Cameron Calland-Jones

TAG Strategy in this lesson: Creative Problem Solving

UNIT NAME: Life Cycles (Plant and Animal)

LESSON NAME: Whats the Buzz All About?

Time Needed (Hours/Days): 2 days (45 min. each session)

Grade: 2nd

Subject: Science / Reading

Course: TAG Curriculum and Strategies for the Gifted

STANDARDS/ELEMENTS: CCGPS, GPS/GSE (where applicable) and TAG Standards:

S2L1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the life cycles of
different living organisms.
c. Construct an explanation of an animals role in dispersing seeds or in the pollination
of plants.

Advanced Communication Skills

1. The student uses written, spoken, and technological media to convey new learning or
challenge existing ideas.
2. The student produces written and/or oral work that is complex, purposeful, and
organized, includes relevant supporting examples and manipulation of language.

Advanced Research Skills

1. The student uses a variety of print and non-print resources to investigate a topic of
interest.
2. The student formulated original and appropriate questions to test the limits of an
existing body of knowledge.

Creative Thinking and Creative Problem Solving Skills

1. The student questions accepted practices, rules, and existing principals to discover new
knowledge.
2. The student designs, applies, evaluates, and adapts a variety of innovative strategies
when problem solving (e.g., recognizes problems, defines problems, identifies possible
solutions, selects optimal solution, implements solution, and evaluates solution).
3. The student incorporated brainstorming and other idea-generating techniques
(synectics, SCAMPER, etc.) to solve problems or create new products.
4. The student demonstrates skills in fluency and flexibility to solve problems or create
new products.

ENDURING UNDERSTANDING:
The student will understand that animals eat plants or other animals for food.
Seasonal changes occur and affect living things, the appearance of living things, and
their surroundings.
Living things are interdependent with their living and nonliving surroundings.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION(s)
How can something so small have such a big impact?

TEACHER LESSON PREPARATION What needs to be done prior to the lesson?

Before this lesson, TTW have already introduced and taught plant and animal life
cycles. TSW have a basic understanding of parts of a plant and the life cycle of a
frog, butterfly and chicken.
TTW explain what a mess is (a problem) and complete a brief example so students
are familiar with the word and process
Preview vocab.: regurgitate, queen, drone, worker, endangered species, criteria
TTW secure a class set of iPads for use of SEESAW App (#SEESAW= will denote
places in lesson where students will document their learning to be shared w/
teacher & parents)

ACTIVATING STRATEGY
TTW ask, What is the ONLY insect-created food humans can eat?
Students will have 2-3 min. to Think-Pair-Share their answer to this question. After
guiding students to the answer of honey, TTW prep students for the video. (The speaker
has tattoos of cows on her neck. She is a staunch Vegan and shares her views on how
eating meat or anything that comes from animals is gross). Teacher should use discretion
on how to prep students .

TTW show the following video clip, being sure to only show from minute 1:22-2:50, due
to content and vocabulary not appropriate for 2 nd graders. **The words barf (in
reference to the honey bees regurgitate) and booty (in reference to the waggle dance
bees do to signal location of pollen) are mentioned during this segment. PREVIEW with
students!

https://youtu.be/NpEpaI3RHkk *Start playing at 1 min. 22 sec. and STOP at

2 min. 50 sec.
After viewing the video, TSW have 2- 3 min. to record their thoughts on a post-it note.
TSW share partner share at their table groups and 1 student from each table will share
out to the class.

Instructional Sequence and Activities including use of technology

Day 1
1. TTW say, We have been learning about life cycles of plants and animals. Today, we
are going to focus on one animal that is actually an insect. Can you guess which
insect I am talking about? TSW say Bees.
2. TTW say, Today, you will have an opportunity to read through an article on Bees
with a partner.
3. TTW explain the Creative Problem Solving process while going through the packet
with the students, making sure to draw connections to what a problem or mess is.
4. TTW say, Today, your focus will be on Fact Finding and Questions. We will begin
today by reading an article titled, Bees.Oh No! with a self-selected reading
partner.
5. TSW choose their own partner to read with. After reading the 1 st time, TSW re-
read the article a 2nd time, being sure to highlight any unknown words. TTW be
available to conference with partners and address class misconceptions, as needed.
6. Once comprehension has been established, TSW begin to imagine what issue about
bees you are most passionate about.
7. TSW begin discussing the possible mess in the article and recording the agreed
upon mess at the top of their Fact Finding paper.
8. TSW begin listing ALL of the FACTS only from the article read on the Fact
Finding page.
9. Once facts are recorded, TSW list any and all questions they have as a result of
the Mess. Students will work closely with partners to bounce ideas off of and
brainstorm.
10. At the end of DAY 1, TSW join with one other pair to form a group of 4 to review
facts & questions. Record any new information on papers. (#SEESAW)
Day 2
11. TSW begin lesson by reviewing documented work on SEESAW. TSW read and
respond to ONE other students work with a Glow & Grow (a positive remark and a
question or clarification question).
12. TTW say, Today, we are going to review our questions from yesterday and begin
the Research part of the lesson to find more information. Research will first come
from a carousel rotation of group members, so there is diversity of thought.
13. TSW use classroom iPads(optional) to research answers to questions or additional
facts that were learned about the mess ONLY IF NEEDED. Record on Fact
Finding page. (limit research to 10 minutes to help alleviate students getting off
track.)
 14. TSW begin to discuss and record all of the problems that could result from the
mess on the Problem-Finding page. After discussion, the group will choose ONE
problem that is important and record it.
15. TTW review the Rules for Brainstorming:
Turn off judgement. Do not criticize others ideas.
Wild & crazy is okay. There are no dumb ideas.
Lots of ideas is best! A storm, not a drizzle
Build on other peoples ideas
16. Once the above is complete, TSW begin the Idea-Finding page to record the
greatest ideas (problem statement) from the group of 4 students. TSW brainstorm
as many solutions to the problem as possible. TTW say, Include creative or unusual
solutions, too! TSW choose the best 4 ideas to solve the problem and record one
in each of the 4 boxes (basic solution only) (#SEESAW)
17. Still working in groups, TSW work to come up with criteria (questions regarding the
4 solutions) that can be answered with yes/no answers. TSW record criteria &
solutions on the Solution -Finding grid, to determine the best solution for their
problem.
18. After students have had time to determine the best solution, TSW design a plan to
implement the solution in small groups. TSW have choice and voice as to a poster,
video, creative art model, etc. All evidence will be documented in #SEESAW.

