Reading for Information 600 unit 5: appreciating poetry Light Light is the ink we use Night Night is our parchment We’re fireflies fireflies flickering flitting flashing fireflies glimmering fireflies gleaming glowing Insect calligraphers Insect calligraphers practicing penmanship copying sentences Six-legged scribblers Six-legged scribblers of vanishing messages, fleeting graffiti Fine artists in flight Fine artists in flight adding dabs of light bright brush strokes Signing the June nights Signing the June nights as if they were paintings as if they were paintings We’re flickering fireflies fireflies flickering fireflies. fireflies. Paul Fleischman Pa P P P P two haiku / fireflies 597 ASK QUESTIONS Reread lines 1–12. What words help you see the fireflies in your mind? ASK QUESTIONS Reread lines 20–24. Notice that the fireflies are described as artists here. What kind of artists are they, and which sensory details help form this image? Here come real stars to fill the upper skies, And here on earth come emulating flies, That though they never equal stars in size, (And they were never really stars at heart) Achieve at times a very star-like start. Only of course they can’t sustain the part. 598 unit 5: apreciating poetry SYMBOL AND THEME Reread the poem and think about what the fireflies might symbolize. Robert Frost in the Stars with Wings Science Article What’s the Connection? The more you know about fireflies, the more easily you can spot the clever ways poet Paul Fleischman has imitated them in his poem “Fireflies.” Take the time to learn about these creatures by reading the science article “Stars with Wings.” Skill Focus: Connect Ideas in Text Whether you are reading poems about fireflies or the ingredients list on a cereal box, you are learning something new. What do you do when you want to know more about these or other topics? First, you gather facts, details, and ideas about the topic from the text you are reading or from a variety of sources. Then you connect ideas, or bring together information, to gain a better understanding of the topic. When you read expository text, begin by reviewing the text features. Text features are like signs. They help you see the structure and purpose of an article, and they tell you the important ideas. For example, a title identifies the topic. You will usually find the writer’s focus or main idea revealed in the first paragraph following the title or, as in “Stars with Wings,” in the introductory question and paragraph. Headings and subheadings within the text signal the start of new ideas and identify them. Graphic aids give you visual information about the topic. As you read the science article that follows, take notes about the scientific facts that teach you about fireflies. Use the text features to help you locate the facts and details. Use two-column notes, such as the ones started here, to record what you learn. Text Scientific Facts T itle: “Stars with Wings” The article will be about fireflies. Introductory question and paragraph: Fireflies eat bugs that eat vegetable gardens. Subheadings: 1. A Beetle, Actually 2. 1. Fireflies are not bugs or flies. They are beetles. 2. Graphic aids: Use with “Fireflies” and “Fireflies in the Garden,” pages 597–598. READING 9 Explain the difference between the theme of a literary work and the author’s purpose in an expository text. 10 Draw conclusions about expository text. 10D Make logical connections between ideas within a text and across two or three texts representing different genres.
Transcript
Reading forInformation
600 unit 5: appreciating poetry
Light Light
is the ink we use
Night Night
is our parchment
We’re
fireflies
fireflies flickering
flitting flashing
firefliesglimmering fireflies
gleaming
glowingInsect calligraphers Insect calligraphers
practicing penmanship
copying sentences
Six-legged scribblers Six-legged scribblers
of vanishing messages,
fleeting graffiti
Fine artists in flight Fine artists in flight
adding dabs of light
bright brush strokes
Signing the June nights Signing the June nights
as if they were paintings as if they were paintings
We’re
flickering fireflies
fireflies flickering
fireflies. fireflies.
Paul FleischmanPaPPPP
two haiku / fireflies 597
ASK QUESTIONS Reread lines 1–12. What
words help you see the
fireflies in your mind?
ASK QUESTIONSReread lines 20–24.
Notice that the fireflies
are described as artists
here. What kind of
artists are they, and
which sensory details
help form this image? Signing the June nights Signing the June nights
as if they were paintings as if they were paintings
Paul Fleischman
two haiku / fireflies 597
ASK QUESTIONS Reread lines 1–12. What
words help you see the
fireflies in your mind?
