Student slideshow: English | Spanish

Teacher printout: English & Spanish

Ants to the rescue!

Readings from Newsela are free with registration. They’re available in English or Spanish and can be adjusted for reading level. Writing prompts and quiz questions are available for many readings.

• Most insects don’t help each other if they get into trouble. Matabele ants from Africa, though, are different. They’ve developed a way to get rescued if they’re hurt. Read about how they work together in this article. (Grade 3)

Can you do the waggle dance?

Bees live by the hundreds in hives, setting out each day in search of nectar. When a bee finds food, it heads back to the hive and tells the other bees all about it. How? By wiggling its body in patterns that tell the bees where to find the flowers.

• Watch this video (1:50) to see a bee’s “waggle dance,” and then see how good you are at dancing like a bee with this activity from the New Jersey Agricultural Society. (Grades 3–5)

Safety in numbers

• A crow on its own might make an easy meal for a big, strong bald eagle. But as you can see here, a group of crows (called a “murder” of crows) can work together to chase an eagle away. (1:23, TheLivingWilderness)

• Most big birds are not built to fight in the air. Smaller birds that can fly faster and change direction more quickly can often avoid them. Big groups of small birds can be even more effective. See how sticking together helps this huge flock of birds escape a falcon on the hunt. (2:40, BBC)

You can elaborate student learning and engagement with Mystery Science mini-lessons.

• Are killer whales really dangerous? In this mini-lesson students discover that living in a group helps young animals learn from the older members.

If you are in an NGSS state, this mini-lesson supports the DCI LS2.D: Social Interactions and Group Behavior