Whole Earth Curriculum WEC

Lesson 07 — Partners in Life: Pollination and Symbiosis

Learners describe a **symbiotic relationship** — pollination — and explain how **both organisms benefit**. They work the bee-and-flower pair as a worked example, then trace a second partnership the same way.

D10 P4: Contextual & Ecological Awareness D10.S3 50 minutes Draft

Objectives

Essential question

What is a symbiotic relationship, and how do both organisms benefit — as in pollination?

symbiosismutualismpollinationnectarpollenbenefit

Materials

Standard materials

Low-tech / no-cost

Enriched / lab & device

Works in different contexts

A bee and a flower with two arrows — the flower gives the bee nectar and pollen for food, and the bee carries pollen so the flower can make seeds — showing both benefit
A bee and a flower with two arrows — the flower gives the bee nectar and pollen for food, and the bee carries pollen so the flower can make seeds — showing both benefit

Lesson 7 — Partners in Life: Pollination and Symbiosis

Summary

Learners describe a symbiotic relationship — pollination — and explain how both organisms benefit. They work the bee-and-flower pair as a worked example, then trace a second partnership (coral and algae) the same way.

Objectives

  • Describe a symbiotic relationship, such as pollination, and explain how both organisms benefit or are affected. (D10.S3.07.02)

Connection

Watch a bee at a flower. The bee is not doing the flower a favor out of kindness — it is there for the sweet nectar, its food. Yet as it moves from flower to flower, it carries pollen on its body and, without meaning to, helps the flower make seeds. Each side gets something it needs. Life is full of these partnerships, called symbiosis, where two different living things depend on each other. Today you learn how they work.

Materials

  • Partnership sheet
  • Partnership cards

Preparation

  • Copy the partnership sheet and partnership cards.
  • Retrieval: from Lesson 6, recall that matter cycles through an ecosystem. Today we look at the partnerships that keep that cycle moving — like pollination, which lets plants make the next generation.

Facilitator note

This lesson is written to the learner (“you”). The ideas to land: (1) symbiosis is a close relationship between two different species; in mutualism, both benefit; (2) pollination is a mutualism — the pollinator gets food (nectar, pollen) and the plant gets its pollen moved so it can make seeds; (3) “benefit” means each side gets something it needs to live or reproduce, not that they intend to help each other. Model the bee-and-flower pair once (worked example, S-011). The environment lens: symbiosis shows that living systems are webs of interdependence, not solitary competition. The global lens: pollination happens worldwide, with many different partners — bees, butterflies, moths, bats, birds — differing by region. The technology & ethics lens: humans depend on pollination for much of our food, so caring for pollinators is also caring for ourselves and for farmers everywhere. Keep the science precise: pollination is a real mutualism; coral gets food from its symbiotic algae, and the algae get shelter (S-215, S-330); distinguish these facts from the value that interdependence is worth honoring.

Procedure

  1. Recall (5 min). What cycles through an ecosystem? Today we meet the partnerships that keep the cycle going.
  2. Meet the idea (8 min). Symbiosis is a close relationship between two different species. When both benefit, it is called mutualism. Pollination is one famous example.
  3. Watch it modeled — bee and flower (15 min). The bee visits a flower for nectar and pollen — its food. As it feeds, pollen sticks to its body. When it flies to the next flower, some pollen rubs off — and the flower gets its pollen moved, so it can make seeds. Neither is being kind; both are getting something they need. Fill in your two arrows: bee gets food; flower gets seeds made.
  4. Trace a second partnership (15 min). With a group, take the coral and algae card. Coral gives the tiny algae a safe, sunny home; the algae make food the coral can use. Name what each side gets, and draw the two arrows.
  5. Close (7 min). Share one partnership you traced. Remember: in mutualism, both sides benefit — even if neither one planned it.

Differentiation

  • Support: Provide the two benefits pre-listed and ask learners to match each to the right partner.
  • Extension: Contrast mutualism with a relationship where one side benefits and the other is harmed (parasitism), using a named example, and say what makes them different.

Assessment

  • Formative (observation): Can the learner name both benefits in a symbiotic pair and explain why each is a benefit?
  • Portfolio artifact: The completed partnership sheet for coral and algae, kept in the portfolio.

Home connection

Find a partnership near home — a pollinator at a flower, lichen on a rock, or a bird that eats insects off a large animal. Name what each side gets.

Resources