Bee Boxes, Blueberries and Best Friends: Teaching Empathy and Mason Bee Pollination in a Hands-On Way May 2019

This grant will supplement exploration of the chapter book “A Handful of Stars”. Students will read the book and will explore the life of mason bees and their importance to pollination and our ecosystem. Students will create mason bee boxes and will also explore the theme of friendship and empathy through characters in the book intertwined with the farming of blueberries which is a staple of Maine, the setting of the story.

To build background knowledge, students will read the picture book”Blueberries for Sal” and discuss the theme and setting of the story.  A simple geography lesson describing the settings, Maine and Florida, the points of reference in the book A Handful of Stars will occur. Activities will include map skills, distance finding, state identification, and travel routes that one of the characters may have taken from Florida to Maine. Students will read the book “A Handful of Stars” and explore various literary elements. As part of the reading block, students will delve into nonfiction text focusing on mason bees, the native bee to North America. This study will also include the comparison of the honey bee and the mason bee. Research into mason bee boxes will be included in the reading and science blocks of our instruction. Students will plan, construct, and paint wooden bee boxes that will be placed in the outdoor education center of our school. Students will explore the life of migrant workers, and will discuss the value of this group to our society as well as the challenges faced by a migrant child in terms of school and friendships (A central theme in the book “A Handful of Stars” is the relationship between the child of a migrant worker and a child who is native to Maine). A culminating activity will be a celebration of diversity when our students will make blueberry enchiladas (a treat sold by a migrant family in this book) and serve these to each staff member.