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Daffodil Spring (B.L.R)
By: Irena Freeman
Spring is the time for flowers. One of the first flowers of spring is the
daffodil. Yellow and white daffodils let us know that warm, sunny days are on
the way.
How do daffodils grow? Most plants grow from seeds. Daffodils can grow
from seeds, but they usually grow another way. They grow from bulbs.
Daffodil bulbs keep the plants alive a long time. They also make new
daffodils in a special way.
Daffodils can live for years. They make their flowers in spring. Then the
flowers fall off. The bulbs rest under the ground. They stay alive throughout
the winter. They store food for the plants that will bloom again next spring.
A daffodil bulb looks like an onion. There are many parts to a bulb. Each
part does something different. The bulb is covered in a tough skin. This skin
protects the bulb.
The bulb waits for spring in the cold ground. Then the bulb begins to wake
up. From inside the bulb, a small green shoot pushes up. Roots grow down
from the bottom of the bulb.
The shoot peeps out of the ground. The shoot will become the leaves. Far
down in the shoot is the bud. The bud will become the daffodil flower.
The roots grow quickly. They absorb water and food for the plant.
More and more green shoots poke out of the ground. They grow longer and
longer. The first shoots become leaves.
Next, the stem begins to grow. It grows from the center of the shoot.
When the stem gets longer, a yellow bud grows at the end. The bud begins
to get bigger. You can see more and more yellow.
At last, the flower blooms. The flower may live for a few weeks. Then it falls
off the plant. The flowers all dissolve on the ground.
Daffodils do make seeds. The seeds grow in a pod behind the flower. When
the flower falls, the pod drops the seeds. The seeds will take years to bloom.
There is another way daffodils grow. The secret is in the bulb. Near the
bottom of the bulb are many very tiny bulbs. After the flower falls off, the
daffodil plant sends food to the bulb. The food helps the tiny bulbs grow. They
get bigger and bigger.
Next year, the new bulbs will send up shoots, too. These daffodil plants will
look just like the first bulb. Most daffodils grow in this way. They spread out in
clumps.
In early summer, daffodil bulbs rest. The flowers have fallen. The leaves
have dried up. Gardeners can dig up the bulbs and move them to new places.
More daffodils will grow. In the spring, the flowers will bloom again after a
long winter.
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Grade 3, Unit 4, Lesson 18
Daffodil Spring (B.L.R)
By: Irena Freeman
Spring is the time for flowers. One of the first flowers of spring is the
daffodil. Yellow and white daffodils let us know that warm, sunny days are on
the way.
How do daffodils grow? Most plants grow from seeds. Daffodils can grow
from seeds, but they usually grow another way. They grow from bulbs.
Daffodil bulbs keep the plants alive a long time. They also make new
daffodils in a special way.
Daffodils can live for years. They make their flowers in spring. Then the
flowers fall off. The bulbs rest under the ground. They stay alive throughout
the winter. They store food for the plants that will bloom again next spring.
A daffodil bulb looks like an onion. There are many parts to a bulb. Each
part does something different. The bulb is covered in a tough skin. This skin
protects the bulb.
The bulb waits for spring in the cold ground. Then the bulb begins to wake
up. From inside the bulb, a small green shoot pushes up. Roots grow down
from the bottom of the bulb.
The shoot peeps out of the ground. The shoot will become the leaves. Far
down in the shoot is the bud. The bud will become the daffodil flower.
The roots grow quickly. They absorb water and food for the plant.
More and more green shoots poke out of the ground. They grow longer and
longer. The first shoots become leaves.
Next, the stem begins to grow. It grows from the center of the shoot.
When the stem gets longer, a yellow bud grows at the end. The bud begins
to get bigger. You can see more and more yellow.
At last, the flower blooms. The flower may live for a few weeks. Then it falls
off the plant. The flowers all dissolve on the ground.
Daffodils do make seeds. The seeds grow in a pod behind the flower. When
the flower falls, the pod drops the seeds. The seeds will take years to bloom.
There is another way daffodils grow. The secret is in the bulb. Near the
bottom of the bulb are many very tiny bulbs. After the flower falls off, the
daffodil plant sends food to the bulb. The food helps the tiny bulbs grow. They
get bigger and bigger.
Next year, the new bulbs will send up shoots, too. These daffodil plants will
look just like the first bulb. Most daffodils grow in this way. They spread out in
clumps.
In early summer, daffodil bulbs rest. The flowers have fallen. The leaves
have dried up. Gardeners can dig up the bulbs and move them to new places.
More daffodils will grow. In the spring, the flowers will bloom again after a
long winter.
Grade 3, Unit 4, Lesson 18
All About Pines (E.L.L.R)
By: Irena Freeman
When it is winter in the north, it is very cold. White snow covers the ground
throughout the forest. Many trees do not have any leaves in the winter. This makes
the trees look brown and dead.
But one kind of tree is always green. Pine trees are trees that stay green all winter.
