22. The Song of the Bee

The lesson, step by step

1. Warm up

   Have your child reread a few lines of Lesson XXI, for example:

   Bees live in a house that is called a hive.

   Praise smooth reading and help with any word that sticks.

2. New words

   Point to the new words at the top of the lesson:

   blossoms dreary weary pinks smelling toiling levies buzz fragrant thistle weeds scent treasure yellow meadow tax summer clover cloudy daisy daffodillies columbine humming

   Say each word and have your child say it after you. Clap the parts of long words. Then point to words in any order and let your child read them.

3. Read it aloud

   Look at the page together first. Then your child reads the poem aloud, a line at a time. Pause a little at the end of each line.

   Here are a few lines from it:

   Buzz! buzz! buzz!

   This is the song of the bee.

   His legs are of yellow;

   A jolly, good fellow,

   Read it a second time, more smoothly.

4. Talk about it

   SayWhat does the bee do on sunny days? On cloudy days?

   SayWhich flowers does the bee visit?

   SayWhat does the poem say is harder than working?

   SayListen for rhymes: yellow and fellow. Can you find more?

   Let your child look back at the page to find answers.

5. Tell it back

   Close the book.

   SayTell me about the bee's busy day.

   Let your child talk without stopping them. Afterward, help with anything left out by asking "What happened next?"

6. Copywork

   Write this lines from the lesson for your child to copy, or let them copy it straight from the book:

   Buzz! buzz! buzz!

   This is the song of the bee.

   Check capital letters, commas and the mark at the end.

7. Spelling

   Say each word, use it in a short sentence, and have your child spell it aloud, then write it: buzz, yellow, summer, clover, weeds.

   Check together and fix any mistakes right away.