Cross-Curricular Design Activity: Assessments & Evaluations

Erika Espinosa (40134759)

Erika Matthews (40135414)

Spencer MacAloney (40127477)

Grace Theodorou (40124667)

Department of Education, Concordia University

EDUC 400: Teaching Across the Curriculum

Professor Grace Edeh

November 16th, 2022

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Table of Contents

Lesson 1: Bee-Bee-Q 2

Lesson 2: Ha-bee-tats for Humanity 6

Lesson 3: Arc-hives 11

Lesson 4: Buzzworthy 18

Work Cited 24

Appendices 25
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Lesson 1: Bee-Bee-Q

​ ● Time of lesson: 1 hour and 30 minutes - 2 hours

​ ● Grade/Age of students: Cycle 3/Grade 5

​ ● Number of students: 25

Overview

In this lesson, students will be exposed to the importance of bees within our food

structure and how their disappearance could affect the collapse of our food resources. We

will look at a recipe as a whole group and eliminate the foods that would be affected by

the disappearance of bees. Then the students will have an opportunity to, in groups,

independently perform this exercise and present to the class what they found.

Material/resources required:

​ ● Ingredients for the recipe I will be doing with the students

​ ● Computers or Ipads

​ ● Paper for group notes

​ ● Pencil

​ ● List of foods that are affected by bee extinction (Appendix 1)

​ ● Guiding questions (Appendix 2)

Organization of space:

Desk set up in groups of 4 so that the students can have easy conducting group work, and

a large desk at the front of the class so I can display the ingredients of the recipe.
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Procedure

Introduction

The students would begin by standing around the big table at the front of the class with all the

ingredients on the table. The educator would ask them what they think these ingredients make

(what recipe is it). the educator would then ask them questions about bees (do they know that
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bees are going extinct? Do you think bees affect our food system? What is the food system ?)

After they answered these questions, the educator would ask how they think bees affect our food

system. After they respond, the educator would then explain how bees help pollinate a lot of the

produce and food we eat as a society, and their disappearance would create a massive shift in the

food structure and system we have today. The educator would then ask the students to guess

which foods on the table would be affected by the disappearance of bees; after this, the educator

would then eliminate all the foods that would be affected by the disappearance of bees and see

what is left. The educator would then begin to explain that the groups that the student's tables are

set up in will be the groups for the activity; each group will have to find a recipe and see how

bees will affect that recipe, write down the notes you take as you go through the recipe, and

complete the worksheet (guiding questions).

Development

Following the introduction, students will have the opportunity to conduct online research on a

recipe they would like to analyze and perform the same activity the educator demonstrated with

the whole class (seeing what food/ingredients could not be used if bees disappeared). During this

time, the educator will walk around the classroom to see if the students are engaging in dialogue,

completing the task at hand, and answering any questions the students have.

MacAloney, 4

Conclusion

After each team analyzes a recipe and finishes their group notes and the worksheet, each team

will have to showcase what recipe they chose to the whole class and explain what would change
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about their recipe if bees were to disappear. After every team is done, the educator will conclude

how bees are essential for the food structure of society and will use this opportunity as a call to

action on the part of the students to see how they can help be a part of the solution to help the

bees.

Alignment with big idea, essential questions, concepts, and unit understandings

This Lesson is directly related to showing how we as a society are interconnected with

bees based on how they affect our food structure and food chain, which directly reflects our big

idea that "bees and humans are interdependent for survival." This Lesson allows them to directly

and visually see how the disappearance of bees affects the food structure within our society and

the students' lives. This lesson directly relates to our second essential question, "how do bees

contribute to a sustainable ecosystem?". This Lesson is made to have a call to action for our

students and show why we need bees and how bees affect our daily lives.
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Lesson 2: Ha-bee-tats for Humanity

Name: Erika Espinosa

School: TBD

Cooperating teacher: TBD

Date of lesson: November 30th, 2022

Time of lesson: 1.5 - 2 hours

Grade/Age of students: Grade 5/10 years old Number of students: 25

Lesson details

Brief description of the lesson: Students will learn about the human impact of bees population as

they test, design, build and observe a structure of solitary bees.

