Lesson 6: Pollinator Patrol

Timing: Spring and Summer

Objective: Study pollinators in their natural habitats. Students will observe, count, and identify pollinators in their natural habitat, learn the role of pollinators in plant reproduction, and discover which species are most frequent visitors to local flowers.

SMART Learning Goals:

• K-2nd Grade: Students will watch one flower patch for 5 minutes and count at least 3 pollinator visits, marking them on the chart.
• 3rd - 5th Grade: Students will tally pollinator visits to one flower type for 10 minutes and write a reflection about which insect visited most and why it might prefer that flower.

Materials:

• A variety of pollinator-attracting plants that are local to your area.
• Connect with a local botanist or naturalist if you are unsure which plants are local species to your area.
• Clipboards, science journals.
• Pencils or pens
• A simple pollinator tally chart or observation sheet (with columns for time, flower type, species, visit count)
• Magnifying glasses

Activities:

Begin with a class discussion: Ask: “What is pollination?” “Why do flowers need pollinators?”

• Use a simple diagram to show how pollination works
• Introduce your area’s local pollinators: native bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, moths, beetles, flies.

Explain

• Each student/group should pick a plant patch or specific flower species.
• They should observe the same area for 5–10 minutes.
• Count each visit: mark every time a pollinator lands on a flower.
• Make a simple chart of what they see.

Observe!

• Students should count:
• Which insects visit
• How many times they visit
• Flower or plant type

Discuss

• Ask students questions like: What pollinators did you see? Which ones came the most often? Did some flowers attract more visits than others?
• Make a class chart of pollinator visits on a bar graph or pie chart. Example: bee visits vs butterfly visits.
• Name which species return more than others.

Reflection

• Students should use their science journals to draw or write about the pollinator patrol.

How this activity supports Common Core Science Standards

K–2:

• 2-LS2-1: Plan and conduct an investigation to determine if plants need sunlight and water to grow.

3–5:

• 4-LS1-1: Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction.

Related Lessons:

• Lesson 1: Introduction
• Lesson 2: Living vs Non-Living Things
• Lesson 3: Soil Discovery and Decomposers
• Lesson 4: Plant Growth
• Lesson 5: Wind Direction and Study
• Lesson 7: Butterfly Garden
• Lesson 8: Seed Dispersal
• Lesson 9: Solar Energy Exploration
• Lesson 10: Microhabitat Study
• Lesson 11: Decomposition Detectives
• Lesson 12: Building a Scale Model of the Solar System

Lesson 6 - How to Build and Teach From Outdoor Science Learning Labs.pdf