NAPPC Pollinator Curriculum
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NAPPC Pollinator Curriculum >>next Nature's Partners: Pollinators, Plants, and You | Copyright 2007 The Pollinator Partnership Please help us improve and expand this resource! Send us your comments, questions, and suggestions. Let us know how you are using the curriculum, what works well, and what challenges you're encountering. E-mail: [email protected] http://www.nappc.org/curriculum/9/25/2007 11:10:30 AM NAPPC Pollinator Curriculum Printer-Friendly View | Normal View Why Care About Pollinators? Many people think only of allergies when they hear Nature's Partners is an the word pollen. But pollination — the transfer of inquiry learning-based pollen grains to fertilize the seed-producing ovaries curriculum for young of flowers — is an essential part of a healthy people in the 3rd through ecosystem. Pollinators play a significant role in the Home the 6th grade. production of over 150 food crops in the United >>Learn more about the curriculum. States — among them apples, alfalfa, almonds, Why Care About blueberries, cranberries, kiwis, melons, pears, Pollinators? plums, and squash. Scientific Thinking Bees, both managed honey bees and native bees, Processes are the primary pollinators. However, more than 100,000 invertebrate species, including bees, moths, butterflies, beetles, and flies, serve as pollinators — Implementing the as well as 1,035 species of vertebrates, including Curriculum birds, mammals, and reptiles. In the United States, the annual benefit of managed honey bees to Assessment consumers is estimated at $14.6 billion. The services provided by native pollinators further contribute to Outline the productivity of crops as well as to the survival and reproduction of many native plants. Printable Photos However, long-term population trends for some Module 1 North American pollinators are "demonstrably downward," says a new report from the National The Who, What & Why of Research Council1. Pollinators Monarch butterfly on tithonia. Observable decreases in wild populations of bees, Module 2 butterflies, and moths are of great concern to Long-term population Pollinators and Plants in producers of fruits, vegetables, nuts, alfalfa, and flowers. These crops depend on wild and domestic trends for some North American Partnership pollinators. Growers in California, Florida, Arizona, pollinators are "demonstrably Utah, Washington, and Hawaii are especially downward," says a new report Module 3 concerned. More important is the disturbing notion from the National Research The Other Half of the of an imbalance in the natural ecosystem and Council. This is of great concern biodiversity on which all food production depends. to producers of fruits, Partnership: Pollinators Habitat loss for pollinators by human activity poses vegetables, nuts, alfalfa, an immediate and frequently irreversible threat. and flowers. These crops Module 4 Other factors responsible for population decreases depend on wild and domestic Pollinator-Friendly Habitat include invasive plant species, broad-spectrum pesticide use, disease, and weather. pollinators. in Your Area For the most part, the general public is unaware of Module 5 the decrease in pollinator populations and the Creating Pollinator- implications this has for agricultural production. The Nature's Partners: Pollinators, Plants, and You Friendly Habitat curriculum is designed to educate young people about Module 6 Community Service ● pollinators and the important role they play in Project and Celebration providing many of the foods we eat and the http://www.nappc.org/curriculum/intro.php (1 of 2)9/25/2007 11:10:35 AM NAPPC Pollinator Curriculum plant fiber used in our clothing and household Resources/Links goods, and ● ways they can help pollinators survive and Acknowledgements flourish by protecting and creating pollinator- friendly habitat. Introduction to 4-H Series The Nature's Partners curriculum is just one step toward increasing the public's awareness and sense of responsibility that are essential to a successful conservation program for pollinators. In this introductory curriculum we have purposely Honey bees on a frame in a managed hive. chosen to focus on just two of the many pollinators as a means for teaching basic concepts about the process and importance of pollination. Bees were Habitat loss for pollinators chosen due to their primary importance among by human activity poses an pollinators and butterflies were chosen because of immediate and frequently the interesting and distinctive stages of their life irreversible threat. cycle and their intrinsic appeal. Resource and reference materials pertaining to other pollinators are easily found on the Internet, at your local library, and by contacting the Cooperative Extension Office in your county. 