HARCOURT
STORY TOWN 2009
Grade 2
Theme 5 /Lesson 23
Title: The Bee
Suggested Time: 4 days (45 minutes per day)
Common Core ELA Standards
RI.2.1, RI.2.2, RI.2.4, RI.2.5, RI.2.6, RI.2.7, RI.2.8, RI.2.10, RF.2.3, W.2.2, SL.2.1, SL.2.2, L.2.3, L.2.4
Teacher Instructions
Refer to the Introduction for further details.
Before Teaching
1. Read the Big Ideas and Key Understandings and the Synopsis. Please do not read this to the students. This is a description for
teachers, about the big ideas and key understanding that students should take away after completing this task.
Big Ideas and Key Understandings
The students will gain information about honeybees.
Synopsis
This nonfiction story is about the lives of honeybees. The story begins with the building of the honeycomb and a diagram
explains the use of each cell in the honeycomb. The story entails each step in the life cycle of a bee, how they maintain the
hive on a daily basis, how they communicate with other bees, and how they prepare for winter. The story concludes with a
diagram illustrating the parts of a bee. The roles of different types of bees in a hive are described throughout the story.
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STORY TOWN 2009
Grade 2
Instructional Focus
Throughout The Bee, the teacher will place an emphasis on using graphic aids, such as diagrams, to give additional facts
about the topic. In this selection, students will also understand that nonfiction stories give information through the use of
main ideas and details.
2. Read entire main selection text, keeping in mind the Big Ideas and Key Understandings.
3. Re-read the main selection text while noting the stopping points for the Text Dependent Questions and teaching Vocabulary.
During Teaching
1. Students read the entire main selection text independently.
2. Teacher reads the main selection text aloud with students following along.
(Depending on how complex the text is and the amount of support needed by students, the teacher may choose to reverse the order of
steps 1 and 2.)
3. Students and teacher re-read the text while stopping to respond to and discuss the questions and returning to the text. A variety of methods
can be used to structure the reading and discussion (i.e.: whole class discussion, think-pair-share, independent written response, group work,
etc.)
Text Dependent Questions
Text Dependent Questions
Reread page 246. The heading is “What is inside the tree?”
What is inside the tree? Which detail lets us know that it is
crowded?
Reread page 247. What are the female bees named? Why is
this a good name for the female bees?
Using the diagram on pages 248 and 249, how many sides does
Answers
A beehive is in the tree trunk. We know it’s crowded because
thousands of bees live together in one hive.
The bees that look after the hive are female bees and they are
called “workers”. They make wax in their bodies and work to
build the cells in the hive.
A cell has six sides.
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STORY TOWN 2009
Grade 2
a cell have?
According to the diagram, the cells provide 3 purposes. List the
3 purposes that the cells provide. Pages 248 – 249
The cells near the edge hold the honey, the cells farther in hold
the pollen, and the cells in the middle hold eggs.
What is placed in the middle of the comb? Why? Page 249.
The eggs are laid in the middle of the comb because these cells
are the safest.
Only one bee lays eggs. The name of the bee that lays eggs is
the queen bee.
How many bees in the hive lay eggs? What do we call the bee
that lays eggs? Page 250
A larva does not look like a bee but is what we call a baby bee.
How many larvae are in each cell? Who takes care of the larva?
Page 252
There is one larva in each cell. The worker bees look after the
baby bees.
A pupa is like an older child who is about to become an adult.
How long does it take for the pupa to become a bee? page 255
It takes 12 days for the pupa to become a bee.
How are the cells prepared for the next eggs that will be laid by
the queen bee? Page 257
What are male bees called? How are the male bees different
from the female bees? Page 258
The new bee’s first job is to clean empty cells. It climbs into the
cell and carefully cleans it for the next egg.
Male bees are called drones. Drones are bigger than worker
bees. Drones have larger eyes and do not work at all in the
hive.
What do bees do when they make their first flight? What are
they getting ready to do? Page 260
Reread the paragraph of page 262 and look at the picture. How
do bees carry pollen back to the hive?
Bees fly around their hive to learn its shape and where it is.
Then, they are ready to search for food.
Bees carry the pollen onto pollen baskets on its back legs.
Why is nectar important to have in the beehive? P. 263
The young workers and drones eat the nectar. The other
workers turn it into honey.
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STORY TOWN 2009
Reread the first paragraph on page 265. How do the bees show
other bees where to find nectar?
Grade 2
Reread the second paragraph on page 265 and the paragraph
on page 266. What happens when there are too many bees in
the hive? What happens to the queen bee?
Dancing shows the other bees which way to go to find the
nectar. If they dance fast, the nectar is close. If they dance
slowly, the nectar is far away.
The bees are leaving their hive that is too crowded to find a
good place to make a new hive. The queen bee leaves the hive
and a new queen is born in the old hive.
What does it mean on page 269 when the author says the bees
disappear? Why do the bees disappear?
The bees shut themselves in their hive. They disappear when
winter comes.
Using the diagram on page 270, answer the following
questions:
What part of the body are the bee’s legs and wings attached?
They are located on the thorax.
Compound means something is made of two or more parts.
Why is a bee’s eyes called “compound eyes”?
They are called compound eyes because they are made of
hundreds of tiny eyes.
What is the function of a bee’s antennae?
The antennae are used to smell and sense things around them.
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STORY TOWN 2009
Grade 2
STUDENTS FIGURE OUT THE MEANING
sufficient context clues are provided in the text
TEACHER PROVIDES DEFINITION
not enough contextual clues provided in
the text
Vocabulary
KEY WORDS ESSENTIAL TO UNDERSTANDING
BIG IDEAS OF TEXT
Words addressed with a question or task
WORDS WORTH KNOWING
Words to be part of systematic vocabulary instruction,
not essential for understanding the big ideas of the
text
Page 259
Page 262
Page 263
Page 265
Page 267
Page 269
attack, enemies
packs
store (stores)
pattern
“takes over”
shut
Page 252
Page 254
Page 257
Page 259
Page 265
royal jelly
sealed
carefully
guarding
pattern
Page 246
Page 246
Page 252
Page 247
Page 247
Page 258
Page 260
Page 262
Page 265
Page 266
Page 270
combs
trunk, hive
hatch
wax, cells
worker (bees)
drones
flight
(pollen) baskets, sticks
dance
swarm
compound (eyes)
Page 248
Page 249
page 250
page 252
Page 255
Page 258
Page 260
Page 269
edge
farther
crowd
looked (after)
rests
young
shape, search
disappear
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HARCOURT
STORY TOWN 2009
Grade 2
Culminating Task

