Name:
Date:
Grade: 2
Classical Memory Poem • Isaac Watts
How does the little busy bee
Improve each shining hour,
And gather honey all the day
From every opening flower!
How skillfully she builds her cell,
How neat she spreads her wax;
And labors hard to store it well
With the sweet food she makes.
Improve each shining hour,
And gather honey all the day
From every opening flower!
How skillfully she builds her cell,
How neat she spreads her wax;
And labors hard to store it well
With the sweet food she makes.
Poetic Focus: Rhyme & meter • Diligence vs. idleness • Nature study inquiry.
1
Nature Inquiry & Bee Observation
Think about honeybees in nature. Answer each question on the lines below.
1. Season & Place: In what season and place do we see bees buzzing?
2. Daily Work: What does the bee gather all summer long?
3. Purpose of Honey: Why do bees make and store so much honey?
4. Caution: Where do bees live, and why must we never disturb them?
2
Poetic Craft & Vocabulary Insight
Examine the rhyme scheme, word meanings, and architectural skill of the honeybee.
A. Meaning of "Improve Each Shining Hour": This phrase means:
[ ] Make diligent and good use of time [ ] Rest and sleep in the sun
B. Rhyme Scheme: Find the rhyming word pairs in the poem:
Stanza 1: hour rhymes with | Stanza 2: cell rhymes with
C. Architecture & Homophones: In the poem, what is a bee's cell?
A six-sided room in the to store honey and raise young bees.
3
Stanza Transcription & Memory Practice
Copy the first stanza of the poem neatly onto the guidelines below. Include every capital letter and the exclamation mark at the end.
Lines 1–2:
Lines 3–4:
4
The Virtue of Diligence
How can a young student "improve each shining hour" during study time at school or at home? Write one complete, inspiring sentence.
My Sentence: