NGSS Rusty Patched Bumblebee Unit Updates!

Update August 24, 2021
We are underway with our research study led by Dr. Danielle Lawson. Bravo to our fab cohort of inspiring 6-8th grade science teachers throughout Illinois!

Update June 1, 2021
We have been awarded a grant from Penn State's Sustainability Institute Biodiversity Seed Grant Program. Woohoo! This will allow us to run a research study to evaluate the unit and its impacts in the classroom.

Update August 14, 2020. Three new elements added to the RPB unit!

Based on suggestions from our fab cohort of teachers we’ve added three new elements to the RPB unit:

• Suggested Extensions

• A folder of other threatened/endangered pollinator species

• New discussion about why losing pollinators might matter in the blog post guidelines:

Update August 10. July teacher training session went really well!
It was great to share the unit with - and learn from - a terrific group of 6-8th grade science teachers from all over Illinois! New and really helpful ideas emerged from group discussions and are now incorporated into the unit. Today we are preparing to begin our pilot to see how the unit does in the classroom. You can view the unit here.

Update April 30. Positive, actionable feedback now coming in from our Teacher Focus Group!

Our first Focus Group is underway and we are thrilled at the feedback. So far we have heard from Peter Ower (WJHS D. 39) who says ”an awesome unit that is well laid out, strongly integrated with NGSS, focused on students ideas and ownership, and results in community action by students.” and from Cole Lanham (New Trier High School, Winnetka) “I would like to congratulate the entire SkyDay team for producing a truly first-rate unit for scientific education. The work is incredibly well-grounded in the key concepts that students need to be exposed to in the classroom if they are to become scientifically literate citizens….There is depth, variety, and a clear focus on scientific methodology. Most importantly, the lessons tie students into a real-life, local phenomenon and ask them to investigate and propose solutions using observations, data, and models. The interview, blogpost, and service learning opportunities allow students to share their experiences, inform the community, and actively participate in the conservation of the Rusty Patched Bumblebee. I am excited to incorporate this unit into my own classroom teaching.”

In addition both Peter and Cole have given us detailed, actionable feedback that will make the unit even better. Thank you Peter and Cole!

Update April 10. RPB Unit Ready for Review Next Week!
Jesse Semeyn, Illinois Science Content Specialist and expert NGSS Curriculum Writer, has been working extremely hard on finishing our RPB Unit, despite all the obstacles Covid has thrown at our school system. I am thrilled to say we will be sending our drafts out to our Focus Group teachers next week. For those who have volunteered to read and respond we are so grateful to you!

Update March 30

There's a Better Way to Teach Climate Change and Environmentalism

- a live Zoom presentation with SkyDay Founder/Director, Ben Whitehouse and Science Content Specialist for the State of Illinois, Jesse Semeyn

Friday April 17th at 10 AM hosted on Zoom by the Environmental Education Association of Illinois
Register here

Ben and Jesse will walk through their new NGSS Unit 'What is happening to the Rusty Patched Bumblebee? And why should you care?' and talk about the groundbreaking NC State Study (publ. in Nature Climate Change) that informs their approach. Our new unit combines Next Generation Science Standards, the latest science, Intergenerational Learning and outdoor service projects. The result? Informed, engaged students and an increase in parent environment concern too - even among those traditionally hardest to convince.

Update March 10

Rusty Patched Bumblebee Unit Overview Check it and please feel free to leave a comment!

The full unit will be available for review first week of April. So, stay tuned!

Update March 3, 2020 - Join our Teacher Focus Group and Pilot Program!

April 6 -17 Teacher Focus Groups. Read the unit via google shared doc and gives us your feedback on-line
April 20 - May 1 30 minute Zoom Interviews with our awesome focus group teachers
September/October/November Pilot the unit with your class in school and tell us what you learn :)
Sign up here!

Our Rusty Patched Bumblebee unit guides students in using science and engineering practices to make sense of the functioning of the RPB’s ecosystem. Students figure out the effects of changes to the ecosystem on the Rusty Patched Bumblebee. The unit introduces the changing patterns in our climate and students apply their learning to predict the effects of Climate Change on the ecosystem and the species that rely on it. Learning is extended beyond the walls of the classroom when students create blog posts, engage in intergenerational conversations, and design actionable solutions to the problem of the decline of this keystone species.

Update March 2, 2020
We are very close to finishing our NGSS unit on the plight of the Rusty Patched Bumblebee. Did you know that until very recently this wonderful little pollinator used to roam all over Illinois gardens, parks and prairies but is now on the endangered species list? Did you know the RPB has become so scarce it is now only likely to be present in 0.1% of its historical range? How on earth did this happen? What are the pressures on the life cycle of this crucial member of our ecosystem? Most importantly, why should you care?

In this unit your students will examine the best science and draw their own conclusions. And then they’ll be shown easy ways to get outside and take actions to help!

Want to be part of our spring teacher focus group? Sign up using the form on this page

Update January 12, 2020

We are delighted to announce that Illinois NGSS curriculum writing expert Jesse Semeyn is collaborating with us on our RPB unit! This is huge. Jesse not only understands how to write high quality NGSS curriculum but he even sits on the Achieve Science Peer Review Panel. So he knows his stuff. But you know how life goes…..this blessing also taught us that before Jesse was helping us we didn’t fully understand NGSS principles as well as we thought we did. (I’m assured this happens a lot! :) All of which means that with Jesse’s help and guidance we must now go back to the drawing board somewhat and start again. We will therefore be later in releasing our RPB unit than we had at first hoped. But, c’est la vie! Better to have a first class product a little late than a quicker unit that isn’t as good as it could be. Stay tuned!