“The Secret Life of Bees” By: Clara McMillian Student Sample

“Understanding Bees” Video Presentation The Importance of Bees A Bee’s Life Bees Communication

A Bee’s Life Video

View “Bees & Humans” Video

Main Character Lily is a fourteen-year-old girl whose mother died when she was four years old, an accident that Lily feels she was responsible for. She dresses in clothes she made in home economics. She is not a popular person in school. She has jet-black hair that resembles a nest of cowlicks, no chin, Sophia Loren eyes and an inferiority complex. She takes to picking scabs on her body and biting the flesh around her fingernails until they bleed. Boys, even the hard-up ones, ignore her. Rosaleen makes Lily wear breeches in the cold, which are neither fashionable nor complimentary, especially under her dresses. Girls become quiet when she walks passed, because she has no fashion sense and is a little bit strange. Lily Owens

How can this novel be related to human experiences? Example: Equality is explored prominently throughout the book, not only in relation to civil rights but also in relation to gender segregation. People can understand what love is, that people can be loved and that they can love others without dire consequences.

My K-W-L What I know about bees… What I want to know about bees… What I learned about bees…

Assignment Create your own PowerPoint Presentation answering the following questions: Identify ways that the novel relate to you.

What do you know about the treatment of African-Americans in the U.S. prior to the 1960's? JOURNAL WRITING RESEARCH

What does the name of the book make me think of? Example: I feel that the book was named after all the secrets that most of the characters in the book had. Lily had secrets from the calendar sisters. The calendar sisters had secrets from Lily. Rosaleen had secrets from the calendar sisters and Lily. Zach kept secrets to protect his friends. T-Ray never told Lily much about her mom. Lily’s mom was a huge secrets though most of the book. All of the characters were the bees. That is how I get the secret life of bees. I feel a hive of honey bees was used to represent the characters. August was the Queen bee. She was the one person that kept the rest of the workers going and living. She out lived all around her. The other sisters, Rosaleen, Lily and Zach were her workers that worked their way thru the days to support the home (hive). The drones in the story were all the nasty men like T-Ray and the racist pigs. The only thing they were good for was mating.

How are bees symbolic to humans in relation to working together as a team?

What provokes the men of the Esso station to attack Rosaleen, and why does she retaliate? (See pages 38 to 40.) Lily is incredibly intelligent. How does she manage to persuade the young policeman to leave his watch? (See pages 59 to 60.)

What process does August explain to Lily when she first arrives at the Boatwrights'? (See pages 95 to 96.) The Boatwrights life is ruled by honey. When and where is the product used and for what purposes? (See page 103.)

What is bee etiquette, and what does August teach Lily about it? (See page 114.) How are May and April connected, and how does April die? (See page 114.)

What are the origins of Black Mary, and what nickname was she given? (See page 134)

Technology Integration This is a news article review of a speech that Sue Monk Kidd gave about the Black Madonna. The Black Madonna is the goddess that May, June and August base their religion upon and is a central theme in the novel. This article offers some background information of the mythical figure in the context of the novel. Summarize this article.

This website offers a bounty of knowledge about the mythology of bees and honey. It includes beliefs and traditions from many different cultures, especially Greek and Egyptian. There is also a paragraph relating bees and the Virgin Mary, which is interesting considering the Black Madonna motif. The bee serves as an important symbol in this novel, and understanding the mythology of the bee will enrich the inferences you can make from the novel. Review this Website and compare and contrast bees and the Virgin Mary. Technology Integration

Compare & Contrast Bees Virgin Mary

Research the Civil Rights Act, discuss racism in the South, and explore the relationships between the white and black characters in the novel. Racism in the 1960’s:

Discipline Remember there will be consequences for bad behavior.

on time for Class!

Recess