Geometry (2D & 3D shapes): Bee Hotel
Challenge level ⭐
(designed for children with prior knowledge of the Year 3 programme of study)
Learning Objective
We are learning how to solve a natural world problem by using and applying our skills and knowledge of geometry and 2-D shapes.
Useful prior knowledge:
- To identify and describe the properties of 2-D shapes
- To draw 2-D shapes
Credit: BBC Scotland - Landward
Clip Description
Around 275 bee species can be found in the UK. The majority of bees are solitary bees. Unlike honeybees and bumble bees, solitary bees don’t produce honey, have a queen or live in a hive. Solitary bee numbers have been falling for several years due to the disappearance of wildflower meadows, global warming and other factors.
In this fascinating clip, we learn that solitary bees can be given a helping hand through the construction of a bee hotel. Inside a bee hotel, an adult female bee can find a sheltered space to safely lay her egg. The hotel is where a bee lives from the time it is laid as an egg, until it is ready to emerge as a fully grown adult. How easy do you think it is to construct a bee hotel? Watch the clip to find out.
Quick Whiteboard Challenge
In the clip we learnt that a third (1/3) of all the food we eat will have been pollinated by solitary bees.
If you ate 18 different types of food over the course of a day, how many of these might have been pollinated by solitary bees? Which food types might these have been?