Guide students in developing a class focus question about the phenomenon. How can nature help humans design better technology?

Students will learn that honey bees are important because they pollinate a lot of plants including our food supply, but they are decreasing so robotic bees can help.

Life cycles of different plants and animals look different but have the same stages such as birth, growth, reproduction, and death.

Animals look different than their parents and siblings because they inherit a variation of traits from their parents. Organisms change characteristics based on their diet, learning, and environment.

Some animals like bees live in groups for protection, to hunt, and to raise their young. Bees have specialized roles in the colony that help them survive.

The robobee mimics a honey bee’s behavior and function to pollinate flowers. Different technology can copy the structure, behavior, and function of organisms to help the environment.

Your class is getting tired of cleaning up the trash on the playground after recess. You want to design a robot to pick up all the trash each day.

A Socratic seminar is a methodology that allows open, polite, deep discussion on a topic. Students freely express their thoughts and ideas without the fear of ridicule, or wrong answers. Students engage in respectful conversation where they justify their thoughts and listen to the ideas of others.