ASK QUESTIONSReread lines 20–24.
Notice that the fireflies
are described as artists
here. What kind of
artists are they, and
which sensory details
help form this image?
Here come real stars to fill the upper skies,And here on earth come emulating flies,That though they never equal stars in size,(And they were never really stars at heart)Achieve at times a very star-like start.Only of course they can’t sustain the part.
598 unit 5: apreciating poetry
SYMBOL AND THEMEReread the poem and think about what the fireflies might symbolize.
Robert Frost
in the
Stars with WingsScience Article
What’s the Connection?The more you know about fireflies, the more easily you can spot the clever ways poet Paul Fleischman has imitated them in his poem “Fireflies.” Take the time to learn about these creatures by reading the science article “Stars with Wings.”
Skill Focus: Connect Ideas in TextWhether you are reading poems about fireflies or the ingredients list on a cereal box, you are learning something new. What do you do when you want to know more about these or other topics? First, you gather facts, details, and ideas about the topic from the text you are reading or from a variety of sources. Then you connect ideas, or bring together information, to gain a better understanding of the topic.
When you read expository text, begin by reviewing the text features. Text features are like signs. They help you see the structure and purpose of an article, and they tell you the important ideas. For example, a title identifies the topic. You will usually find the writer’s focus or main idea revealed in the first paragraph following the title or, as in “Stars with Wings,” in the introductory question and paragraph. Headings and subheadings within the text signal the start of new ideas and identify them. Graphic aids give you visual information about the topic.
As you read the science article that follows, take notes about the scientific facts that teach you about fireflies. Use the text features to help you locate the facts and details. Use two-column notes, such as the ones started here, to record what you learn.
Text Scientific Facts
Title: “Stars with Wings” The article will be about fireflies.
Introductory question and paragraph:
Fireflies eat bugs that eat vegetable gardens.
Subheadings: 1. A Beetle, Actually
2.
1. Fireflies are not bugs or flies. They are beetles.
2.
Graphic aids:
Use with “Fireflies” and “Fireflies in the Garden,”
pages 597–598.
READING 9 Explain the difference between the theme of a literary work and the author’s purpose in an expository text. 10 Draw conclusions about expository text. 10D Make logical connections between ideas within a text and across two or three texts representing different genres.
1. entomologists: scientists who specialize in the study of insects.
STARS with
WINGSWho needs summer fireworks when you have a backyard display of lightning bugs?
Nature holds many wondrous sights, but few are as magical or close to home as a backyard busy with the luminous meanderings of fireflies. On sultry July evenings, adults ease back in lawn chairs while children race about and cap-ture the pulsating glow of these lightning bugs in a glass jar. “I wonder how many amateur entomologists1 first became interested in science and insects as the result of collecting fireflies,” muses Greg Hoover, an entomologist at Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pennsylvania. Hoover, one of the folks who helped the firefly species Photuris pennsylvanica (illustrated here) become the official insect of Pennsylvania, remembers fly-fishing one evening and watching fireflies arise from the woods and reeds along the wa-ter’s edge. “It was really neat. It looked like the New York City skyline at night,” he recalls. Call them fireflies or lightning bugs, these marvelous in-sects are more than just aesthetic wonders. They’re also good for the garden, consuming slugs and other critters who hunger for your vegetables. a
• A Beetle, Actually b
Neither bug nor fly, a firefly is a soft-bodied beetle belonging to the family Lampyridae, Latin for “shining fire.” There are 124 species in North America, mostly in the eastern states and provinces. Lightning bugs are usually brown or black with light-colored markings and grow about an inch in length.
by Therese Ciesinski
10
20
F OCUS ON FORMA science article is a short piece of expository text, or nonfiction writing, on a scientific subject. The author’s purpose for writing a science article is usually to inform or explain. Science articles often use text features to present information clearly.
a
CONNECT IDEASWhat scientific facts do you learn in lines 1–16 of this article? Add this information to your chart.
b
CONNECT IDEASPreview the rest of the article to identify the other subheadings in it. Write these on your chart. Then, as you read the article, jot down what you learn from the text that follows each subheading.