Source: https://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-and-experiments/make-a-wild-bee-hotel

Prior experience/knowledge required: Familiarity with basic tools, fasteners, and materials and

how to use them. Some familiarity with the basic needs of living things. Familiarity with bees.

Material/resources needed:

​ - Designing and recording tools

​ - Measuring tools

​ - Fasteners

​ - Cutting/punching tools
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​ - Recycled container

​ - Roof material

Organization of space: Classroom and outdoors

Transitions: Introduce the lesson before recess, so that if students want to explore or collect

material outside they can. Once they are back from recess, they can start planning and

co-constructing their solitary bee house.

Targeted Professional Competency: (Ministère de l’Éducation du Québec, 2001)

Targeted curricular Objectives Evidence that the Assessments

competency and feature objective has been met

Cross curricular By exploring their If the objective has Assessment for

surroundings outside while been met, students will learning:

C1:To use information
- They broaden their range
of information sources,
both at school and in their
immediate surroundings.
gathering information on
bee habitats, students
should have collected
enough information to feel
prepared to build their own
be able to complete
Observation and
their bee house design,
questioning.
as well as explain why
they want to use certain
materials.

solitary bee house.

- They are capable of

recognizing elements of

information that can help
answer their questions.
Cross curricular
C2: To solve problems
- They are capable of
explaining why certain
elements of a situation
pose a problem and making
a list of possible solutions.
- Their implementation
strategies are more
effective and varied.
situations they explore and
like to experiment with
new combinations of ideas, their creativity when
strategies and techniques.
- They are open to drawing
on various sources and can
By planning and
constructing their solitary
bee house, students can go
through trial and error and
solve problems that might
arise during this lesson.
By creating their solitary
bee house, students will use
planning and constructing
it.
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If the objective has Assessment for
been met, students will learning:
be able to solve
Observation
problems (as a team)
and explain how they Assessment of
came up with their learning:
solution.
Rubric (Appendix
2)
If the objective has Assessment of
been met, students will learning:
have been able to
Rubric (Appendix
experiment with new
2
ideas and strategies,
and have more
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recognize the original organization in their

elements in their work. creative steps.

Math and Science By planning and If the objective has been Assessment of

creating their solitary met, students will have learning:

C1: To solve a situational
bee house, students will been able to experiment
problem related to mathematics Rubric (Appendix
be able to work out any with new ideas and
2)
- They anticipate the result, work solutions that might strategies, and have
out a solution that may involve arise during this more organization in
several steps, and associate the project. their creative steps.
presentation of the problem with

that of similar problems.

- They validate the solution

(procedure and final answer) and

explain it orally or in writing

using exact mathematical

language.

Procedure
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Introduction: As a class, activate prior knowledge by having students share what they already

know about bees and where bees live. Once the students are done sharing, look at images of

different types of homes for solitary bees. Explain to students that sometimes solitary bees have

trouble finding a place to live and how important it is for them to make houses for bees that

might be having trouble. Have the students identify what the human-made solitary bee houses

have in common, which will help from the basis of their design criteria. Explain that they will be

making their own solitary bee house with a partner that we will be putting up around the school

outside.

Development: Have the students co-design a prototype bee house that they will construct with

the given criteria that needs to be met (see Appendix 3). While this process is going, asking the

students questions to encourage ideas during their brainstorming. Before the students start

making their solitary bee house, have the students explain to you orally how they will go about

building their bee house. If they are not comfortable saying it orally, they can also write it down.

Give students the freedom to get the materials they need once they are prepared to build.

Students should construct their bee houses in accordance with their design plans. Before coming

to you for assistance, encourage students to make modifications to and resolve any potential

issues together.

