• Science Connection. Greenhouses are buildings in which fragile or out-of-season plants are grown. Modern greenhouses, made almost entirely of glass, are carefully controlled environments for raising particular plants. Glass can transmit the sunlight that plants need and it can hold in heat. The frame of a greenhouse can be made of metal or of woods such as cypress, redwood, or cedar. Most greenhouses cannot rely on the sun alone to provide heat and so are heated artificially, often by steam, hot air, or hot water.
• There are three types of greenhouses: cool, warm, and tropical. At night, cool greenhouses are usually kept at temperatures around 45°–50°. Plants such as irises, daffodils, tulips, and geraniums are grown there. Warm greenhouses are 50°–55° at night. African violets, ferns, cacti, and roses are grown in warm green-houses. Tropical greenhouses are 60°–70° at night, and begonias, gardenias, palms, and orchids are grown there.
Keep track of the figures of speech you find in “Big Wind” and “Child on Top of a Greenhouse” by using a graphic organizer like the one showing the examples below.
What things do you like to watch and help grow? What about those things most interests you?
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