Bales of Fresh Straw成捆的新鲜稻草

云鹏

Yes. Many animals eat straw， but its not very nutritious（有营养的） so animals need to eat other things to stay healthy.

Straw is made of the dried leftovers（剩余物） after farmers harvest（收割） fields of corn， wheat， or other grasses.

Look at the noses and guess what animal each belongs to（属于）. Then try the listening challenge（听力挑战）！

Listen to the descriptions（描述） of each animal and listen for its name. If you know the animal， draw a star in the circle（圓圈）.

Straw（稻草） is often used to make a scarecrow that stands in the middle of a field. Scarecrows can be colorful. Use your imagination（想象力） to color your own scarecrow.

Straw is a fun material（材料） to weave（编织） with. Some people weave straw hats to wear and protect（保护） them from the sun. Other people weave straw baskets（篮子） to hold things or even weave straw fish traps（鱼网）.

What would you like to weave？

Straw can be used to cover a roof（屋顶） and keep out the sun and rain. The straw is layered（分层堆积） onto the roof to make the rain run down each side and never get the house wet.

When you use straw to cover a house it is called， “thatching a roof.”

This is a very natural and friendly way（自然友好的方式） to make a roof top.

Farmers need to keep birds and other critters（小动物） from eating the corn or wheat from their fields. So they make scarecrows. Scarecrows look like people， so many animals are tricked into thinking that a person is standing in the field. Crows（乌鸦） and rodents（啮齿动物） try to keep away from human so they have to stay away from the field.

Scarecrows can be cute or silly！

Straw is also used to make straw mats（垫子） for people to sit on and it is tossed（扔，抛） on the floor of barns（谷仓） like a carpet（地毯） for the animals. Horses， cows and sheep all appreciate（感谢） having the soft straw to walk on and to sleep on at night.

Even people can sleep on a bed made of straw but it might not be very comfortable！

1. What can a hat be made of？

2. Where are scarecrows usually found？

3. What do farmers throw on the ground of a barn？

1. Straw. Some hats are made of straw.

2. In a field of corn or wheat.

3. Straw. It is nice for the animals.

Why not plan to give your child some sensory experiences（感官体验） with straw or hay（干草） during holidays？

Many of Chinas minority groups（少数民族） still practice the art of straw weaving（稻草编织）. By visiting a minority culture center you can watch or even learn how to weave a basket or a fish trap.

The well-known story about Zhu Geliang using scarecrows to “borrow” thousands of arrows from the enemy is featured here. Learn more about the history of the war and the amazing use of scarecrows.

Listen to the music and sounds that brings to mind straw and related cultures.

Scarecrow If I Only Had a Brain

Turkey in the Straw Little Boy Blue

When it comes to finding visually（视觉上） enriching content（丰富的内容） to watch with your child， consider these titles below.