For Teachers Engineering Design in Oregon Science Classrooms Page 2 of 2

For Teachers Engineering Design in Oregon Science Classrooms Page 1 of 2

Read Aloud–Think Aloud for Joanie Appleseed

This document contains the text of the Joanie Appleseed Reading handout, with reading activity prompts.

Have you heard of Johnny Appleseed?

[Call on a student to explain the tale]

That’s right! A long time ago, he walked across the United States planting apple seeds.

As you know, apple seeds grow into apple trees.

But where do the apple seeds come from?

[Let students answer: apples]

In the spring, apple trees blossom, which means they make flowers or blossoms.

If you look closely at the flowers, you’ll see they have different parts.

All flowers have these parts, not just apple blossoms. The parts may look different on different kinds of flowers.

They are the parts of the plant that allow it to make new plants.

Do you know what these parts are called?

[Let students answer: stamen, pistil, egg/seed, and pollen]

A pistil is a long tube that leads to eggs.

A stamen makes pollen.

Pollen are tiny grains.

When the pollen from one plant’s stamen enters the pistil of another plant…

…it comes together with an egg, and then forms a seed. This is called pollination.

Afterwards, the flower petals fall off, and an apple forms inside the pistil. The apple is food for a seed to grow into a new tree.

Plants need help moving their pollen to other plants.

Sometimes the wind helps. For Teachers Engineering Design in Oregon Science Classrooms Page 2 of 2

Other times, insects and animals called pollinators help

For example, when a bee goes from one flower to another, looking for its food…

…pollen grains stick to the bee’s fuzz. Later they fall off, when the bee lands on other flowers.

[Ask the students if the bee knows this. Answer: No.]

But what if pollinators started disappearing? What might cause this to happen?

[Let students contribute. If pollinators disappear, plants can’t reproduce and will disappear too]

Joanie Appleseed is Johnny Appleseed’s great-great-granddaughter. She owns an apple orchard in Hood River, Oregon!

It’s time for pollination, but this spring has been very wet and cold, so there aren’t many bees around right now.

Without enough bees, her trees won’t get pollinated and grow apples.

What can Joanie do?

[Let students contribute.]