A Colony of Bees (Nonfiction): Home

Preschool-Age 6

MASL Missouri School Library Instructional Standards

K-2 Information Literacy: Access: Understand different types of information. Identify fiction and nonfiction.

1 class period of 30-50 minutes

This lesson was created by Hope Hunter from Lucy Wortham James Elementary School. 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Text and photographs discuss life in a colony of bees, why these animals like to stick together, and how living together with others helps bees stay safe, find food, and mate.

Activity 1:  Bee Sudoku printables (free downloads), scissors

Activity 2:  Honeycomb Tangram Cards and hexagon tangram pieces

Activity 3:  Bee Pattern Cards, printed and cut apart

Objectives

• Students will be able to define nonfiction. 
• Students will be able to identify nonfiction books. 

I Can Statements

• I can define nonfiction.
• I can identify a nonfiction book.

Introduction:

1. Begin by explaining to students that sometimes we read books just for fun, like stories that make us laugh or take us on adventures. Other times, we read books to learn facts or find information about the world around us.

2. Introduce the term nonfiction by saying, "Books that teach us real things or give us information are called nonfiction."

3. Have the students echo the word nonfiction together to help reinforce it.

4. Clarify, "Nonfiction books mean the things inside are real facts and information. Today, we’re going to read a nonfiction book to learn about bees."

 Vocabulary Focus:

• Tell students that because we’re reading to learn, there will be a new word to listen for. Write this word on the word wall or whiteboard:
  • Colony

5. Let students know that when they hear this word during the story, they should react. When someone hears the word, stop reading, have them point it out, and discuss its meaning before continuing.

Reading the Nonfiction Book:

• Begin reading A Colony of Bees, pausing when students react to the vocabulary words. Have a brief discussion about the word's meaning in context before continuing.

Closure:

1. After finishing the book, ask the students, "Can you share a fact you learned about bees from this book?"

2. Allow a few students to share their facts, reinforcing the nonfiction focus.

 Wrap-Up:

• Remind the students, “Nonfiction books help us learn real facts, just like the ones you shared about bees today.”

Activities:  

• Activity 1:  Explain the concept of Sudoku to the kids (in this case, each row and column must have one each of the provided images).  Distribute the preprinted Sudoku pages and scissors.  Explain to the students which pieces they need to cut out.  Monitor as the students attempt to solve the puzzle.
• Activity 2:  Distribute hexagon tangram shapes and sets of the tangram challenge cards to each table or group.  Students can work together or independently to build the tangrams.  (Differentiation:  Enlarge the challenge cards so the tangram pieces can fit on top of the shape on the challenge card before trying to build it beside the card.)
• Activity 3:  Distribute a minimum of five of each image cards to each student.  Challenge them to make the following patterns:

A, B

A, B, C

A, B, C, D

A, B, C, D, E

 If students master an A, B, C, D, E pattern, they can be given blank cards to draw another appropriate image and continue to grow their patterns.