Meet Aotearoa’s Bees

Overview

In this first lesson of the six-part unit Bees in NZ: Informative Writing, students build accurate background knowledge about introduced honey bees and native New Zealand bees. They practise reading information, recording facts in their own words, and checking whether a source is reliable before later using research in an informative text.

Learning intentions

• We are learning to distinguish introduced honey bees from native New Zealand bees.
• We are learning to identify information that is useful and reliable.
• We are learning to record key facts in our own words.
• We are learning to explain why information should be checked against more than one source.

Success criteria

• I can describe one difference and one similarity between honey bees and native bees.
• I can record at least three accurate facts in my own words.
• I can name or identify the source of each fact.
• I can explain one reason a source needs checking.

Curriculum links

• English — Reading: accurately and expressively read year-level texts, including correct pronunciation of kupu Māori, while showing understanding.
• English — Reading: consider vocabulary, sentence complexity, ideas, contexts, and cultural perspectives when judging text difficulty and meaning.
• English — Reading: identify strengths and successes as readers and researchers.
• Key competencies: thinking; managing self; participating and contributing; using language, symbols, and texts.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–7 min · Engage and wonder. Open with the bee mystery hook showing two contrasting bee images and ask, “Are all bees in New Zealand honey bees?” Students make a quick prediction, share what they already know with a partner, and record one question about bees.

2. 7–17 min · Build background knowledge. Use the background knowledge slides to introduce the unit question: “How do bees live and help ecosystems in New Zealand?” Explain that European honey bees (Apis mellifera) were introduced to New Zealand and live in managed hives or wild colonies. Explain that native New Zealand bees are mostly small, solitary, ground-nesting bees and do not produce honey for people. Emphasise that not every bee seen in New Zealand is a honey bee. Teach and briefly discuss: bee, native, introduced, species, habitat, colony, solitary, hive, ecosystem. Students sort the words orally into “already know” and “new or developing”.

3. 17–25 min · Model source checking. Display the source-checking model and show one teacher-provided source. Think aloud while locating who made it, its purpose, when it was updated, and the evidence it gives. Model asking, “Does another trustworthy source agree?” Students practise with a partner, identifying the author or organisation and purpose of a second source. Clarify that a source can look professional but still needs checking.

4. 25–45 min · Group research rotations. Place students in five mixed-ability groups of five. Provide the bee research comparison sheet and rotate groups through four source stations: a library book, teacher-provided fact sheet, museum or DOC webpage, and age-appropriate science website. At each station, students read, discuss, and record information in a two-column honey bee/native bee comparison. Each student records three facts in their own words and writes the source title or URL; groups also complete the source-evaluation prompts: Who made it? What evidence is given? When was it updated? Does another source agree? Confer with groups, prompting students to distinguish a fact from a guess or opinion.

5. 45–54 min · Compare and clarify. Bring the class together and use the compare-and-clarify slides to invite groups to share one fact and its source. Construct a class comparison, checking that students do not generalise that all bees make honey or live in hives. Ask: “What information did more than one source agree on?” and “What would make us pause before using a fact?” Add accurate vocabulary and useful facts to the vocabulary wall.

6. 54–60 min · Exit reflection. Display the exit-ticket prompt. Students complete the final section of the bee research comparison sheet: one difference, one similarity, and one question they still have. Invite two or three students to share a response, then collect the sheets for formative assessment.

Resources

• the Meet Aotearoa’s Bees slide deck
• the bee research comparison sheet
• Library book about bees or pollinators
• Teacher-provided fact sheet
• Tablets or computers with preselected museum, DOC, and science sources
• Source cards and station labels
• Māori place-name map
• Vocabulary wall materials
• Images of honey bees and native New Zealand bees

Assessment

• Listen during partner and group talk for accurate use of native, introduced, solitary, colony, habitat, and ecosystem.
• Confer with groups and check whether students identify the creator, purpose, evidence, update information, and agreement with another source.
• Review comparison sheets and exit tickets for accurate distinctions, facts in students’ own words, source identification, and a meaningful remaining question.

Differentiation

• Provide preselected, age-appropriate texts, audio or visual versions, station reading prompts, and the recording template for students who need support.
• Pair students strategically and allow students to discuss an idea before writing; provide sentence starters such as “A honey bee…”, “A native bee…”, and “This source may be reliable because…”.
• Support EAL learners with labelled images, repeated oral rehearsal, pronunciation modelling for Aotearoa and Apis mellifera, and a visual vocabulary wall.
• Extend confident students by comparing two sources for a possible disagreement, deciding which evidence is stronger, and explaining their reasoning to the group.

Extension

• At home, observe or sketch an insect without disturbing it. Note visible features that might help identify it, and bring the sketch or notes to the next lesson.