Conclusion: Students will hang their solitary bee house outside in the vicinity of the school. Each

group will describe the rationale behind choosing its materials, the structure, and any issues that

might have come up. After a couple of days, you can check out the solitary bee houses that the

students made to see if any bees have come to visit. I will then use the rubric to evaluate

(appendix 4).
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Alignment with big idea, essential questions, concepts, and unit understandings

This activity aligns with our big idea, “bees and humans are interdependent of each other

for survival”, as we are asking students to make solitary bee houses for those who do not have a

hive. This lesson directly relates to our essential question #3, “how does our environment affect

our daily lives?” and essential question #4, “ how far does our responsibility go to protect our

ecosystem?”.We want them to understand that as much as we rely on bees, we can also do our

part and help bees find a home. This lesson relates to unit understanding that our daily lives will

be severely impacted if the bee population continues to decrease. We want our students to

understand how this endangered species affects the lives of our students and the environment.

Students will gain the knowledge on the importance of creating solitary bee houses that connects

our civic responsibility of leading to a sustainable life.

Lesson 3: Arc-hives

Name: Grace Theodorou

School: N/A

Cooperating teacher: N/A

Date of lesson: N/A

Time of lesson (start and end): 1.5 hours

Grade/Age of students: cycle 3: grade 5

Number of students: 25
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Lesson details

Title of lesson: Arc-hives

Brief description of lesson:

Students will spend time inquiring about and observing the bee houses previously made.

Students will document what they observed, and the activity will end with a class discussion on

what students noticed and learned from their inquiry.

Prior experience/knowledge required:

Students will have previous knowledge from the lessons that occur before Arc-hives. The

understanding of the importance of bees and how they affect our daily life (from the Bee-Bee-Q

activity), and how bees live and prosper through the Habee-tats for Humanity lesson.

Material/resources required:

· Worksheet with prompts (appendix 5)

· Blank paper

· Pencils, crayons, markers

· Magnifying glasses

· Whiteboard

Organization of space:

This lesson will take place outdoors where the bee houses are kept. No specific

organization of the outdoor space needs to occur; however, this lesson is to be done in the spring,

summer or fall seasons.

Transitions:
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Students will be indoors in class before this activity occurs, where the instructions for the lesson

will take place, and materials will be dispersed. After the observation, students will gather back

into their classroom to discuss their findings.

Targeted Professional Competencies (Ministère de l’Éducation du Québec, 2001)

Targeted curricular Objectives Evidence that the Assessment

competency and objective has been

feature met

Cross Curricular By observing and If the objective has Assessment will

Competency 1: To collecting data on the been met, students’ occur after the

use information bee houses, students worksheets will be lesson, when

-To gather will collect full of data students will be

information information. collected. asked to hand in

Furthermore, their worksheets.

students may These worksheets

participate in the would assist the

class discussion by educator in

sharing the assessment to see if

information students gathered

collected. information in an

effective way.
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Cross Curricular By participating in If the objective has Assessment will

Competency 9: To the class discussion, been met, students occur through

communicate students will may participate in observation of the

appropriately demonstrate adequate the class discussion class discussion.

-To establish the communication in an appropriate The educator will

purpose of the skills. manner to address assess through

communication what they noticed students’ ability to

-To carry out the about the bee participate in

communication houses. dialogue, as well as

their ability to relay

the information

asked.

Social Sciences By observing the bee If the objective has Assessment will

Competency 1: To houses, students will been met, students occur through the

understand the gain understanding of may demonstrate observation of

organization of a the way bees live and through their students observing

society in its organize themselves. collected data, or bee houses, as well

territory through sharing as through the

-To make with the class, some information

connections between characteristics of collected in their

characteristics of the the bees’ lives. worksheet.

society and the

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organization of its

territory

By discussing If the objective has Assessment will

Ethics and information collected been met, students occur through the

Religious Culture with classmates, may speak of questioning and

Competency 3: students will connect aspects of previous observation of

Engages in their newfound lessons in the unit students when

dialogue knowledge with when working to engaging in

-Makes connections previously explain newly discussion and in

between prior learned/discussed observed data in the observation

knowledge and new knowledge on bees. either the class process. The

knowledge discussion or educator will ask

-Expresses his/her observation process. questions that are

point of view and thought provoking

pays attention to to help guide

others' views students to connect

to previous

knowledge.
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ELA Competency By participating in If the objective has Assessment will

