Activity 1: Introduction

1. Pass out one copy of the Honey as a Biomolecule student handout. Have students read "Part 1" and mark their best guesses for the series of true/false questions on the student worksheet about honey and sugar. This sections should not be used for grading purposes, but to illuminate student prior knowledge of honey and sugar.
2. Divide class into groups of 2-3 students. Have students read the following articles:
   • “Carbohydrates and the Sweetness of Honey”
   • “Is Honey the same as Sugar?” 
3. Ask students to compare their true-false answers with what they learned about in the articles within their groups. Did they learn anything new about honey? Did anything surprise them?

Activity 2: Comparing Carbs

1. Read the first paragraph of "Part 2" either as a whole class, in small groups, or individually. Facilitate a brief discussion with students about types of carbohydrates. Have students help make a chart on the board of the carbohydrates belonging to monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides. To help students build vocabulary skills, discuss the Greek prefixes mono-, di-, and poly- and their meanings.
2. Guide students to evaluate what information is provided in the table in "Part 2." (Students should be able to see that carbohydrates have different levels of sweetness and disaccharides are made up of two of the monosaccharides.) Answer question #1.
3. Read the next section about digestion, or how enzymes break down larger sugar molecules. Check for understanding by asking, "Why does this happen?" (The body makes energy using glucose but not all sugars are in this form so enzymes are used to convert larger sugar molecules into usable smaller molecules. A good analogy might be that this process is like converting a $50 bill into smaller change so that it can be used in a vending machine.)
4. Use the example of breaking down of lactose into glucose and galactose to show how digested lactose has a new sweetness rating of 55 compared to undigested lactose which is 20. Have students work in pairs to answer the remaining follow-up questions. Check for student understanding and clarify when necessary.
5. Have students read the passage about how bees process nectar into honey. Ask students to draw a quick sketch of this process for understanding. Review the carbohydrate conversion taking place in honey processing. (Sucrose is broken down by invertase into fructose and glucose.) Answer the follow-up question.
6. Let students examine the ingredient list for Junior Mints. See how many types of carbohydrates students can find on the list of ingredients (Sugar (sucrose), corn syrup, confectioner's glaze (likely sugar and water), and modified food starch).
7. Note that an enzyme is added to the list of ingredients. Discuss what this enzyme will do to the sweetness of the carbohydrates (Increase it, similar to what happens to honey).

Activity 3: Developing a Food Product with Honey

1. Review with students that honey is an agricultural product made by bees. Food scientists will sometimes select honey as a sweetener because of its unique properties.
2. Divide students up into groups of 3-4 students. Explain that their task is to create a new food product using honey as one of the ingredients.
3. As outlined in the student handout, each group must come up with a product name, identify a core audience for their product, determine what their packaging will look like, decide on ingredients, and draw a sketch of their food product. Lastly, they will list three reasons why they might choose to include honey.