Flower Power
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Something about spring, especially after a snow-laden winter invites a discussion about birds and bees. Alex Siy makes it easy to talk about with your students, |
English/Language Arts
Explore lead sentences - using quotation marks
Add this Minute to the list of Minutes that start with a question. Here, Author Siy asks readers if they know what a phrase means. While students will know what each word in the phrase birds and bees means, fewer will be able to articulate the meaning when it is put together as a phrase. Hence, the use of quotation marks around the phrase, to delineate that the phrase has a meaning other than the meaning derived from the individual words.
Explore second person voice
This Minute is the second this week, (see Everything is Connected), that utilizes the second person voice, a casual choice where the author speaks directly to the reader. Ask your readers to compare this use of second person voice in each Minute. Does it work well in both places? Where else do we see examples of this? When should writers consider using this voice in their writing?
Explore literary devices - similes, alliteration and dual meaning
Author Siy uses several literary devices in this MInute. She uses alliteration in her colorful, curvy petals, similes in her description of the texture, smell and taste of a flower’s petals, and a clever use of dual meaning with the words hitched and engaged. See if your student can find these devices and name them. Then ask them to talk with a partner to discuss why the author has made these choices, and when it would be smart for any author to consider using them.
STEM
Explore parts of a flower
This Minute and a warm spring day invite some outdoor exploration of the flowers that have begun to appear in many parts of the country. Pick a few or snap some photos and get kids drawing and identifying their parts.
FCS/Nutrition
Explore the nutrition of pollen
AUthor Siy tells the reader that pollen is a good source of protein. Have students explore the benefits and sources of protein in their own diet.
Health & Wellness
Explore the sexual reproduction
This MInute provides a perfect introduction to a beginning in the Health classroom on sexual reproduction. Share this with your Health and PE teachers!
Explore lead sentences - using quotation marks
Add this Minute to the list of Minutes that start with a question. Here, Author Siy asks readers if they know what a phrase means. While students will know what each word in the phrase birds and bees means, fewer will be able to articulate the meaning when it is put together as a phrase. Hence, the use of quotation marks around the phrase, to delineate that the phrase has a meaning other than the meaning derived from the individual words.
Explore second person voice
This Minute is the second this week, (see Everything is Connected), that utilizes the second person voice, a casual choice where the author speaks directly to the reader. Ask your readers to compare this use of second person voice in each Minute. Does it work well in both places? Where else do we see examples of this? When should writers consider using this voice in their writing?
Explore literary devices - similes, alliteration and dual meaning
Author Siy uses several literary devices in this MInute. She uses alliteration in her colorful, curvy petals, similes in her description of the texture, smell and taste of a flower’s petals, and a clever use of dual meaning with the words hitched and engaged. See if your student can find these devices and name them. Then ask them to talk with a partner to discuss why the author has made these choices, and when it would be smart for any author to consider using them.
STEM
Explore parts of a flower
This Minute and a warm spring day invite some outdoor exploration of the flowers that have begun to appear in many parts of the country. Pick a few or snap some photos and get kids drawing and identifying their parts.
FCS/Nutrition
Explore the nutrition of pollen
AUthor Siy tells the reader that pollen is a good source of protein. Have students explore the benefits and sources of protein in their own diet.
Health & Wellness
Explore the sexual reproduction
This MInute provides a perfect introduction to a beginning in the Health classroom on sexual reproduction. Share this with your Health and PE teachers!
© Karen Sterling, 2018 - May be used for educational purposes without written permission
