Today we have a new resource for sharing science poems with children.
Science poems? Yes, like “Comet Hunter” by Holly Thompson, which she reads in this video:
The resource is The Poetry Friday Anthology for Science (Teacher’s Edition): Poems for the School Year Integrating Science, Reading, and Language Arts
The K-5 Teacher Edition has a poem for each week of a school year (36 weeks) for Kindergarten through 5th grade, for a total of 218 science poems by 78 poets. To help extend the poems, every one is accompanied by a 5-step mini-lesson with connections to the new Next Generation Science Standards.
Separate student editions are also available for each grade that have 36 poems (plus a few bonus poems), each on a separate page and illustrated with line drawings.
Why combine poetry with science? As the authors suggest, a poem can be read and enjoyed by children with a range of reading abilities. The use of sensory language and vivid imagery is likely to bring a new depth to scientific concepts. Also, poems that are read aloud and savored can make science topics more memorable.
One benefit that the authors don’t mention is that children who regularly hear poetry on different topics just might be inspired to write poetry of their own. I know I was:
Milkweed Beetle
By Roberta Gibson
Gently touch a milkweed beetle,
And it will give a squeak.
Bet you didn’t know an insect
So very small could speak.
All in all, The Poetry Friday Anthology for Science makes sharing science poems on a regular basis throughout the year a breeze. Aren’t you ready to see where that could take your children?
Paperback: 308 pages
Publisher: Pomelo Books (February 28, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1937057976
ISBN-13: 978-1937057978
Do you write poetry for children or interested in reading more? Poetry Friday is an ongoing blogging digest by a group who share their poetry on Fridays. You can find a list of upcoming roundups and archives of past years at the Kidlitosphere Central website.
Disclosures: This book was provided for review by the publisher. Also, I am an affiliate for Amazon, and if you click through the linked titles or ads and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. Proceeds will be used to maintain this self-hosted blog.
If you are interested in children’s nonfiction, you might want to visit the Nonfiction Monday blog and see what other new books bloggers have found.
, compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Melissa Sweet (1995). The book features the poem “Children of the Sun” by Brod Bagert, which starts:
by Amy Sklansky and illustrated by Stacey Schuett (2012) really lives up to its name. The poems are fun, creative and absolutely perfect for kids. For example, in the poem “Zero Gravity” some of the lines are flipped over. How creative!
(2007) is probably the one most geared to older children.
by Laura Purdie Salas (2008) is fresh and lively. Salas is devoted to her craft, and presents poems in different forms, and then explains each in the backmatter. This book would work well for a unit on poetry as it does for a unit on space.
by Tony Mitton and Ant Parker (2000) are perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.
by our current Children’s Poet Laureate 
by Jane Yolen with photographs by her son Jason Stemple is also published by Wordsong (2012). In a series of two-page spreads we find a close-up photograph, a poem about the featured insect or arachnid, and an informative paragraph to add fun facts and details.
has long been a favorite of our family (reprinted in 2002). Douglas Florian was formerly a cartoonist, and his fun, silly side comes through in his poetry books.
, a newer book by Douglas Florian (2012), goes into more scientific detail than some of his other books of poetry. The reader comes away with an appreciation of bees and how they live.
by Paul Fleischman and illustrated by Eric Beddows is a classic that everyone should experience. The depth, the accuracy and the amazing rhythm of the poems for two voices, it is simply made to be shared. Some of my favorite poems of all time are in this little book.
by Carole Gerber and illustrated by Eugene Yelchin just came out in February (2013). Although it is centered more on plants, it features a number of insects and other creatures as well. Listen to what they have to say.
by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Beckie Prange encompasses the change of seasons at a pond. Not just about insects, it is about the pond as a habitat.
by Leslie Bulion and illustrated by Leslie Evans is for the older reader (probably 8+) who doesn’t mind a bit of gore and mayhem. This is a poetry book with bite!