Lessons & Units :: The Honeybee Man 2nd Grade Unit

Read-Aloud Lesson: The Honeybee Man

Lesson Plan

The Honeybee Man | AD870L

The Honeybee Man
Learning Goal
Identify important evidence from the text about the production of honey to discuss the main idea and make complex inferences.
Necessary Materials
Provided:
  1. Detailed lesson plan
  2. Graphic organizer for guided practice
  3. Independent student worksheet

Not Provided:
The Honeybee Man
 
  1. This lesson is a close reading of the entire text. So it’s important to engage students often, to enhance their learning. Here are two tips:
    •   When you ask the more complex questions from the lesson, ask students to “turn-and-talk” or “buddy-talk” before answering.

    •   Once you are deep into the lesson, instead of asking students every question provided, ask them to share with you what questions they should be asking themselves at that point in the text. This is also a great opportunity to use "turn-and-talk."
       
  2. Suggested teacher language is included in the lesson.

  3. We recommend you read the book once to your students, either the day or morning before teaching the lesson.

  4. This research-based, read-aloud lesson may seem long. Why do students need the lesson to be this way?
 

Part 1: Teacher Modeling and Questioning

 

Write the learning goal on the board, then read the learning goal out loud with the class:

We will gather information about how honey is made to understand the main idea of the book.

 
Read page 2 (the first page with text) out loud, then stop. Page 2 ends with, “...pool of sunlight.” Show students the illustrations on pages 1 and 2. If possible, always show students the illustrations on the pages you read throughout the lesson.
1.
Teacher says: We are introduced to Fred, and we are told that he has an enormous family – which means a very, very large family.
2.
Teacher asks: Who are the other two members of his family we meet on this page?
 
Students answer: We meet Copper the dog and Cat the cat.
3.

Teacher says (models thinking): We have met Fred, Copper the dog, and Cat the cat. That’s three. That does not seem to be an enormous family to me. The author told us that Fred has an enormous family, but so far we only know about three family members.

So I am going to make a prediction. I predict – which means I am going to make an educated guess based on evidence in the text – I predict that we are going to meet more members of Fred’s family as we keep reading.
 
Read pages 3-6 out loud. Page 6 ends with, “...seems quiet.”
4.
Teacher asks: Where is the other tiny city?
 
Students answer: The other tiny city is near the edge of the roof. (“The other tiny city is on the roof” is also acceptable.)
5.
Teacher asks: How many houses are there in this other tiny city?
 
Students answer: There are three houses.
6.
Teacher says: We are told that inside of the houses there are tiny rooms made of wax.
7.
Teacher asks: How many of the tiny rooms made of wax are there in these houses?
 
Students answer: There are thousands of these rooms.
8.
Teacher asks: Look at the picture and think of what the author just told us about these houses made of wax. I see that the houses are small, and that inside these small houses there are thousands of rooms. So the rooms must be even smaller. Could a person live in one of these rooms?
 
Students answer: No, a person could not live in one of these rooms.
9.
Teacher asks: How about a dog or a cat?
 
Students answer: No, a dog or a cat could not live in one of these rooms.
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Read pages 7 and 8. Page 8 ends with, “‘...my darlings!’”
10.
Teacher asks: What lives in these houses?
 
Students answer: Bees live in these houses.
11.
Teacher says: Fred considers the bees to be part of his family, like his dog Copper and his cat named Cat. That is why his family is enormous.
12.
Teacher asks: How many members of Fred’s family are there?
 
Students answer (responses may vary but should resemble the following): There are too many members of his family to count.
13.
Teacher says: Fred says something to each one of the three houses. What is the same in what he says to the three houses?
 
Students answer (make sure both responses are given before moving on):
  • Fred says “Good morning” to each of the three houses.
  • Fred uses the word “Queen” each time.
14.
Teacher asks: What is different in what Fred says to the three houses?
 
Students answer: The name of each queen is different.
15.
Teacher says: The name of each queen is different. So every bee house, or hive, has its own queen bee.
 
Read pages 9 and 10. Page 10 ends with, “...all across Brooklyn.”
16.
Teacher says: “Forage” means to look for food. The book says that some of the bees are getting ready to forage, or look for food, in the flowers abloom all around Brooklyn. So they will be looking for food in the blooming flowers.
 
Read page 11. Page 11 ends with, “‘...find out!’”
17.
Teacher says: I am wondering why Fred does not know whether the honey his bees will make will be dark or light. I am also wondering how he could find out whether the bees will find mint or other specific kinds of flowers.
 
Read pages 12-18. Page 18 ends with, “...somewhere across town.”
18.
Teacher asks: What kind of flowers and bushes do the bees dive into?
 
Students answer: The bees dive into sweet pea, squash, and sage flowers. (Students may add “blueberry bushes” as a possibility Fred hopes for.)
19.
Teacher says: I wonder how Fred will know whether the bees find blueberry bushes.
 
Read pages 19 and 20. Page 20 ends with, “...as the bees.”
20.
Teacher asks: How do the bees tell each other where to find the best flowers?
 
Students answer: They do a dance. (Students may also respond that the bees do a “waggle dance” or “wiggle dance.”)
 
Read pages 21-22. Page 22 ends with, “Zzzzz!”
21.
Teacher asks: What does Fred want to take from the bees?
 
