Honey Bees

World Bee Day is on 20 May

by Janice Ross

Suitable for Key Stage 3

Aims

To celebrate the work of honey bees.

Preparation and materials

• You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (Honey Bees) and the means to display them.
• Have available the YouTube video ‘Honey bees make honey . . . and bread?’ and the means to show it during the assembly. It is 4.10 minutes long and is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAKkjD3nEv0
• Optional: you may wish to show the students the price of different types of honey, in which case you will also need the means to do so. An example of a range of prices is available at: https://tinyurl.com/4v2wjozt
• For more information about World Bee Day, see: https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/48308339

Assembly

1. Ask the students to listen to the following riddle and try to guess the theme of today’s assembly (the answer is ‘honey’).
   
   It can be solid, it can be runny;
   It’s pure and sweet and tastes very yummy.
   When sore throats and colds make your throat ache,
   With hot water and lemon some of this you should take.
   
   
2. Show Slide 1.
   
   Ask the following questions.
   
   - How many of you have tasted honey?
   - How many of you eat honey regularly?
   
   
3. Show Slide 2.
   
   Point out that honey is often spread on bread.
   
   Show Slide 3.
   
   Sometimes, people mix honey with lemon juice as a remedy for a bad cold.
   
   
4. Show Slide 4.
   
   Point out that Winnie the Pooh is famous for his love of honey.
   
   
5. Show Slide 5.
   
   Ask the students to guess how many types of honey there are in the world.
   
   Listen to a range of responses.
   
   Point out that there are many types of honey, including runny, solid, honeycomb and so on.
   
   In fact, there are several thousand honey varieties in the world! Honey can be yellow, black or even white. It can be made from a combination of flowers or from a single type of flower.
   
   
6. Most people will know that honey is made by bees. But do all bees make honey?
   
   You might like to ask for a show of hands to indicate the answer!
   
   
7. Explain that there are two types of bee: the honey bee and the bumblebee.
   
   Show Slides 6 (a honey bee) and 7 (a bumblebee).
   
   
8. Show Slide 8.
   
   Ask the students to look for differences between the two types of bee.
   
   Identify differences in their size, colour, shape and so on.
   
   
9. A detailed list of the differences between honey bees and bumblebees is available at: https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/bee-faqs/honeybees-vs-bumblebees/
   
   Summarize by saying that bumblebees make small amounts of honey that they eat themselves, whereas honey bees make lots of honey, which bee-keepers then harvest.
   
   
10. Show the YouTube video ‘Honey bees make honey . . . and bread?’ 
    
    
    
    
11. Identify the very organized society of a beehive and the excellent way in which the bees cooperate.
    
    Point out that to make one kilogram of honey, honey bees need to fly over 110,000 miles (that’s more than four times round the world!) and travel to over four million flowers.
    
    This tells us that bees are very hardworking, and that they have to work together to make honey.
    
    
12. Optional: ask the students how much they think a jar of honey costs.
    
    An example of a range of prices is available at: https://tinyurl.com/4v2wjozt
    
    Ask the following questions.
    
    - Why do you think that honey is so expensive?
    - Why do you think there is such a difference in price between the different types?
    
    Discuss that honey can be made from a variety of flowers or from just one type of flower. Which type of honey is the most expensive?

Time for reflection

Explain that 20 May is World Bee Day, when we celebrate these tiny creatures who work so hard to produce such a beneficial food.

Remind the students that to make one kilogram of honey, honey bees need to fly over 110,000 miles and travel to over four million flowers.

Ask the students to reflect for a moment about what we could learn from the honey bee.

Pause to allow time for thought.

Point out that honey bees are very hardworking, and that they work together as a team to make honey.

Encourage the students to consider the importance of teamwork.

Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for the example of the bees working together as a team, each doing their own job.
Please help us to follow their example of teamwork.
Help us to aim to work together, putting the interests of others at the front of our minds.
Amen.