4:To use language the class discussion, been met, students occur through the

to communicate students will would participate in observation of

and learn communicate for the the class discussion, students while

-To use language purpose of discussing engaging with their engaging in the

(talk) to information. classmates about the class discussion.

communicate information

information, gathered.

experiences and

point of view

-To use language

(talk) for learning

and thinking

Procedure

Introduction:

To begin the lesson, students will be informed on the process of observation and the

activity they will soon participate in. The educator will describe to students the goals of the

lesson, and what is meant by prompts included in the worksheet. Materials will be dispersed to

students for their observation adventure.

Development:
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Following the explanation of the lesson, students will go outside to the bee houses and

begin the observation and inquiry process. They are welcome to use magnifying glasses to assist

them in the process. Students are welcome to display their learning in different ways, whether

that be through written text, pictures or visuals. The educator will be around to facilitate

conversation about what is being seen, asking open-ended questions and supporting students.

After students have finished observing the bee houses and feel as if they collected the

information they were looking for, the class will head back into the class to discuss their

findings.

Conclusion:

Succeeding the observation process, students will come together in class to discuss their

findings as well as any questions they may have. The educator can assist the class by facilitating

conversation through open-ended questions or thought-provoking facts. The class will discuss

what they found through the prompts that were included on the sheet previously given to them.

As a class, information will be gathered and written down on the whiteboard or projector. To

finish the lesson, students will hand in the worksheet and any extra paper they used in their

observation process.

Alignment with big idea, essential questions, concepts, and unit understandings

By engaging in this lesson, students will work on the concept established in this unit,

awareness. Students will learn how to be aware and notice aspects not typically noticed through

the conscious inspection of the bee houses. Furthermore, they will become aware of the complex

and sustainable way of life that bees live, which leads to the connection to essential question #2,

“how do bees contribute to a sustainable ecosystem”. They will connect what they observe to

previous information learned in activity #1, Bee-Bee-Q, to understand how bees contribute to a
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sustainable ecosystem, as it is learned that without bees, more than just honey would disappear.

This connects to our unit understanding, “students will know that our daily lives will be severely

impacted if the bee population continues to decrease”. Moreover, this connects to essential

question #1, “how does civic responsibility affect sustainability”. Through observation, students

will gain knowledge of the sustainability of bees’ ways of life. Students will be able to gain

knowledge on how the decision to create bee houses created new life, thus leading to sustainable

life through civic responsibility.

Lesson 4: Buzzworthy

Name: Erika Matthews

School: N/A

Cooperating teacher: N/A

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Date of lesson: Will be given 3 classes to work on it

Time of lesson (start and end): Will be given 3 one hour periods

Grade/Age of students: Cycle 3 - Grade 5

Number of students: 25

Title of lesson: Buzzworthy

Lesson Details

Brief description of lesson: This is a wrap up lesson to conclude the unit on bees and

sustainability. They will be writing a persuasive letter to a friend, convincing them that we need

bees to survive. This is an opportunity for students to share the knowledge that they have

learned, and to apply it to a real life scenario.

Prior experience/knowledge required: Students will have to apply knowledge they have gained

throughout the unit “Where Would We Be Without Bees?”. They will have to understand the

importance that bees play in our everyday lives, and how we are directly impacted by their

survival. Students will have to understand and be able to discuss the topics of sustainability, civic

responsibility, environmentalism, activism, and interdependence.

Material/resources:

​ - Pen

​ - Paper
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​ - Dictionary (if necessary)

​ - Class notes

​ - Persuasive letter outline (appendix 6)

Organization of space: This will be done at their desks.