1 "Status of Pollinators in North America, " Committee on the Status of Pollinators in North America, National Research Council View report. Scientific Thinking Processes Implementing the Curriculum Photos by Suzanne DeJohn. Begin Module 1 Nature's Partners: Pollinators, Plants, and You | Copyright 2007 The Pollinator Partnership Please help us improve and expand this resource! Send us your comments, questions, and suggestions. Let us know how you are using the curriculum, what works well, and what challenges you're encountering. E-mail: [email protected] http://www.nappc.org/curriculum/intro.php (2 of 2)9/25/2007 11:10:35 AM NAPPC Pollinator Curriculum Printer-Friendly View | Normal View Scientific Thinking Processes Much of what we learn about science in school is delivered through readings, lectures or demonstrations. Scientists, however, create new knowledge by careful use of the scientific thinking processes outlined below. Home Underlying all the curriculum activities are the basic thought processes that scientists use everyday. As leader and co-investigator, you'll be introducing and practicing these with your youth group. Why Care About a) Observing Pollinators? Using all the senses of sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing to gain information. Scientific Thinking Processes b) Communicating Recording discoveries, sharing them, and listening to Implementing the others who may have observed things you missed or have different ways of expressing their observations. Curriculum Communication — whether oral, written, or graphic — increases everyone's awareness and gives a fuller Assessment picture of the object or phenomenon. Outline c) Comparing Observing two or more things side-by-side to find Printable Photos similarities and differences. Some comparisons may Photo by Marilyn Drabicki be sensory, such as comparing how different things Module 1 feel, sound, smell, taste, look, behave, or react. The activities are designed The Who, What & Why of Measurement is another way of comparing things: to provide a systematic you are comparing something to a set of Pollinators exploration of the topic standardized units. You may weigh something (compare it to an ounce or a pound); measure its using the scientific thinking Module 2 length (compare its length to inches or centimeters); processes. Since there are no Pollinators and Plants in or measure its holding capacity (compare it to the "right" results, there can be scale on a measuring cup). no "failure." Partnership d) Organizing Module 3 Grouping or classifying the things you are studying into categories — for example: leaves vs. twigs; red The Other Half of the vs. green vs. blue. Another type of organization is ordering or sequencing — for example: rank the Partnership: Pollinators rocks from hardest to softest; twigs from longest to shortest. Module 4 e) Relating Looking for relationships between variables involves trying out or checking your ideas in a systematic Pollinator-Friendly Habitat way. It is the process by which concrete and abstract ideas are woven together to test or explain in Your Area phenomena. Once you have an idea about how something works (a hypothesis), you can experiment to test the hypothesis by comparing the effects of one variable on another. Module 5 f) Inferring Creating Pollinator- Inferring is the process of realizing ideas that are not directly observable. Based upon your findings in Friendly Habitat the above processes, you can begin to recognize and predict general patterns and relationships, thus forming a more comprehensive theory. Module 6 g) Applying Community Service Applying knowledge involves using knowledge to solve problems — often in creative and inventive Project and Celebration ways. You can take the knowledge you gained from your systematic explorations and apply it to new http://www.nappc.org/curriculum/thinking-processes.php (1 of 2)9/25/2007 11:10:40 AM NAPPC Pollinator Curriculum questions or to problems that arise in everyday life. Resources/Links The activities in Nature's Partners are designed to provide a systematic exploration of the topic using Acknowledgements the scientific thinking processes. Since there are no "right" results anticipated, there can be no "failure." You'll know your activities are successful when investigators come up with their own questions and together you start finding ways to answer them! Introduction to 4-H Series Implementing the Curriculum Begin Module 1 Nature's Partners: Pollinators, Plants, and You | Copyright 2007 The Pollinator Partnership Please help us improve and expand this resource! Send us your comments, questions, and suggestions. Let us know how you are using the curriculum, what works well, and what challenges you're encountering. E-mail: [email protected] http://www.nappc.org/curriculum/thinking-processes.php