Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars

by Douglas Florian

Florian, Douglas. 2007. COMETS, STARS, THE MOON, AND MARS. New York: Harcourt. ISBN 9780152053727.

Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars looks at astronomy through various forms of poetry. Each two spread page offers illustrations to enhance a poem written about something that can be found in space. Each poem offers facts and details, creating a fun environment for learning about space. An example of a fact fill poem, The Earth: two-thirds water/ one-third land/ valleys deep/ mountains grand/ sky of blue/ clouds of gray/ life here, too/ think I’ll stay. At the end of the book the reader can find a section call A Galactic Glossary, this section offers a paragraph of details for each poem found in the book and a list of books for further reading.

Douglas Florian’s illustrations are collage, rubber stamps, and a painting technique called gouache. The illustrations all done on a common element, a brow paper bag. Some pages even offer a cutout, giving the page a bit of a 3D affect.

A Wreath for Emmett Till

Introduction:
Marilyn Nelson was nine when Emmett Till was lynched. His history has been part of her life. Nelson wrote this book to let other young people know what challenges and injustices people experience. This poem would be perfect to read during a civil rights lesson.

Pierced by the screams of a shortened childhood
By Marilyn Nelson

Pierced by the screams of a shortened childhood
My heartwood has been scarred for fifty years
By what I heard, with hundreds of green ears.
That jackal laughter. Two hundred years I stood
Listening to small struggles to find food,
To the songs of creature life, which disappears
And comes again, to the music of spheres.
Two hundred years of deaths I understood.
Then slaughter axed one quiet summer night,
Shivering the deep silence of the stars.
A running boy, five men in close pursuit.
One dark, five pale faces in the moonlight.
Noise, silence, black-slaps. One match, five cigars.
Emmett Till’s name still catches in the throat.

[from A WREATH FOR EMMETT TILL by Marilyn Nelson, Illustrated by, Philippe Lardy, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005]

Extension:
Invite students to share their emotions after hearing the poem.

Sing A Song of Piglets

Introduction:
Sing a Song of Piglets takes the reader on a journey through the months of the year. Each month offers a glimpse of what to expect and adventure that could happen. This book is a great resource for preschool or young elementary students who are making connections about months and what happens in each month.

March
By Eve Bunting
Illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully

Sing a song of shamrocks,
tucked behind each ear.
a scarf that’s green,
a tambourine…
St. Patrick’s Day is here.

[from SING A SONG OF PIGLETS by Eve Bunting, Illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully, Clarion Books, 2002]

Extension:
Read the poem twice. On the second reading show the illustrations. After reading the poem, ask students what other events happen in March and what the weather tends to be like in March. Create a March Web with the information the students share out.

Out of the Dust
by Karen Hesse

Hesse, Karen. 1997. OUT OF THE DUST. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 0329087657

Billie Jo, the main character, writes of her life in the Oklahoma Dust Bowl from the winter of 1934 to the winter of 1935 through free verse. As we read about Billie Jo’s life, we realize through the free verse that Billie Jo does not have a lot to say, but what she does say is done with elegance and a sense of pride. We are taken on the journey of the death of Billie Jo’s mom and baby brother, her dad’s skin cancer, and the curiosity of where Billie Jo thinks she belongs. The novel takes on a narrative style with realistic and intense situations, which are characteristics of verse novels. Out of the Dust is a quick read, intended for fourth grade and up.

Introduction:
Fractions can be confusing and cause disorder. Read this poem after teaching a few fraction lessons when the students are becoming frustrated with the challenges that fractions pose.

Fractions
By Lee Bennett Hopkins

FRACTONS
Broken number pieces
disconnected-

a quarter
a half
an eighth

fragmented-

out of order-
out of control-

until-

I explore them
restore them

make them
whole
once more
again.

[from Marvelous Math selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, Simon & Schuster, 1997]

Extension:
After teaching a few fraction lessons, read FRACTIONS to the class. Ask students to reflect on their feelings about fractions. Invite students to choose a fraction, and write a poem based on the fraction they selected.

This Is The Dream

Introduction:
This Is The Dream, poem picture book, celebrates change, courage, nonviolent actions, and the journey the nation has taken so far.

This Is The Dream
By Diane Z. Shore & Jessica Alexander
Illustrated by James Ransome

These are the fountains
that stand in the square,
and the black-and-white signs
say who will drink where.

These are the buses-a dime buys a ride,
but people are sorted by color inside.

These are the restaurants where “WHITES ONLY” eat
at tables up front and at lunch-counter seats.

These are the libraries, two separate sections,
with separate bookcases and separate selections.

These are the door that are closed in the schools,
and “separate but equal” is not just a rule
but a law that’s enforced on the busses and trains
and in theaters, rest rooms, department-store chains,
and in libraries, hospitals- all public places,
dividing up people by colors and races
with harsh written words that are slapped on the walls,
denying both freedom and justice for all.

These are the students who step through the doors
where people of color have not walked before.

These are the passengers, on weary feet,
walking until they can choose their own seat.

These are the diners who sit and wait at
the “WHITES ONLY” counter, ignoring the hate.

These are the marchers who forge through the street
as they carry their message through shimmering heat.

These are the leaders whose powerful voices
lift up the marchers demanding new choices
for fair-paying jobs and a good education,
to vote without fear and to live in a nation
where everyone’s equal and judge from within,
never jailed or arrested because of their skin;
fighting firm without fist, sitting down, standing tall,
pressing onward toward freedom and justice for all.


This is the fountain that sound in the square,
and the unwritten rule is to take turns and share.

This is the bus that roars through the streets,
and all the passengers choose their own seats.

This is the restaurant where, up in the front,
the black-and-white sign says “OPEN FOR LUNCH.”

This is the library, books wall to wall
free to be read-not by some but all.

This is the school where the doors open wide, and the children are learning together inside
about students and marchers and leaders who fought
to make right what was wrong.
without violence they sought to make changes together, establish new laws.

With many small triumphs they strength their cause
as They sat that counters and rode through the stations
and gathered up hands as they marched through the nation;
with courage they rallied and answered the call…
Dreaming of freedom and justice for all.

[from THIS IS THE DREAM by Diane Z. Shore & Jessica Alexander, Illustrated by James Ransome, HarperCollins, 2006. ISBN: 0-06-055519-X]

Extension:
Read the poem, pausing on each page so the students can see the illustrations. Have students pair up and pick a section of the poem. Each pair will then create a collage based on a section of the poem they picked. The collage can be based on a time they felt they were being excluded or mistreated.