- Identity: Students will examine the role of bees in their own lives (e.g., working in the fields; family gardens; etc.)
- Translingual Skills (Vocabulary and Spelling):
- Vocabulary: Students will explore cross linguistic connections (eg. Cognates) pertaining to bees: nectar/el nectar, pollen/el polen, pollination/la polinización, melittologist/la melitóloga, apiculture (beekeeping)/la apicultora (beekeeper)
- Spelling: Students will analyze and compare double consonant diagraphs in both English and Spanish (-ll, -tt, -zz) and double vowel diagraphs in English (-ee, -oo), comparing them with vowels and vowel sounds in Spanish (i, u)
- Intellect: Students will learn about the following across content areas of Math, Social Studies, and Science):
- Traditions of beekeeping among Mayan cultures
- Bee intelligence and the life of a hive
- What plants/flowers attract bees and sustain bee communities
- Criticality:
- Students will inquire into the role of bees in healthy ecologies and the effects of climate change and/or industrial farming on bee populations
- Students will connect hierarchies in bee communities to hierarchies in human communities, including labor practices
- Joy: Students will prepare and enjoy foods sweetened with honey
Lara J. Handsfield, Illinois State University, 2022
Unit published in Muhammad, G. (2023). Unearthing Joy: A Guide to Culturally and Historically Responsive Curriculum and Instruction. Scholastic.