STEM Forum & Expo: A + STEM Connects Literacy and Science

Here's a funny story...

I submitted a proposal to the upcoming STEM conference which will be held in New Orleans immediately following the International Reading Association conference. This is officially called the STEM Forum & Expo is sponsored by NSTA (National Science Teachers Association), so I knew it was a longshot-- since I am not a "science" person. But we're so excited about the connections between science and poetry (thus, The Poetry Friday Anthology for Science), that we thought we'd give it a try. Well, we never heard from NSTA, so I figured it was not accepted. Oh well. But I thought I'd attend the conference anyway, since I'll already be in New Orleans (and I love that city). So I was browsing the conference schedule and as I scrolled through it, I saw MY NAME and my presentation listed! WHAT? We WERE accepted?! So, after a bit of scrambling Janet (Wong) and I were on board! In 30+ years of submitting proposals and planning presentations, that's a FIRST for me. But I'm still thrilled to get on the SCIENCE docket with our POETRY proposal! 

So, if you're going to the STEM Forum & Expo in New Orleans in mid-May, come to our session! Here's the lowdown:

How is a Poet Like a Scientist? A + STEM Connects Literacy and Science

Linking poetry and science offers opportunities to develop both literacy and content knowledge with an interdisciplinary approach that integrates both NGSS and CCSS skills.

Presentation Description

Linking poetry and science offers opportunities to develop both literacy and science content knowledge with an interdisciplinary approach that integrates both NGSS and CCSS skills. Poetry provides cognitive transfer from concept to concept, deepens comprehension by providing vivid imagery and sensory language, and offers an emotional and experiential connection. In this session, participants will engage in poetry exploration activities that are standards-based, cross-curricular, and developmentally appropriate demonstrating how the Common Core State Standards intersect with the Next Generation Science Standards in grades K-5.

Poetry’s brevity, conceptual focus, and rich vocabulary make it a natural teaching tool for connecting with science, particularly in celebrating National Poetry Month each April. Infusing poetry into the science curriculum can serve to jump-start or introduce a topic, present examples of terminology or concepts, provide closure that is concept-rich, or extend a science topic further. As we consider the STEM components, we can build comprehension and engagement by incorporating the art (A) of poetry throughout the curriculum, right alongside science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. We can explore how poetry might work alongside other texts and experiences to help students understand our "technology-rich and scientifically complex world” so critical in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

Presenters:

Janet Wong

Sylvia Vardell

Tuesday, May 15

4:15-5:15 pm

Convention Center Room 220

We'll have books to give away, free stuff, and snacks! Come one, come all!