LibGuides: Educator Guide: Plants, Pollinators, and Me!: Plants, Pollinators, and Me! Educator Guide

Plants, Pollinators, and Me!

Tips to Come Prepared

Before you visit the Genovesi Environmental Study Center (GESC) with your class, review the Educator's Guide to prepare for your students.

Read the Essential Questions (p. 1) and Connections to Standards (p. 2) to decide how you want to link your curriculum with your field trip
Complete the Pre-Visit Lesson with your class activating student interest and engagement
Come to GESC ready to engage and learn with our experiential, hands-on field trip program, Amazing Amphibians

Library Finds

Not a Buzz to Be Found by Linda Glaser; Jaime Zollars (Illustrator) Buzz! Zip! Zoom! When the weather is warm, insects are everywhere. But what do they do in winter? Honeybees huddle in their hive. Monarch butterflies fly south. Woolly bear caterpillars hide under leaves and snow. This book shows what twelve different insects do to survive winter's chill.
ISBN: 0761356444
What If There Were No Bees? by Suzanne Slade; Carol Schwartz (Illustrator) Grassland ecosystems can be found on nearly every continent. Countless animals and plants live in them. So what difference could the loss of one animal species make? Follow the chain reaction, and discover how important honey bees are.
Living Sunlight by Molly Bang (Illustrator); Penny Chisholm Living Sunlight shows children, teachers, and parents the remarkable magic of what makes us human.This informative yet dramatic book will mesmerize readers and help further a child's understanding of the energy we share with all living things in nature. We are all dancing sunlight. The book is co-authored by award-winning M.I.T. professor Penny Chisholm, a leading expert on ocean science. A perfect addition to any library!
DK Eyewitness Books: Plant by David Burnie This is a an original and exciting look at the fascinating natural world of plants. Stunning real-life photographs of flowers, fruits, seeds, leaves, and more offer a unique "eyewitness" view of the natural history of plant anatomy and growth. See the biggest flower in the world, where a seed develops, what the inside of a plant stem looks like, how a flower attracts insects, what a plant's reproductive organs look like, how a dandelion spreads its seeds, and much more.   The most trusted nonfiction series on the market, Eyewitness Books provide an in-depth, comprehensive look at their subjects with a unique integration of words and pictures.

Phenomenal Pollinator Facts!

The word “pollen”, has been used in science texts since 1760 and means “the fertilizing part of flowers”. Earlier in history it meant “dust or fine flour”.
Flies often pollinate stinky-smelling flowers. To improve production of fruit, people will often hang bits of rotten meat from trees to attract flies!
Black-and-white ruffed lemurs are the world’s largest known pollinators - the pollen of the Traveller’s palm gets stuck to their fur while they drink its’ sweet nectar, which they then unknowingly transfer to other flowers allowing for pollination to occur.
Bumble bees pollinate via ‘buzz’ pollination, shaking their bodies vigorously to release the pollen with a flower, a strategy only bumble bees with their big fuzzy body can manage. Buzz!
Plants have evolved different flowering times that occur throughout the growing season to decrease competition for pollinators and to provide pollinators with a constant supply of food.
Bats pollinate over 300 species of fruit, including mangoes, guavas and bananas.
Every species of fig tree depends on its own specific wasp variety for pollination.
Ornithophily, or bird pollination, is the pollination of flowering plants by birds.

Essential Questions

What are the parts of a plant? What function does each part of the plant have?
What is a pollinator, and why do flowering plants need pollinators' help?
What are some types of pollinators, and why do they pollinate certain flowers?
Why are pollinators important and how do our actions impact them?

Our Educator Guide

Plants, Pollinators, and Me! Educator Guide

Sora eBooks

Access these free ebooks by signing in to the Sora app with your NYC DOE credentials.

