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Tales from the Hive
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Ideas from Teachers
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(K-12)
This activity could go with NOVA's "Tales from the Hive"
program. Contact a local beekeeping club or a beekeeper and have them talk
about their beekeeping experiences. The club that I belong to has an
"Observation Hive." The hive is taken to a lot of functions to show
the colony at work. This allows the students a visual reference to
coincide with the lecture.
An observation hive is good for science, biology, business,
technology, vocational-agricultural, or family science classes.
Students can inspect the hive and to ask questions of the beekeeper.
This has worked great for me in the past.
Sent in by
George West
Vinita High School
Vinita, OK
(Gr. 5)
Objective
To connect math and science through tessellations.
Materials
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NOVA's "Tales from the Hive"
Web site
- hexagon manipulatives
- paper
- pencils
- rulers
Procedure
Students investigate and discover how systems in nature reveal
tessellating patterns of geometric shapes from mathematics. Have
students explore the NOVA Web site on bees and the construction of
the hive. Ask students to apply the tessellation pattern of hexagons
by drawing the pattern on paper using manipulative shapes. Have
students respond to the following questions:
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Why do you think that bees construct the hive using this system?
- How might this system help bees compete and survive?
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Do tessellation systems enhance a natural system's effectiveness
in competition and survival?
Assessment
Observation and analysis of responses.
Editor's Note: To read an extended description of this idea,
see
Featured Teachers.
Sent in by
Gina Strandlien
Granite Quarry Elementary
Granite
Quarry, NC
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