Summary
Una, Jiro and Spot visit a sports stadium on the day of the Buzz Ball championships. They meet a team of bees who need some extra coaching and explore the number 6.
Number focus
Six
Before reading
What happened in the last chapter? Una, Jiro and Spot stopped to visit a five-star festival. They smelled, felt and did everything —exploring their 5 senses. Sadly, Spot missed out on the fun and went missing. When Una and Jiro found Spot, they played a game together and learned that having fun costs nothing at all.
Key themes
Honeycomb hexagons: Ask students what role bees play on Earth and why they are so important. Things to discuss include their roles in pollination, the production of honey and/or medical treatments. Interestingly, a beehive is where bees make honey and the inside is made up of a space filling tessellation called honeycomb. Ask students if they know what honeycomb is, or what it looks like, or if they have ever eaten it. Together, with students, draw a hexagon and count the number of sides. Focus on the tessellating pattern that is possible with hexagons and compare this with other shapes. Use hexagon templates to create or colour a tessellating pattern. Look for other tessellating patterns in the environment, art and magazines.
Classifying bugs: The Mighty Stingers and the Raging Hornets are both teams of bugs. Bugs or insects are the most diverse and strange-looking creatures to walk planet Earth, and they often play essential roles in the web of life. Explain that all insects have 6 legs made up of 3 pairs of jointed legs. Use pictures of creatures to classify them by the number of legs — 6 legs or not 6 legs. Are there any creatures with 6 legs that are not insects? Ask students which of the 3 adventurers is the most like the bees and hornets — Una, Jiro or Spot? Work with students using the number of legs to determine that Spot, too, is an insect.
Teamwork and sportsmanship: When Una, Jiro and Spot first meet the Mighty Stingers they feel sad and worried about losing the Buzz Ball Championships. However, with a little help from Jiro, they soon learn that playing as a team isn’t always about winning or losing, but about how they communicate, support each other and work together — it’s about friendship and teamwork. Ask students about a time they worked together as a team and how they felt when they won or lost. As Jiro said in the story, there is something special about a group of individuals working together to achieve the same goal and through sport we learn about how to deal with winning and losing graciously. Look for opportunities to discuss what it means to be a ‘good sport’ or what is sportsmanship?
