"The Busy Life of a Honey Bee" walks through how bees make honey, from forager bees drinking nectar to sealing the honeycomb with wax. On this 3-page 3rd grade informational text sheet, students state the main idea, answer two text-evidence questions, and number four steps in order. It covers RI.3.1, RI.3.2, and RI.3.3. The answers page on page 3 gives the main idea, nectar, the reason for fanning, and the order 2, 4, 1, 3.
RI.3.1
“Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.”
Questions 2 and 3, answered by looking back at the passage for the word nectar and the reason the bees fan their wings.
RI.3.2
“Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.”
Question 1, the main idea of the whole passage.
RI.3.3
“Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.”
Sequence of Events, where students order the steps of making honey using the passage's First, Next, Then, and Finally.
A one-paragraph passage that uses First, Next, Then, and Finally. Worker bees chew the nectar for about half an hour, spit it into six-sided cells, and fan it until the water evaporates.
Question 1 asks for the main idea, with the hint "What is the whole text mostly about?"
Question 2 asks for the name of the sugary juice inside flowers. Question 3 asks why the bees fan the honeycomb with their wings.
Students number four steps from 1 to 4, from forager bees drinking nectar to bees fanning the honeycomb.
Insect unit crossover
Pair it with a life science unit on insects. The passage explains evaporation in one sentence, and it is worth stopping there to talk about where the water goes.
Signal words
Have students box First, Next, Then, and Finally in the passage before question 4. With the boxes in place, the numbering is quick.
Main idea practice
Many students answer question 1 with one detail, such as the bees drinking nectar. Ask them to check whether their sentence covers the whole paragraph.
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