Re-Read, Think, Discuss, Write
Write a paragraph explaining 3 jobs a worker bee does to help with the beehive and explain the importance of each job using
details from the story.
Answer: Model Paragraph: Worker bees have many jobs. They make wax inside their bodies. The wax is used to build the cells.
Another job is to seal the larva’s cell so that the pupa can grow into a bee. Worker bees also feed and take care of the queen
bee. They protect her so she can lay eggs. Bees work hard to take care of the beehive.
Other possible jobs of worker bees and their importance:
-Look after and feed larva to help them grow.
-Clean and fix the combs to take care of the hive.
-Watch out for enemies to protect the hive.
Additional Tasks
1. Students will be given honey and other related edible items containing honey (honey graham crackers, honeycomb cereal,
etc). Students will receive these items and taste them. Using prior knowledge of adjectives, students will incorporate the 5
senses into describing how honey taste, feels, smells, looks, and sounds. Students will choose one of the food items and write
a paragraph with at least 5 sentences to describe honey using the 5 senses.
2. Students watch a Brain Pop video clip on Honeybees. Additional videos: Discovery Education video clips - Feature Book: The
Life Cycle of the Honeybee (4:59) and Reading Rainbow: The Life Cycle of the Honeybee (27:38)
3. Life Cycle of a Bee Activity: Review with students and discuss in depth the life cycle of a bee using the following website.
http://www.countryrubes.com/images/The_Life_Cycle_of_a_Bee_updated_9_09.pdf
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STORY TOWN 2009
Grade 2
4. Provide students with a diagram of a bee and have them label the parts of the bee.
5. Roles of Bees (Drone, Queen, and Worker Bee): Ask students to decide which role they would like. Have them draw a picture
of their chosen bee and explain their reason for choosing it. Students may act out their roles in a short skit.
6. After creating bees from construction paper, screen mesh, pipe cleaners, and googly eyes, discuss all of the facts learned
about bees. Each child will then create a honeycomb hexagon that has at least one fact, an illustration, and a yellow
background. The pieces will be cut, glued, and folded on all edges to make the shape. After everyone is done to help make
the beehive look more authentic, find branches from the playground to add to the hive and hang it in the classroom. Please
see picture below. (Examples to place on hexagons: life cycle, parts of a bee, student’s favorite fact, etc.)
http://kidblog.org/MrsNolesClass2011/jnoles/busy-as-bees/
Note to Teacher

Check for any food allergies.

May need cardstock or paper for some activities.

May need to purchase items for a few activities.
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HARCOURT

STORY TOWN 2009
Grade 2
Extra Content Specific Vocabulary:
Page 249 larva
Page 252 pollen
Page 254 pupa
Page 256 nectar
Page 261 proboscis
Page 270 thorax, abdomen, antennae
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