Why do Bees Pollinate? 

K. Shima, ​Grade 2: Lesson 6 of 6 
I expect this lesson to take 60 minutes. The students will examine the process of 
pollination, and they will then design a fair test to determine what the purpose of a 
bee in an environment is, and the impact that the purpose of the bee has on its 
environment. They will then use visuals to demonstrate how a bee transfers pollen 
from flower to flower.   
 
 
NGSS targets:  
PE Develop a simple model that mimics the function of an animal in dispersing seeds
2-LS2-2 or pollinating plants.
 
CCC: Structure and Function
● The shape and stability of structures of natural and designed objects are
 
related to their function(s).
 
SEP: Planning and Carrying Out Investigations
 
Student Learning Objectives 
 
(Follow the ABC’s we talked about in class. If it helps consider this the Student “Performance” Objectives)

1. Students will design a fair test to answer the question, “Why do bees pollinate?” 
2. Students will examine a video clip of a bee buzzing around plants and flowers and then 
think about why bees might be important to our environment. 
3. From observing the video of the bee and then discussing with their classmates and 
teacher, students will create a blossom that will be used to help stimulate what a bee 
must do in order to help with pollination in flowers and plants alike.   

Engage 
(This is the hook. Do not introduce vocabulary here. Get them excited.) 

A video clip will be shown to the class of a bee buzzing around flowers.   
After the video, ask the students,  

“What do you think the purpose of a bee is in its environment?” 

1 
 

Allow students to brainstorm but guide them towards the idea that the bee’s 
job is to pollinate. This leads to the question of  

“what impact does a bee’s purpose have on the environment?”   

 

Explore 
(Describe the activity the students will do to explore the subject. Will they create their own question or will 
you give them a question to answer. How will you guide them?) 

Students will work individually in making their own flower blossoms t​hat will help 
them to simulate what a bee must do in order to help pollination in the flowers and 
plants.   

Students will be given time to color and cut out their blossoms. They will be 
shown how to cut out the center of their flower, explaining that this is important 
because they will need to put their hands through the center of the flower during 
their investigation.   

After the students have finished with their cutting and coloring of their flower 
blossoms, they will each be given a small brown lunch sack. They are shown a 
demonstration of how they are to place the bag through the center of the flower.   

Students will then be given two small bowls, one filled with cheeto crumbs and the 
other with powdered sugar. (The colors are different for the purpose of the fair 
test).  

The students will be pretending that their hands are their bees. Their “bees” will 
travel from flower to flower (from the ones they’ve made to another one).   

Working in their table groups, students will put a teaspoon of cheeto crumbs into 
two team members bags and a teaspoon of powdered sugar into the other two 
members bags. A small amount of liquid will be sprayed on each child’s finger 
tips.   

2 
 

When they stick their hand into one of the bags, the liquid on their fingers will 
allow either the cheeto crumbs or powdered sugar to stick onto their fingers. 

When their “bee” travels to another flower with a different substance inside, both 
food items will be on their hands.   

All of this is meant to demonstrate/mimic how a bee might transfer pollen from 
flower to flower.  

- After all of this is completed, students will be given a sheet of paper in order to 
document their observations or what they noticed from their investigations.   

Explain 
(The first explanations should come from the students. Then guide and clarify as they go.) 

Ask the students to think of what might happen if bees were unable to pollinate flowers and 
plants. What would happen to the environment if this were the case? In communicating the 
explanation, students will need to give rationale for their explanation.   

Elaborate 
(They should be able to apply the information they have learned to a different situation or new scenario.)  

Tell students they will get a chance to “practice” making observations. They will be taken outside 
to observe if they can find any bees buzzing around.  

They will then document their observations into their science notebooks, comparing their 
observations to the activity and fair test that they did.   

Evaluate 
(Formative assessments check for understanding throughout the lesson and help the teacher know how to 
redirect the lesson if needed) ​Formative: Students will be assessed throughout the activity in order 
to ensure that they are on task with their fair test, as well as making sure that all learning needs 
are met. A student experiment guide/log will be kept throughout the activity to ensure these 
things. 

3 
 

(Summative assessments are end of lesson checks for understanding that would typically be graded.) 
Summative: Students will write down what they noticed, as well as their observations, from their 
investigations in the activity.   

4 
 

5 
 

6 
 

7 
 

8 
 

Works Cited 

https://betterlesson.com/lesson/630819/pollinating-the-bees-have-it?from=s
earch 

9