Assessment Strategies
Informal assessment- student use of responses on Post-It notes and verbal answers to
discussion questions whole group and with partners/small group
SEESAW App documented work through photo, video, text, labels and voice clips

Student-created visual model can be used to assess their understanding of how living
things are interdependent and the importance of pollination in plant & animal life cycles.
TSW answer the following questions:
How are bees and grocery stores connected?
What would be 2 results of more chemicals being used on crops?
What impact does a bee have on a pumpkin?

Differentiation
Lesson is clearly differentiated for gifted learners by use of one or more of the following:
acceleration- Students can investigate the habitats of bees & other plants and animals as
it is supported in the 3rd grade curriculum

extensions -Students may wish to continue their research independently, find out more
about different types of bees & their roles, or continue inquiry on endangered plants &
animals.
enrichment- Students can research, discover, and create a new mess idea on a topic of
their choice to work on during Genius Hour.

Materials/Links/Text References/Resources
Book: What If There Were NO Bees? By Suzanne Slade (read aloud/whole group)
Book: UnBEElieveables Scholastic (guided reading book set)
Book: Honey Bee Man by Lela Nargi
Passage: The Buzz on Bees: Why Are They Disappearing? www.ReadWorks.org
Video clip: Is Honey Bee Barf? https://youtu.be/NpEpaI3RHkk
Additional reading sources:

http://www.readworks.org/get/247997/The%20Buzz%20About%20Honey.pdf passage

http://www.readworks.org/get/255580/The%20Honeybee%20Man_Read-Aloud
%20Lesson_IP_student.pdf Honey Bee Man questions to bk.

Video clip: https://youtu.be/XZQmE0B7gFQ bee life cycle rap

Article: BeesOh No! adapted from NASA Climate Kids: A Bee is More Than a Bug

Bees.Oh No!

Have you ever run away from a bee when it was chasing you? Many children are afraid of and
allergic to bee stings. Some children even have to carry medicine with them when playing outside,
just in case they get stung, because of a life-threatening allergy! Different companies make sprays
to kill bees and you can even make your own bee killing spray from dish soap! Nobody ever wants to
have a bee come into their home.

Farmers and beekeepers and scientists are worried about bees. Bees are disappearing around the
world. They are calling it colony collapse disorder. The cause is not obvious or simple. Researchers
think several factors may be contributing. Chemicals meant to kill other insects that eat crops
could accidentally harm the bees.
The development of wild areas, abandoned farms, growing crops without leaving habitat for wildlife,
and growing gardens with flowers that are not friendly to pollinators could be issues. All these
contribute to poor nutrition for bees, making them less able to fend off diseases.

Global warming may cause the flowers to bloom before the bees have come out of hibernation. If
some of the plants have finished blooming, the bees will not have as much to eat. Again, poor
nutrition could make the bees less able to fend off diseases.

Seven different types of honey bees are now on the endangered species list.

Thanks to bees, we have apples, oranges, pumpkins, almonds, and many other foods that develop
from a flower. When bees drink the sweet nectar from the flowers, they get covered in sticky
pollen.

Individual grains of sticky pumpkin pollen hitch a ride on a honeybee. As bees move from flower to
flower, they carry pollen with them, fertilizing nearby pumpkin plants. Every seed in a pumpkin
(there are thousands) needs its own grain of pollen from another pumpkin flower! This relationship
between plants and pollinators may be affected by climate change. (Photograph 2007 John
Kimbler.)

Bees are responsible for pollinating the plants that produce many of the fruits and vegetables we
eat. The produce section of a grocery store would be quite empty without bees! (Credit: Whole
Foods Market.)

(adapted from NASA Climate Kids: A Bee is More than a Bug)

 Cool Facts to Share

Student Response Sheets for Creative Problem Solving: SEE BELOW

 Creative Problem Solving
Step 1- Fact Finding

*Read the article and find the mess or problem. Discuss with group.

Record the mess: _______________________________________________

Please list ALL of the facts (in the box below) that you find in the article.

List any questions you still have about the mess:

1. ____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
2. ____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
3. ____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
4. ____________________________________________________
List answers to your questions or additional facts you learned about the mess.

CPS Step 2: Problem-Finding

Brainstorm many problems that you see as a result of this mess. Look for
problems from different points of view. Include any unusual problems you see as a
result of the mess.

Create a problem statement.

How might we
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

CPS Step 3: Idea-Finding

Problem statement:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________

Brainstorm as many solutions to the problem as you can. Include creative or unusual
solutions, too!

CPS Step 4: Solution-Finding

 Criteria total

Solution

Describe the best solution below:

CPS Step 5: Acceptance-Finding

Design a plan to put your solution into action.