Picture Book Science Lesson: Bees and Ecosystems

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.

Picture Book Science Lesson: What if There Were No Bees? and Ecosystems

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?

Picture Book Science Lesson: What if There Were No Bees? and Ecosystems

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.

Food Web to use with What if There Were No Bees?
Picture Book Science Lesson: What if There Were No Bees? and Ecosystems

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15 thoughts on “Picture Book Science Lesson: Bees and Ecosystems”

  1. 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.

    Reply
  2. 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!

    Reply
  3. 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!

    Reply

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