Bee and Me

• This animated video, based on a wordless picture book by Alison Jay, tells the story of a girl who befriends a bee. The girl realizes that the bee is not happy living away from the natural world, so together they plant flower seeds all over the city. 
• Students will learn about the importance of bees in nature and the importance of nature in humans' lives. 

Positives

• This wordless story promotes visual literacy.
• The illustrations are extremely detailed and show the changing seasons.
  

Additional Prerequisites

• Teachers should remember that there is no right or wrong way to read a wordless book. Each child will have their own interpretation of the story.
• Students should be familiar with concepts such as pollination, bees' role in ecosystems, and the decline in bee populations.

• Teachers could pair this story with a nonfiction book about bees.
  
• Before reading, teachers could ask the following discussion questions:
  • What do you think this book will be about?
  • Why do you think the author/illustrator chose to create a story without words?
  • What do you know about bees?
• After viewing the video, teachers could ask the students to predict what they think will happen next and discuss the need for bees in nature.
• The teacher could pause the video throughout to ask the students to explain how the bee and the girl feel and ask what might make them feel that way?
• In art class, students could draw their favorite part of the story.
• More advanced students could write a text to go along with the illustrations.
• Students could choose a page from the book and use speech bubbles to show what they think the bee and the little girl are saying or thinking.
• Another resource on this topic is this activity on growing a pollinator garden.