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After Reading
602 unit 5: appreciating poetry
30
40
50
2. larvae (lärPvC): insects at a stage during which they are newly hatched and often wormlike.
3. aphids (APfGdz): small, soft-bodied insects of the family Aphididae that have mouthparts specially adapted for feeding on sap from plants.
• Light My FireA firefly lights up because of bioluminescence, a natural glow caused by the chemical reaction of oxygen and luciferin and luciferase, two substances in the insect’s abdomen. Cells within the abdomen reflect and intensify the light. Some frogs love the bitter taste of lightning bugs and ingest so many that they begin to glow themselves.
• Cool LightA glowing firefly held in the hand won’t burn its captor, as the light is “cold.” Bioluminescence is 100 percent efficient, giving off no heat. A typical lightbulb, by contrast, emits 10 percent of its energy as light and 90 percent as heat. . . .
• Hungry for SlugsJuvenile lightning bugs are beneficial insects. The larvae2 dine on snails, slugs, and aphids.3. . . At adulthood, some species don’t eat at all; others eat only pollen and nectar.
• GroundedThe light-show portion of a firefly’s life—about 3 to 8 weeks—is only a small span of its existence. The life cycle begins when females lay eggs on swampy terrain. The larvae—nicknamed glowworms because they give off a faint light—hatch in late summer. After feeding for a few weeks, they burrow underground to escape the winter cold. Emerging in spring, the glowworms feed and later seal themselves within a cell of soil. After 2 weeks they emerge as adult, air-worthy lightning bugs.
• Time to ShineLightning bugs are most active in July and August. The light show begins at dusk and usually ends around midnight. In the daytime, you’ll find fireflies clinging to tree trunks and branches. “Most people see them in the day but don’t realize what they are,” says Hoover. “Fireflies like to hang out in crevices in tree bark.”
• Water LoversDrought and the loss of wetlands impact firefly populations. The beetles need soggy places with low vegetation to breed and thrive. “Soil moisture determines the abundance of fireflies in any given year,” Hoover says. “Gardeners may notice a decrease in the amount of fireflies after a drought.” c
c SCIENCE ARTICLEWhat do you think the author’s purpose was for writing this article?
Comprehension 1. Recall What causes fireflies to light up?
2. Clarify Why is neither firefly nor lightning bug an accurate name?
Critical Analysis3. Identify Characteristics of a Science Article What are three characteristics
of a science article? Give an example of each one from “Stars with Wings.”
4. Connect Ideas Review the chart you completed while reading this science article. What scientific information did you learn about fireflies? Write a brief scientific description of fireflies, using the information you learned about them from the article.
Read for Information: Connect Nonfiction and Poetrywriting promptWhen poets write about the natural world in their poems, they sometimes relate scientifically accurate details. However, poets might also use imaginative details to create images and express ideas or themes that convey a less literal truth. Explain which poem, “Fireflies” or “Fireflies in the Garden,” uses more accurate details.
To answer this prompt, follow these steps: 1. Reread “Fireflies” and “Fireflies in the Garden.” Note which lines appear to
relate scientifically accurate details.
2. Review “Stars with Wings” and your notes on the article to find out whether the details are accurate. Note passages from the article that support or contradict the lines from the poems.
3. Write a paragraph explaining which poem is more accurate and a paragraph explaining which poem takes more liberties with the facts. Use quotations from the poems as well as the article to support your explanation.
•••
“fireflies” lines
“fireflies in the garden” lines
•••
•••
•••
accurate?
READING 9 Explain the difference between the theme of a literary work and the author’s purpose in an expository text. 10 Draw conclusions about expository text. 10D Make logical connections between ideas within a text and across two or three texts representing different genres.
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