What’s killing the bees? That’s a mystery scientists and gardeners have been investigating for years now. Our bee population is dropping. This matters because about one-third of our food supply is pollinated by bees. Apples, almonds, apricots, and avocados, for a start…and that’s just food starting with A.

Here in Minneapolis, researchers at the University of Minnesota have determined that pesticides killed three hives of bees last month. Someone in a residential area sprayed a house and some nearby plants, and the bees inadvertently took the poison back to their hives to share it with the group. Read more here:
http://ecowatch.com/2013/10/10/pesticides-to-blame-for-massive-bee-deaths/

So is it just pesticides that’s causing our bees to die off? That’s unlikely, though it is one important cause. Learn about this theory and others in Sandra Markle’s book The Case of the Vanishing Honeybees: A Scientific Mystery. And when you’re done, check out our FREE teaching resources.

These activities, written by author Sandra Markle, invite students to dig deeper into the story of the disappearing honeybees. And did I mention that the activities are aligned to Common Core Standards for English Language Arts?

Each season, our editorial staff puts our heads together to come up with great extras to help you get more out of our new series and titles. To download free resources for a book or series, find the book on our website. If you haven’t registered with us, please do so at the upper right corner of the page. On future visits, you’ll need to sign in to download files. Then look in the right-hand column of the page for the eSource logo. Just under the Font Lens, you’ll see the downloadable eSource files. Click on an individual file or on “download all.”