Science + Poetry = The human heart

Here’s the next installment in my series of science poetry tied to science-themed picture books. My graduate student, Maria Alvarez-Vaquez (in my "Poetry for Children" class) selected the focus on “the human heart” from the series of professional resource books, "Picture Perfect Science Lessons" by Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan (and published by the National Science Teachers Association). Here are her three infographics centered around the human heart. The focus picture book pair is:

• Hear Your Heart by Paul Showers 
• The Busy Body Book: The Kid’s Guide to Fitness by Lizzy Rockwell

The poetry book that works perfectly with this book pair is The Blood Hungry Spleen by Allan Wolf, and in particular, the poem “You Can’t Beat Your Heart.” Below are the graphics featuring all these books, followed by the featured poem and Take 5 activities to accompany the poem along with a "bonus" poem, "Cancer" by Mary Lee Hahn, from The Poetry of Science. Enjoy!

Science of poetry graphics created by Maria Alvarez-Vazquez

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Science + Poetry = Life in the pond

For the month of April (National Poetry Month), I'm featuring science poetry tied to science-themed picture books. My graduate students (in my "Poetry for Children" class) are each selecting a science-themed picture book (or pair of picture books) from the series of professional resource books, "Picture Perfect Science Lessons" by Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan (and published by the National Science Teachers Association). Here's the first example (created by me) and centered around the food web of the pond. The focus picture book pair is:

• White Owl, Barn Owl by Nicola Davies 
• Butternut Hollow Pond by Brian Heinz

The poetry book that works perfectly with this book pair is Song of the Water Boatman by Joyce Sidman. Plus Pond Circle by Betsy Franco is a great "bonus" selection to connect with this topic too. Below is a graphic featuring those books, followed by a featured poem from Song of the Water Boatman and Take 5 activities to accompany the poem along with a "bonus" poem, "Alligator with Fish" by Jane Yolen, from The Poetry of Science. Here's heaps of science + poetry fun. Enjoy!

Copyright Sylvia Vardell 2016

Image credit: dialoguealumninews.wordpress.com

The Science of Poetry Month

Every year for the last 10 years (!), I have had a different focus for my April posts for National Poetry Month. This year, I'm posting science-poetry connections. Once again, I will be showcasing the work of my wonderful graduate students enrolled in my "Poetry for Children" class at Texas Woman's University-- all of them teachers and librarians. 

We're all starting with the books of Karen Ansberry and Emily Morgan, science experts who advocate for the use of children's literature in the teaching of science. Their work puts picture books at the center and they create lessons that teach science concepts through these stories (and nonfiction picture books).  There are three volumes in their popular series published by the National Science Teachers Association: 

Ansberry, Karen and Morgan, Emily. 2010. Picture-Perfect Science Lessons, Expanded 2^nd Edition: Using Children’s Books to Guide Inquiry, 3-6. Washington DC: National Science Teachers Association.

Ansberry, Karen and Morgan, Emily. 2007. More Picture-Perfect Science Lessons: Using Children’s Books to Guide Inquiry, K-4. Washington DC: National Science Teachers Association.

Morgan, Emily and Ansberry, Karen. 2013. Even More Picture-Perfect Science Lessons: Using Children’s Books to Guide Inquiry, K-5. Washington DC: National Science Teachers Association.

My students each chose one of the books or book pairs highlighted in Ansberry and Moran's resource books (above) and then looked for a poem or poetry book to match with it, along with an additional selection from The Poetry Friday Anthology for Science (edited by yours truly and Janet Wong). They created infographics to integrate the science topic, picture book, and poetry all together. I'll be featuring their work each day of April and I hope you'll find this a helpful resource for infusing poetry across the curriculum. Tomorrow, I'll post my own example to get us rolling. 

Teacher/Librarian Edition                          Student Edition

PLUS

Meanwhile, I'm also excited to report that Janet and I have just published a "refreshed" edition of the Teacher/Librarian edition of The Poetry Friday Anthology for Science with a new cover that makes it clear it is a companion to the student edition, The Poetry of Science-- along with page number designations for all the poems that match up the teacher edition and the student edition for easy cross-referencing. We hope you'll help us spread the word!

Happy Poetry Month, everyone. Now don't forget about Poetry Friday today hosted by the lovely Amy Ludwig VanDerwater at her Poem Farm. 

Image credit: dialoguealumninews.wordpress.com