It is nice to see something green in the winter.
What makes pine trees different from other trees? Pine trees have pinecones. A
pinecone is a hard case for pine tree seeds.
There are many kinds of pine trees. Some are small. The small pine trees are just a
little taller than you. Some are very, very tall. The tallest pine trees are called giant
redwoods.
Many pine trees grow in places where it is cold in the winter. But some pine trees
grow in hot, wet, tropical places.
Pinecones are different. They are not like the seeds or nuts that grow on other
trees. That is because there are two kinds of pinecones on every pine tree.
What are the two kinds of pinecones? One kind is a hard cone. The other kind is a
soft cone. The hard cones grow on the top of the tree. A tiny pine tree seed can grow
inside a hard pinecone.
The soft cones grow lower down on the tree. The soft cones are smaller and softer
than hard pinecones. The soft cones make pollen in the spring. Plants need pollen to
make new plants. The soft cones die after they make the pollen. Then they fall off the
tree.
The hard pinecones live a long time. They can stay alive for many years.
Sometimes some pollen falls on a hard cone. Then it begins to make a seed. The seed
can turn into a new pine tree.
The new seed stays inside the pinecone for a long time. Pine tree seeds can stay
inside their coverings for years. The pinecone protects the seed.
There are many fires in the forest. The heat from a fire can make a pinecone open
up. Then the seed will start to grow after the fire is over.
When pine tree seeds are on the ground, some of the seeds will grow into new pine
trees. But it is hard for a tiny new pine tree to grow.
Sometimes the new pine tree does not get enough sunshine. Sometimes it does not
absorb enough food from the dirt. A rabbit or deer might eat the new tree.
But if the new pine tree is lucky, it will grow up. Someday the tiny tree will be a big
green tree.
The weather gets warmer in the spring. Then the pine trees send up new shoots.
You can see the shoots at the end of the branches. The shoots are called candles
because they look like long candles on a birthday cake.
First the candles grow on the pine tree. Then new pine branches grow at the end of
the candles.
Most trees have leaves. Pine trees have leaves too, but there are very, very thin
leaves. The leaves on a pine tree are called needles. Pine branches have needles
that look like green spines.
The pine needles save, or store light from the sun. Then they turn the sunlight into
food for the tree.
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Grade 3, Unit 4, Lesson 18
All About Pines (E.L.L.R)
By: Irena Freeman
When it is winter in the north, it is very cold. White snow covers the ground
throughout the forest. Many trees do not have any leaves in the winter. This makes
the trees look brown and dead.
But one kind of tree is always green. Pine trees are trees that stay green all winter.
It is nice to see something green in the winter.
What makes pine trees different from other trees? Pine trees have pinecones. A
pinecone is a hard case for pine tree seeds.
There are many kinds of pine trees. Some are small. The small pine trees are just a
little taller than you. Some are very, very tall. The tallest pine trees are called giant
redwoods.
Many pine trees grow in places where it is cold in the winter. But some pine trees
grow in hot, wet, tropical places.
Pinecones are different. They are not like the seeds or nuts that grow on other
trees. That is because there are two kinds of pinecones on every pine tree.
What are the two kinds of pinecones? One kind is a hard cone. The other kind is a
soft cone. The hard cones grow on the top of the tree. A tiny pine tree seed can grow
inside a hard pinecone.
The soft cones grow lower down on the tree. The soft cones are smaller and softer
than hard pinecones. The soft cones make pollen in the spring. Plants need pollen to
make new plants. The soft cones die after they make the pollen. Then they fall off the
tree.
The hard pinecones live a long time. They can stay alive for many years.
Sometimes some pollen falls on a hard cone. Then it begins to make a seed. The seed
can turn into a new pine tree.
The new seed stays inside the pinecone for a long time. Pine tree seeds can stay
inside their coverings for years. The pinecone protects the seed.
There are many fires in the forest. The heat from a fire can make a pinecone open
up. Then the seed will start to grow after the fire is over.
When pine tree seeds are on the ground, some of the seeds will grow into new pine
trees. But it is hard for a tiny new pine tree to grow.
Sometimes the new pine tree does not get enough sunshine. Sometimes it does not
absorb enough food from the dirt. A rabbit or deer might eat the new tree.
But if the new pine tree is lucky, it will grow up. Someday the tiny tree will be a big
green tree.
The weather gets warmer in the spring. Then the pine trees send up new shoots.
You can see the shoots at the end of the branches. The shoots are called candles
because they look like long candles on a birthday cake.
First the candles grow on the pine tree. Then new pine branches grow at the end of
the candles.
Most trees have leaves. Pine trees have leaves too, but there are very, very thin
leaves. The leaves on a pine tree are called needles. Pine branches have needles
that look like green spines.
The pine needles save, or store light from the sun. Then they turn the sunlight into
food for the tree.
Grade 3, Unit 4, Lesson 18
Grade 3, Unit 4, Lesson 18