By Semester 2 you will have evolved your skills in the writing and analysis of Current Events. Therefore, the expectations of the standard 3 grade will be elevated as you have gained more expertise in the craft. Below is an example of a summary in the 3.5 - 4 range for Semester 2.
The Brightness of Bees
Bees are extremely important to our planet as they help pollinate millions of plants, flowers and trees. They may look scary to some, but they are busy little workers who are not really out to sting you, but simply to improve the life of their fellow bees in the hive. Even more, they are out to improve our lives by pollinating so many plants that we come to depend on. Unfortunately, they are in danger due to pesticides being placed on certain farm crops and are being poisoned by the chemicals. This has greatly reduced the plants being pollinated by the bees.
Bees, although quite small, are extremely intelligent despite their size. Researchers have discovered that bees can learn certain things, and then teach other bees to do the same. For example, a team of researchers placed bees they trained to perform certain tasks on a platform with untrained bees. After observing the trained bees once, the untrained ones started to carry out the task, too. Scientists have said that they use the neurons in their brain as efficiently as any other animal on the globe. They go on to explain that bees communicate through head-butting, jostling each other and dancing. Labs have also shown that bees are smart enough to pull artificial flowers out of narrow slots by strings in order to access sugar in them. Other research also supports the notion of advanced bee intelligence. A 2014 study in the journal Animal Cognition found that bees could learn increasingly difficult tasks to access sugar. For example, bees can learn to slide or lift caps, then push balls of escalating weight to access the reward. When the researchers put the bees who knew how to solve the puzzle in a hive with untrained bees, they somehow went on to communicate the solution to their fellow bees.
Bees are a perfect example of the group mind concept at work. This concept involves groups thinking and working as individuals to efficiently and effectively accomplish tasks. Bees are just one example; others include birds, fish, and even mammals like zebra. Humans also have this potential and have acted like this in the past to accomplish certain things – think World War. This new information is amazing and should make us question how we have viewed bees, as well as all other animals, in the way of intelligence and overall ability to teach and learn.
The Brightness of Bees
Bees are extremely important to our planet as they help pollinate millions of plants, flowers and trees. They may look scary to some, but they are busy little workers who are not really out to sting you, but simply to improve the life of their fellow bees in the hive. Even more, they are out to improve our lives by pollinating so many plants that we come to depend on. Unfortunately, they are in danger due to pesticides being placed on certain farm crops and are being poisoned by the chemicals. This has greatly reduced the plants being pollinated by the bees.
Bees, although quite small, are extremely intelligent despite their size. Researchers have discovered that bees can learn certain things, and then teach other bees to do the same. For example, a team of researchers placed bees they trained to perform certain tasks on a platform with untrained bees. After observing the trained bees once, the untrained ones started to carry out the task, too. Scientists have said that they use the neurons in their brain as efficiently as any other animal on the globe. They go on to explain that bees communicate through head-butting, jostling each other and dancing. Labs have also shown that bees are smart enough to pull artificial flowers out of narrow slots by strings in order to access sugar in them. Other research also supports the notion of advanced bee intelligence. A 2014 study in the journal Animal Cognition found that bees could learn increasingly difficult tasks to access sugar. For example, bees can learn to slide or lift caps, then push balls of escalating weight to access the reward. When the researchers put the bees who knew how to solve the puzzle in a hive with untrained bees, they somehow went on to communicate the solution to their fellow bees.
Bees are a perfect example of the group mind concept at work. This concept involves groups thinking and working as individuals to efficiently and effectively accomplish tasks. Bees are just one example; others include birds, fish, and even mammals like zebra. Humans also have this potential and have acted like this in the past to accomplish certain things – think World War. This new information is amazing and should make us question how we have viewed bees, as well as all other animals, in the way of intelligence and overall ability to teach and learn.