Lesson Plan: This Pretty Flower is Carnivorous!
II. While Reading Activities
Word Inference
- innocent |ˈinəsənt| adjective not intended to cause harm or offense; harmless: an innocent mistake.
- wetlands |ˈwetˌlandˈwetˌlənd| noun (also wetlands) land consisting of marshes or swamps; saturated land.
- lure lo͝or| verb [with object] tempt (a person or an animal) to do something or to go somewhere, especially by offering some form of reward: the child was lured into a car but managed to escape.
- botanists |ˈbädənəst| noun an expert in or student of the scientific study of plants: a botanist announced he’d bred a new and beautiful variety of orchid.
- carnivorous |ˌkärˈniv(ə)rəs| adjective • (of a plant) able to trap and digest small animals, especially insects.
- Venus flytrap |ˈvinəs ˈflaɪˌtræp| (also Venus’s flytrap) noun a small carnivorous bog plant with hinged leaves that spring shut on and digest insects that land on them. Native to the southeastern US, it is also kept as an indoor plant.
- ignore |iɡˈnôr| verb [with object] • fail to consider (something significant): direct satellite broadcasting ignores national boundaries.
- perennial |pəˈrenēəl| adjective • (of a plant) living for several years: tarragon is perennial. Compare with annual, biennial.
- digestion |dəˈjesCH(ə)ndīˈjesCH(ə)n| noun the process of breaking down food by mechanical and enzymatic action in the alimentary canal into substances that can be used by the body.
- innocuous |iˈnäkyo͞oəs| adjective not harmful or offensive: it was an innocuous question.
Source: New Oxford American Dictionary
Grammar Focus: Structure and Usage
I – 2-are
There are 13 known families of carnivorous plants.
II – 3- innocent
This particular wildflower looked innocent.
III – 2 – they
Other plants have similar adhesive hairs that they use for defense and not digestion.
Reading Comprehension Fill-ins
The first clue that the plant had an appetite for insects came when T. Gregory Ross, also at the University of British Columbia, noticed markers in the plant’s genetics sometimes associated with carnivorous plants. That was enough for Dr. Lin and his colleagues to take another look.
:
