees Now a Global Phenomenon, says United Nations
“…of the 100 crop species that provide 90 per cent of the world's food, over 70 are pollinated by bees.”

Biology & Anatomy of the Honey Bee ( PPT, 4.1 MB, 29 slides)
PowerPoint presentation. Click page down to move through the presentation and fill in the blanks.

• Adult Bee Anatomy (Basic Bee Biology for Beekeepers)
• Dance Language of the Honey Bee

Equinox

• Vernal Equinox
• Seasons of the Year (a more detailed description for grades 6-12)

Myths

Persephone: Greek Queen of the Underworld, Goddess of Spring
A description of Persephone, goddess queen of the underworld, wife of the god Hades, and the goddess of spring growth.

Demeter
A description of the goddess of agriculture, grain, and bread, the prime sustenance of mankind and mother of Persephone.

Horai
A description of the Horai, goddesses of the seasons and the natural portions of time.

Printables

Bees printables
10 printable pages: crossword puzzle, word search, vocabulary, etc.

• Parts of a Bee
• Honey Bee (coloring page)

Video

Silence of the Bees (50:40)
The first in-depth look at Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and the search to uncover what is killing the honeybee.

Honey Bee Swarm (2:28)
A beekeeper collects a swarm of honey bees to form a new hive.

• Bee TV
  Dances with Bees.
• Honey Bee Life Cycle (9:57)