Bee Life Grade 3 Science and Technology Unit

Bee Life
Grade 3
Science and Technology Unit
Bee Life
Instructions to Teachers
This unit is a Science and Technology lesson plan for the Understanding Life Systems – Growth and Changes in Plants
strand. Over a duration of 45 minutes, the lesson will take grade 3 students through the basics of plant reproduc-
tion, the role pollinators play in growing crops and an overview of the relationship we have with our food
Concepts this will teach students include:

plant reproduction, diagramming, anatomy, plant/animal relationships and the relationship between humans and
our food.
The materials included are:

- Blackline Master: Flowers and Fruits
- Blackline Master: Plant Parts
- Blackline Master: Plant Parts Worksheet
Curriculum Expectations Overview
Based on the Ontario curriculum, we’ve identified four different essential knowledges that this unit will meet as
described in the curriculum guides (and in more detail on the next page). 2.6, 3.2 and 3.6.
Prior to the lesson, make copies of each of the three Bee Life Blackline Masters for all of your students and attach
them together in a hand-out package. Determine if you will be using the Plant Parts Worksheet as an assignment
and if so, keep it separate from the other materials.
During the lesson, ensure each student has all the relevant materials. Draw a diagram on the board of the flower
included with Plant Parts, but don’t label any of the parts. Instead, in a list next to the drawing, include a list of the
terms that students will learn:
- Petals
- Pistil
- Stamen
- Stem
- Leaf
- Root
As you explain the material in the Blackline Masters, add the simple function next to each of the words to define
them. Draw lines from the words to the parts of the flower to reinforce the parts and their names.

Bee Life
Grade 3 Science Unit 1 - Growth and Changes in Plants
Overall Expectation 2: investigate similarities and differences in the characteristics of various plants,
and ways in which the characteristics of plants relate to the environment in which they grow;
Overall Expectation 3: demonstrate an understanding that plants grow and change and have distinct
characteristics.
By the end of Grade 3 Science, students will be able to:
2.6 use appropriate science and technology vocabulary, including stem, leaf, root, pistil, stamen, flower,
adaptation, and germination, in oral and written communication;
3.2 identify the major parts of plants, including root, stem, flower, stamen, pistil, leaf, seed, and fruit, and
describe how each contributes to the plant’s survival within the plant’s environment (e.g., the roots soak
up food and water for the plant; the stem carries water and food to the rest of the plant; the leaves make
food for the plant with help from the sun; the flowers grow fruit and seeds for new plants);
3.6 describe ways in which plants and animals depend on each other (e.g., plants provide food for en-
ergy; animals help disperse pollen and seeds, and provide manure that fertilizes the soil in which plants
grow; plants need the carbon dioxide that animals breathe out, and animals need the oxygen that plants
release into the air).
Bee Life
Flowers and fruits

Seed Shoot

A seed contains A shoot grows from
everything a plant the seed with a stem
needs to grow roots to support it and leaves
and start its life. collect energy from the sun.

Flower Fruit
A flower is necessary The flower eventually

for a plant to reproduce grows into a fruit and
and to make new plants. a fruit holds the seeds
Flowers are usually bright that will grow a new
and colourful to attract plant in the next season.
pollinators like honey bees
and hummingbirds.
Plants use their flowers to reproduce. Every flower has a pistil and a stamen. The stamen holds
pollen. When pollen brushes on the pistil, the plant is fertilized and creates a fruit that con-
tains seeds. Animals eat the fruit and scatter the seeds where they can grow the next season.
But most flowers, like cucumber flowers, have pistils that can’t be fertilized with pollen from the
same flower’s stamen. That’s why they’ve adapted—or changed over time—to attract pollinators
to spread their pollen to other flowers.
Fill in the diagram above with the words that match the parts of the plant:
pistil, stamen, petal, stem, leaf, root
Bee Life
Pollinators and plants
Attracting a pollinator
Using their brightly coloured and sweet-smelling flowers, plants
attract pollinators. Honey bees collect pollen and take it back to
their hive for other honey bees to eat. When they fly from flower
to flower, pollen spreads onto the pistils of different plants. If
these plants are of the same species, the pollen will fertilize those
plants.
Without bees, flowers couldn’t reproduce. But without flowers,

bees wouldn’t have anything to eat.
They have both adapted to help each other and get what they need.
Bees and people

Though many of us are afraid of bees, we need them. They polli-
nate many of the plants we grow, which becomes the food we eat.
Farmers understand how important bees are, because without
bees to pollinate many of their crops, there would be nothing for
them to harvest. Bees also make honey from nectar and pollen,
which we use in a lot of our food.
Some people actually farm bees for their honey. These people are
called beekeepers.
Bee Life
Worksheet
Fill in the blanks with the word that makes the most sense. Use each word only once.
pollen, pollinate, seeds, stamen, fruits
1) Pollen that flowers produce come from the ____________.
2) Seeds that grow new plants come from the ____________.
3) Bees collect _________ and spread it from flower to flower.
4) Animals can spread __________ and help them grow new plants.
5) When pollinators like bees brush pollen on the pistil, they ____________ the plant.

Bee Life
Answer Key
Fill in the blanks with the word that makes the most sense. Use each word only once.
pollen, fertilize, seeds, stamen, fruits
1) Pollen that flowers produce come from the stamen.
2) Seeds that grow new plants come from the fruits.
3) Bees eat pollen and spread it from flower to flower.
4) Animals can spread seeds and help them grow new plants
5) When pollinators like bees brush pollen on the pistil, they pollinate the plant.
Stem
Pistil
Petal
Stamen
Leaf
Root

Bee Life Grade 3 Science and Technology Unit

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Bee Life Grade 3 Science and Technology Unit

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Bee Life Grade 3 Science and Technology Unit

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Bee Life

Concepts this will teach students include:

The materials included are:

Curriculum Expectations Overview

By the end of Grade 3 Science, students will be able to:

A flower is necessary The flower eventually

Without bees, flowers couldn’t reproduce. But without flowers,

Bees and people

1) Pollen that flowers produce come from the ____________.

2) Seeds that grow new plants come from the ____________.

3) Bees collect _________ and spread it from flower to flower.

1) Pollen that flowers produce come from the stamen.

2) Seeds that grow new plants come from the fruits.

3) Bees eat pollen and spread it from flower to flower.

You might also like