Module 4: Science Poetry

 

Hello, Earth! Poems to Our Planet

Bibliography

Sidman, Joyce. (2021). Hello earth!: Poems to our planet. Illustrated by Miren Asiain Lora. Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 9780802855282

Summary

This book is made up of a collection of poems written by Joyce Sidman, who is a Newberry Honor and Sibert Medal winner.  All the poetry included in the collection are related to the Earth including weather, space, natural disasters, ecosystems, and other earth related content.  The book does not include a table of contents, but each poem is titled, and the back matter includes more information about how the earth works for the reader to learn about.  There is also a list of additional resources for readers who would like to learn more from the included websites and books about related content. 

Most poems are laid out on two pages which include illustrations that span the two pages, but there are a couple poems that are spread over several pages with accompanying illustrations.  The illustrations use calm, muted colors, but also boast many added details which help the reader to make connections and learn even more from the poems.  The poems and illustrations will be especially captivating to an elementary audience.

 

Analysis

The collection of poems in this book do not rhyme and are diverse in the number of lines and syllables used in each poem.  The poet seems to focus more on personification and sense imagery to get meaning across and relay information.  This focus on meaning is probably due to the science-themed subject matter and author’s purpose for writing this book of poems.  One great example of sense imagery is in “Big Puzzle” when it states “Earth, your mighty continents rise from the blue like puzzle pieces…”.  I think this description will really help the reader visualize the continents that make up the Earth.  The absence of rhyming and consistent syllables and structure for each poem makes the rhythm of the poems harder to decipher.  This will especially be the case for elementary school students if they need to read them independently. 

Although the illustrations and subjects of the poems are best utilized with elementary school students, the vocabulary may be difficult for lower elementary school students to understand without some pre-teaching or scaffolding.  Words like constellations, ebbs, plankton, and bristle are a few words used in the book that could cause some lower elementary students to stumble.  However, these tricky words could be a great way for upper elementary students to increase their vocabulary.  The poems use a lot of descriptive language that will keep students interested and will help them visualize what is happening throughout the poems and in the world around them.  This book could be a great way to introduce a science unit or get a reader excited to learn more about the world around them and the science that can be found there.

Poem

Desert

Even in heat,

even in blasted sand,

even in dry bones,

you sparkle with life.

 

Do you ever feel burnt

or scratchy?

Or do you welcome

the wind

that sends each

grain of sand skittering?

 

Earth,

do you love your dry places

as much as your

watery ones?

Your tropics

as much as your ice?

 

Activity

There are several poems in this book that discuss different ecosystems, which is one of the TEKS for 2^nd grade .  It would be a great introduction to a unit on ecosystems to split students up into groups to see what they can learn about each ecosystem from the provided poems like Desert above.  Students can read the poems out loud quietly in their groups and then create a list of ecosystem characteristics for the poem/ecosystem they are assigned.  The teacher can then have a class discussion where each group shares their poem aloud and their findings.  New items can even be added to each list if needed.