Question Sheet: Healing Honey

By Science News Explores

SCIENCE

Before reading:

  1. When you have a cough, what steps do you take to feel better? Does your plan

    usually help?

  2. What are the dangers of taking too much of any type of medicine?

During reading:

  1. Why do people cough? Why can coughing become a problem?

  2. What are some of cough medicine’s negative side effects?

  3. Why did the United States Food and Drug Administration conclude that parents

    should not give cough medicine to children under six?

  4. What are some strategies that do seem to help ease coughs in kids? Why?

  5. How is buckwheat honey different from clover honey?

  6. What are antioxidants? Where can you find them?

After reading:

  1. People often think that natural remedies such as honey are too simple to

    work, while other people wrongly assume that anything natural is safe. If you

    were a parent, how would you decide whether or not to give certain medicines to

    your children?

  2. Hold a honey taste test: There are more than 300 varieties of honey. Gather

    several varieties. Put a teaspoon of each type in its own plastic cup. Then,

    label the bottom of each cup so you can tell later which is which. With your

    eyes closed, mix up the cups. Now, taste each one and take notes about color,

    flavor, and texture. Can you detect any differences? Do you have a favorite?

  3. Some brands of cough drops are “honey-flavored.” Do you think these candies

    are more effective, less effective, or just as good as honey at treating coughs?

    Explain your answer.

  4. Do you think eating a peanut butter and honey sandwich would help a kid with

    a cough? Why or why not?

  5. In this article, the author focuses on the dangers of cough medicines for

    children. Explain why you think these medicines may or may not be safer or more

    effective for adults?

  6. What are “folk remedies”? Give several examples of such treatments.

SOCIAL STUDIES

  1. How do bees make honey? Where in the world does the most honey come from?

  2. How does honey get from a beehive to the grocery store? Write a paragraph

    describing the process of harvesting honey.

LANGUAGE ARTS

  1. The author of this article writes, “Treating coughs in children has become a

    sticky subject recently.” This is a pun because honey is sticky. Come up with

    three puns of your own.

  2. Write a persuasive essay in response to the following question: Why is it

    important for scientists to test and retest medicines?