Ever wonder how honey gets from the bee to the table? Join the Bee Cause Project and avid beekeeper, Ted Dennard, on this immersive 360 video to find out just how those amazing bees do it!  The National Honey Board has created an amazing look into the life of beekeepers and into the hive. We've created a lesson plan full of resources including science lessons, video links, and a full set of step-by-step printable cards for demonstrating the process of how honey is made! 

Our mission is to inspire the next generation of environmental stewards while protecting our planet's most precious pollinators. The resources we have provided are designed to engage students through observation-based and hands-on learning with a little help from our tiny friends -- the bees! This unit of study has ample resources including teacher guides, video links, material lists, background information, standards mapping, and engaging work for students. 

Students are introduced to our Sun as they explore its composition, what is happening inside it, its relationship to our planet (our energy source), and the ways engineers help us learn about it.

Students learn about energy flow in food webs, including the roles of the sun, producers, consumers and decomposers in the energy cycle. They model a food web and create diagrams of food webs using their own drawings and/or images from nature or wildlife magazines. Students investigate the links between the sun, plants and animals, building their understanding of the web of nutrient dependency and energy transfer.

Students learn about energy and nutrient flow in various biosphere climates and environments. They learn about herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, food chains and food webs, seeing the interdependence between producers, consumers and decomposers. Students are introduced to the roles of the hydrologic (water), carbon, and nitrogen cycles in sustaining the worlds' ecosystems so living organisms survive. This lesson is part of a series of six lessons in which students use their growing understanding of various environments and the engineering design process, to design and create their own model biodome ecosystems.

Did you know that honey bees dance? Or that they build their homes out of perfectly formed honeycomb? The Digital Hive Experience was created to educate about the inside of a beehive and our friends, the honey bees. Pair the Digital Hive Video with the companion Educator’s Guide! Included are a lesson plan mapped to the Common Core and NGSS, pre and post-assessments, discussion questions, and a KWL Chart for your students! Perfect for a classroom introduction or for programs that may not have live bees, we hope you enjoy your journey into the hive!

Did you know that honey bees can dance? Do you know why bees build honeycombs in the shape of a hexagon? Do you know how many eyes honey bees have? Bees live a secret life inside their hive...but NOW we can see what goes on in a live hive. The Bee Cause and its partners are on a mission to inspire children to learn about and protect these precious pollinators. That's why we've created the Digital Bee Hive Experience - to educate our community of learners about this vital ecosystem. 

This resource will primarily be used prior to going to outdoor school for a 5th grade class. Though some of the resources might seem like a stretch for that age range it allows for some differentiation for those students that are looking to expand their knowledge base. In addition, this journal covers some basic rules and guidelines for living within a group of people which is why we include some dining etiquette.

Have you ever dreamed of becoming an astronaut? Use this slide show presentation as an introduction to the many challenges of living and working in space.

What do plants eat? This unit explores plants and how they make food.

A very short video introduction to how photosynthesis cycles energy through an ecosystem and a "real-world" application of ratios! Lindsay Hollister, JPPM's horticulturalist, taps a black walnut tree for its sap and park staff boil it down to create syrup. Included in this video are an animated food web showing the directions of energy flow during photosynthesis and when sap is "rising," which can be extended by students to include humans or more parts of their local ecosystem. Use the video as an introduction to activities about sugar and biological storage, and an excuse to sample maple syrup to taste the sugar. Alternatively, research trees nearby students could help tap and witness the biological transfer of energy themselves.

Always be sure you can successfully identify a plant before using it and take precautions to avoid negative reactions.

This resource is part of Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum’s open educational resources project to provide history, ecology, archaeology, and conservation resources related to our 560 acre public park. More of our content can be found here on OER Commons or from our website at jefpat.maryland.gov. JPPM is a part of the Maryland Historical Trust under the Maryland Department of Planning.

This 5th grade unit iterates an earlier version and is designed to maximize the integration of science with the other content areas, especially English Language Arts and Math. It is designed so it can be used with in-person or remotely and includes learning activities that can be delivered via Zoom or another similar platform, as well as activities students can complete in-class, independently, or with their families.  You are free to adapt this OER unit as needed. Please note that this unit is a first draft beta version, so please communicate any questions, errors or omissions, feedback and suggestions for improvement to kimberley.astle@k12.wa.us.  

Students understand that organisms can survive only in environments in which their particular needs are met. Students understand that the needs of plants and animals are different but interdependent.

In this resource, students learn about freshwater resources, how NASA uses satellites to measure precipitation, and how that data can be used in agricultural practices. Students use data from the NASA Global Precipitation Measurement satellite to explore precipitation patterns in two parts of the world and then make recommendations for how to reduce water use in agriculture and in their own lives.

This professional development course consists of a series of workshops focused on NGSS-aligned & local phenomenon-centered curriculum, developed by IslandWood with funding from the OSPI ClimeTime Grant. It is currently structured to be delivered online and for Upper Elementary (3-5) educators. A slide deck and accompanying handouts are available to complement the course outline. 

What if there were no bees? How would it affect our grassland animals? How would it affect humans? This book offers insight into the problems that countless animals and plants face with the potential loss of the bees. Discover just how important this tiny species is to the food web of this ecosystem.Grade Level: 3rd-5thLexile Level: 890LGuided Reading Level: NGenre: Nonfiction

Zombie Guacamole is an upper elementary curricular program created by EarthGen. For this unit, we offer professional development training and assistance with implementation. If you are interested in implementing this program at your school or district, please let us know! Please contact info@earthgenwa.org for more information. In Zombie Guacamole, students build an evidence-based explanation of why a bowl of guacamole was found at the bottom of a 25-year-old landfill, still fresh! The focus of this program is decomposition: what is required for it to occur, its importance to ecosystems, and how waste systems are linked to the health of people and the environment. Students develop explanatory models to describe the movement of matter in an ecosystem and work in groups to manipulateconditions for decomposition in an investigation. Beyond that, students also build knowledge of natural and human-made systems of food production and waste management to inform action in their school community to protect Earth’s resources and environment. Through Zombie Guacamole, students can combine scientific understanding, environmental consciousness, and action to become leaders for a more just and sustainable future.