Transitions: This activity will take place in the mornings. We will work on it until

morning recess for three classes.

​ Targeted Professional Competencies (Ministère de l’Éducation du Québec, 2001)

Targeted curricular Objectives Evidence that the objective has been Assessment

competency and feature met

Cross-Curricular C3: To By writing a If the objectives have been met, the Rubric

exercise critical judgment persuasive letter, student’s letter will demonstrate their (appendix 7)

students will share in-depth knowledge on the topic of

​ ● To form an
their level of bees. They will make a strong argument
opinion
knowledge gained on why we need bees to survive, and
​ ● To qualify his or
throughout the unit. will back up their argument with
her judgment
evidence collected throughout the unit.
​ ● To express his or

her judgment
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ELA C2: To write By following a given If the objectives have been met, the Rubric

self-expressive, narrative outline, students will student’s letter will be a well

and information based texts write a persuasive letter written piece that expresses their

that expresses their opinion with evidence to support

​ ● To integrate
opinion. their statements.
her/his knowledge of

texts into own

writing

​ ● To use writing as a

system for

communicating and

constructing meaning

Procedure

Introduction:

To begin this lesson, I will first discuss what a persuasive letter is. I will give a handout, and we

will discuss as a class what it consists of. We will look at an example. Next, we will do a quick

recap of the unit by asking students to raise their hands to share something that stood out to

them. For example, a student could share that they found it very interesting that bees will always

use a hexagon shape to create their hives.

Development:
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Students will be given a handout outlining the format that their persuasive letter must follow.

They will be given the scenario, “you overhear a friend on the playground screaming while

running around in circles. He is yelling, “I wish bees didn’t exist!”. Write a persuasive letter

explaining to your friend why we need bees. Try to change his mind!”. They will write a letter

that shares their in-depth knowledge on this topic, and will be asked to provide sufficient

evidence to back their claims. They can use their class notes to do so. They will then be given

three class periods to work on their letters.

Conclusion:

For the last half hour of the last period, they will swap their work with a peer. They will correct

the work of their peers and go over it for grammar mistakes, spelling errors, etc... They will then

be given the rest of the work as homework. They will have a week to work on their final drafts

and to submit their work.

Alignment with big idea, essential questions, concepts, and unit understandings

This activity is relevant because it directly addresses the big idea “bees and humans are

interdependent on each other for survival”, as we are asking students to share their knowledge on

this topic. We want them to express why this statement is true. This lesson directly relates to our

essential questions, “how does civic responsibility affect sustainability?” and “how far does our

responsibility as citizens go to protect our ecosystem?”, because it asks students to write a letter

as an activist for bees. We want to simulate a real life scenario that encourages students to stand

up for our ecosystem and environment. The lesson relates to unit understanding as we want them
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to share the knowledge that our daily lives will be severely impacted if the bee population

continues to decrease.
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Work Cited
Bandera, G. (2022, May 21). Why are bees endangered and what happens if they go extinct?

FairPlanet. Retrieved October 4, 2022, from

https://www.fairplanet.org/story/the-risks-and-dangers-of-bee-extinction/

Grades 4 -5-6 persuasive writing rubric - enetlearning. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2022,

from

http://enetlearning.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Grades-4-5-6-Persua sive-rubric.pdf

Ministère de l’Éducation du Québec. (2001). Québec education program - quebec.ca. Québec

education program. Retrieved January 21, 2023, from

http://www.education.gouv.qc.ca/fileadmin/site_web/documents/education/jeunes/

pfeq/PFEQ_presentation-primaire_EN.pdf

Public Broadcasting Service. (n.d.). Make a wild bee hotel. PBS. Retrieved November 29, 2022,

from https://www.pbs.org/parents/crafts-and-experiments/make-a-wild-bee-hotel

Rubistar home. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2022, from

http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?ts=1669861467
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Appendices

Appendix 1:
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Appendix 2:
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Appendix 3:
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Appendix 4:
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Appendix 5:
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Appendix 6:
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Appendix 7: