Hi! I’m working on a new blog series: Picture Book Science Lessons. Each post contains a favorite picture book for teaching science concepts and activities to accompany the book. This post contains affiliate links.
Topic: Ecosystems
Focus: The focus of this text is how bees interact with grassland ecosystems. While bees live in other environments, we are looking only at a grassland ecosystem with this lesson. The book provides information about bees, then begins describing what would happen if bees were extinct.
Informational Text Concepts: cause and effect, text structure, vocabulary
Title: What If There Were No Bees? by Suzanne Slade
Read Aloud and Circle Map
As you read the text, students write down information about bees. Where do they live? What do they do? Who are their predators? How do they interact with the grassland ecosystem? What do honey bees do?
Food Web
When I do a read aloud, sometimes I like to show the pictures on the document camera while I read the text. Show students the food web included in the book and discuss what might happen if bees were extinct.
What if Bees Became Extinct?
Students listen to the read aloud and fill in three possible effects of bees’ extinction. Then, they describe how a grassland ecosystem would change.
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15 thoughts on “Picture Book Science Lesson: Bees and Ecosystems”
Thank you so much for posting both picture book lessons. I’ve already ordered the books from Amazon and look forward to using them in my classroom.
Awesome! Have fun!
This will be great for my fifth graders. They love picture books. I might also use the book “What If There Were No Wolves” to model the cause/effects of the food chain before they create their own. Thank you!
I have subscribed.. why can I not access the activity pages?
Hi there. I just emailed you. 🙂
I cannot seem to download the activity pages. Is there a download link?
I have subscribed.. why can I not access the activity pages?
Hi Pamela. I just emailed you.
-Ari
I have subscribed but can’t seem to have access to activity pages.
Hi! I just ordered the book WHAT IF THERE WERE NO BEES? from Amazon… I can’t seem to find your free resources. thanks!
Hi! It’s in the Free Resource Library. You can sign up here. https://thesciencepenguin.lpages.co/freeresourcelibrary/ Thanks!
I am having the same trouble accessing the resources for What If there were no bees? It says: The webpage at https://thesciencepenguin.lpages.co/freeresourcelibrary/ might be temporarily down or it may have moved permanently to a new web address.
Hi Kim! It looks like it’s working now. 🙂
Hi! I have subscribed but I can’t seem to access the resources page for “If there were no bees” (circle map, etc.).
Couyld you please send me those links. Thank you so much! This is wonderful!
I cannot access the resources for this book