Birds that migrate: weather, flocks, syllables
Many birds migrate. This means that they fly a long way to another place at a certain time of the year. They do it to find food and warmer weather. Birds often fly in a flock, which helps them find the way and stay together. Some birds fly very far. Egypt is on migration routes, and many birds rest here. Read the text on page 66 of your book with a grown-up and look at the birds. Now let us count syllables. A syllable is a beat in a word: eagle has 2 beats (ea-gle), pelican has 3 (pel-i-can). We say one syllable more strongly: EA-gle, PEL-i-can, KING-fish-er, fla-MIN-go. Look at the table.
| Word | Syllables | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| eagle | 2 | EA-gle |
| falcon | 2 | FAL-con |
| pelican | 3 | PEL-i-can |
| kingfisher | 3 | KING-fish-er |
| flamingo | 3 | fla-MIN-go |
| careful | 2 | CARE-ful |
eagle. falcon. pelican. kingfisher. flamingo. careful.
Why do those birds fly in a flock, Uncle?
Flying together helps them find the way and stay safe.
And why do they migrate?
They look for food and warmer weather.
Syllable clap. The grown-up says ten words (eagle, pelican, weather, careful, successful, flamingo, falcon, kingfisher, desert, mountain). The child claps the syllables, says the number and says which syllable is strong. Then the child writes the words in two lists: two syllables and three syllables.