Video: How Humans can Help Pollinators
In this video, a Foundation-Year 1 teacher is showing students how they can help pollinators to survive and thrive. The learning area is Science. The lesson follows on from previous lessons on the same topic. As a class they have already discussed and written about the need of living things and how their needs are met. In this lesson, the focus is on how humans can help living things when they are in need. It is part of developing attachment to other living things.
This lesson is followed by work in the school kitchen garden. Students will plant flowers, make bee hotels and prepare water bowls for the pollinators. (See videos From principles to practice: planting flowers and From principles to practice: making drinking bowls.)
Key Takeaways
- Notice how the teacher refers to and incorporates the class notes into the discussion. This helps to remind students of prior learning, and acts as a structure for thinking about how humans can help other living things.
- Notice how the teacher moves back and forth from we can help to humans can help. This is a conscious act by the teacher to develop more scientific language, as she moves from the personal ‘we’ to the more generalised ‘humans’.
- Notice how the teacher acknowledges and works with Zachary’s story about his fruit tree at home. She doesn’t just say ‘Oh, that’s nice’ and move on. She reframes his story, bringing it into the lesson, by explaining that the needs of the tree have been met by Zachary giving it water. Sometimes these stories can be a diversion from our learning goals and are difficult to incorporate, but it’s great when we find a way, on the run, of affirming and using student offerings.