Little Kids First Big Book of Bugs by Catherine D. Hughes; National Geographic Kids The experts at National Geographic present a delightful reference that introduces young children to bugs of all kinds: big and small, jumping and crawling, colorful and creepy. This charming book explores backyard favorites, such as ladybugs and lightning bugs, and introduces kids to more exotic species that inhabit rain forests and deserts around the world. Colorful photos are paired with profiles of each insect, along with facts about the creatures' sizes, diets, homes, and more. This book will quickly become a favorite at storytime, bedtime, and any other time! From the Hardcover edition.
All about Flowers by Claire Throp Books in this series introduce children to different parts of plants. Simple, accessible text breaks down crucial concepts and key vocabulary, and stunning photographs of a wide variety of plants show how diverse plants can be. In All About Flowers, children learn about flowers, including where they can be found, what they look like and the vital job they do for plants.
All about Seeds by Claire Throp Books in this series introduce children to different parts of plants. Simple, accessible text breaks down crucial concepts and key vocabulary, and stunning photographs of a wide variety of plants show how diverse plants can be. In All About Seeds, children learn about seeds, including where they can be found, what they look like and the vital job they do for plants.
Beneficial Insects: Bugs Helping Plants Survive by Emma Huddleston Insects play a vital role in many natural processes around the world. They help pollinate flowers, break down dead things, and provide food for many animals and people.Beneficial Insects: Bugs Helping Plants Survivelooks at how insects make the world a better place, as well as the threats they face and how people can protect them. Easy-to-read text, vivid images, and helpful back matter give readers a clear look at this subject. Features include a table of contents, infographics, a glossary, additional resources, and an index. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Core Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.
The Vegetables We Eat by Gail Gibbons What are vegetables, anyway? Give kids the 411 on veggies with this richly illustrated introduction to produce! Peppers, beans, corn, and peas!  Nonfiction superstar Gail Gibbons lays out the basics of veggies with colorful watercolors and straightforward text. Learn how they grow, how they get to stores, and how many kinds there are--and learn some weird trivia, too! Diagrams, cross sections, and illustrations get kids up close and personal with glossy red peppers, plump orange pumpkins, delectable little peas, and dozens of other vegetables in this essential primer on the subject.
Fall Apple Fun by Martha E. H. Rustad; Amanda Enright (Illustrator) Through charming illustrations and text, readers follow a young girl to the apple orchard where she learns how apples grow and makes cider and pie. Critical thinking and comprehension questions help readers engage with the text.
Flight of the Honey Bee by Raymond Huber; Brian Lovelock (Illustrator) Follow the flight of a honey bee as she searches for nectar to sustain her hive and, along the way, pollinates flowers to produce seeds and fruits. A tiny honey bee emerges from the hive for the first time. Using sunlight, landmarks, and scents to remember the path, she goes in search of pollen and nectar to share with the thousands of other bees in her hive. She uses her powerful sense of smell to locate the flowers that sustain her, avoids birds that might eat her, and returns home to share her finds with her many sisters. Nature lovers and scientists-to-be are invited to explore the fascinating life of a honey bee. Back matter includes information about protecting bees and an index.
Flower Talk by Sara Levine; Masha D'yans (Illustrator) Pssssst! Did you know plants can talk? It's true! Plants use the colors of their flowers to communicate with animals. But why animals? Because they help plants make seeds by moving pollen from one flower to another. Learn the secrets of flower talk from a narrator with an inside scoop! This new book from Sara Levine features a cantankerous talking cactus as a narrator, revealing to readers the significance of different colors of flowers in terms of which pollinators (bees, bats, birds, etc.) different colors "talk" to. A fun nonfiction presentation of science info that may be new to many kids--and adults! "[A] marvelous amalgamation of funny and serious."--A Fuse #8 Production
Fall Harvests by Martha E. H. Rustad; Amanda Enright (Illustrator); Intuitive (Narrated by) Audisee® eBooks with Audio combine professional narration and text highlighting to engage reluctant readers! Fall is a time to celebrate food. Farmers and gardeners work hard to grow crops all spring and summer. In fall, we harvest pumpkins, pecans, corn, potatoes, and more. Mmm! What happens in fall? Find out in the Fall's Here! series, part of the Cloverleaf Books(tm) collection. These nonfiction picture books feature kid-friendly text and illustrations to make learning fun!
Pollinators: Animals Helping Plants Thrive by Martha London Many animals move pollen from one flower to another. This helps flowers make seeds to grow new plants. Pollinators: Animals Helping Plants Thrivelooks at how pollinators make the world a better place, as well as the threats they face and how people can protect them. Easy-to-read text, vivid images, and helpful back matter give readers a clear look at this subject. Features include a table of contents, infographics, a glossary, additional resources, and an index. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Core Library is an imprint of Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO.

Plants, Pollinators, and Me!

Materials for Pre-Visit Lesson

Identifying Parts of a Plant

Materials for Post-Visit Lesson

Pollinator Cards

Other eBooks

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A World of Bugs by Charlotte Guillain Introduce readers to the exciting world of bugs. Each title uses simple text and vibrant photographs to introduce one important bug feature or behavior.
Call Number: 595.7
ISBN: 9781432991593
Publication Date: 2012
Bugs Hide and Seek by Laura Buller Bugs Hide and Seek tells the story about a leaf bug who introduces other bugs that also have great camouflage. In this Level 1 DK Reader early readers will have fun trying to find the camouflaged bugs before they reveal themselves. With short sentences and simple vocabulary, as well as picture dictionary boxes with word labels, Bugs Hide and Seek is perfect for children just beginning to learn to read. DK Readers is a multi-level reading program guaranteed to capture children's interest while developing their reading skills and general knowledge. With nine new exciting titles to choose from this season, kid's ages 4-10 will find the perfect book at their appropriate reading level to help with school projects or independent reading. Supports the Common Core State Standards.
ISBN: 9781465419941
Publication Date: 2014-07-21
All about Flowers by Claire Throp Books in this series introduce children to different parts of plants. Simple, accessible text breaks down crucial concepts and key vocabulary, and stunning photographs of a wide variety of plants show how diverse plants can be. In All About Flowers, children learn about flowers, including where they can be found, what they look like and the vital job they do for plants.
ISBN: 9781484629413
Publication Date: 2015-08-01
All about Seeds by Claire Throp Books in this series introduce children to different parts of plants. Simple, accessible text breaks down crucial concepts and key vocabulary, and stunning photographs of a wide variety of plants show how diverse plants can be. In All About Seeds, children learn about seeds, including where they can be found, what they look like and the vital job they do for plants.
ISBN: 9781484629444
Publication Date: 2015-08-01