Students answer: Fred wants to take honey from the bees.
22.
Teacher asks: The author tells us how to do something on these two pages. She explains a process to us. What process does she explain to us?
 
Students answer: The author explains how to take honey from the hives without getting stung. (Some students may repeat the details of the process. Make sure the process itself is identified before moving on.)
 
Read pages 23 and 24. Page 24 ends with, “...BROOKLYN BEES.”
23.
Teacher says: Once Fred sends Copper the dog to the kitchen, he does four things as part of another process. The author explains to us the steps Fred takes in the process of making honey – in order to put it into a jar with a label, like we would find it in a store.
24.
Teacher asks: The first step in the process of making honey is setting a frame of honeycomb over a tank and cutting off the wax caps, so the honey begins to flow. What is the second step in the process?
 
Students answer (responses may vary in wording but should resemble the following): Fred places the honeycomb in a spinning machine, which squeezes every last drip of honey out of it.
25.
Teacher asks: What is the last step in the process?
 
Students answer: Fred sticks labels to the jars.
 
Finish reading the story.
26.
Teacher asks: What does the honey taste like?
 
Students answer (make sure all of the following responses are given):
  • The honey tastes sweet, like linden flowers.
  • The honey tastes sharp, like rosemary.
  • The honey tastes sour, like blueberries.
 
It may be necessary to explain that linden trees have very sweet-smelling flowers, flowers of the herb rosemary have a sharp taste, and wild blueberries often have a sour taste.
27.
Teacher asks: Why does the honey made by Fred’s bees taste like linden flowers, rosemary, and blueberries?
 
Students answer: The honey made by Fred’s bees tastes like linden flowers, rosemary, and blueberries because the bees got their nectar from those plants.
 

Part 2: Guided Practice and Discussion

 
For this oral lesson, it is suggested to have the completed graphic organizer on the board with the answers concealed. After students provide a correct answer, reveal the corresponding answer on the graphic organizer.
1.
Teacher asks: What is the setting of this story?
 
Students answer: The setting of this story is the city of Brooklyn.
2.
Teacher asks: What lives in the three houses on Fred’s roof?
 
Students answer: Bees live in the three houses on Fred’s roof.
3.
Teacher asks: What insects make honey?
 
Students answer: Bees make honey.
4.
Teacher asks: Where do bees get the nectar that they bring back to their bee houses, called hives?
 
Students answer: The bees get the nectar from flowers and bushes. (Students may name specific examples, such as sweet pea flowers, linden flowers, and blueberries.)
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5.
Teacher asks: What does the honey from Fred’s bees taste like?
 
Students answer: Responses may vary, as long as they reflect the text. Make sure that more than one correct answer is given, so students understand that Fred’s honey has more than one taste. Examples include:
  • The honey tastes sweet.
  • The honey tastes slightly sour.
  • The honey tastes like rosemary.
  • The honey tastes like blueberries.
 
After the answers for the graphic organizer have been completed and discussed with the class, ask the following two extension questions.
 
Teacher asks: A main idea of this story is how honey gets its taste. Why does the honey from Fred’s bees have more than one taste? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.
 
Students answer (responses may vary but should resemble the following): The honey has more than one taste because the bees got their nectar from different plants. We read that the bees visited linden flowers and that Fred hoped they would go to blueberry bushes. The honey tasted like linden flowers and blueberries.
 
Teacher asks: If there were lemon trees, orange trees, and cherry trees in a field, and Fred’s bees only got nectar from the flowers of the orange trees, what would their honey taste like? Use evidence from the book to support your answer.
 
Students answer (responses may vary but should resemble the following): Honey tastes like the plants where the bees got their nectar. So if the bees only got nectar from orange tree flowers, their honey would taste like oranges. In the book, the honey tastes like linden flowers and blueberries, because those are places where the bees got their nectar.
 

Part 3: Student Independent Practice

 
Read each question out loud to your students and have each student complete the worksheet independently. The worksheet can be found in the materials section.

Texts & Materials

Standards Alignment

(To see all of the ReadWorks lessons aligned to your standards, click here.)

User Comments

I just found this website and I am so excited to use the reading strategies this week! When teaching strategies or doing the comp units, is everything done in whole group? Are Their Lessons taught in guided reading groups also? If so, which part is used in groups?

Submitted by georgia on 2/22/15

Hi Georgia! Thank you very much for your interest in ReadWorks. The lessons are based on the gradual release of responsibility methodology, in which:

  • The teacher models during Direct Teaching ("I" section of the lesson);
  • Students practice with teacher guidance during Guided Practice ("We" section); and
  • Students apply what they learned independently in the Independent Practice ("You" section)

Please don't hesitate to contact us using the Feedback button on the left side of the page if you have additional questions!

Submitted by ReadWorks Team on 2/24/15

I am an Exceptional Children's Resource Teacher. I am SO excited about teaching this lesson. When I saw it, I just knew that for my group of exceptional learners every aspect of what I try to organize to prepare a good, solid lesson for them was already here, in one place! I can not wait to teach it next week! I will try to report back on how things go~
Thank you, ReadWorks for making it easier to incorporate Common Core Standards in a lesson and enabling us to find everything laid out. I can now devote more time to my babies and the presentation of the lesson!

Submitted by Denise Mitchell on 4/18/14