Free Choice

Free Choice

Bibliography

Wolf, Allan and Raff, Anna.  2019. The Day the Universe Exploded My Head: Poems to Take You into Space and Back Again.  Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press. ISBN 978-0763680251.  

Summary/Analysis

This poetry collection by Allan Wolf focuses on stars, planets, moons, and other things found in outer space.  The 28 poems contain facts about different topics (Mercury is first planet, no atmosphere, etc.) and they are presented in a light and funny way.  The accompanying illustrations reinforce the topic and add a playful and silly feel to each poem.  Most poems have some sort of rhyme and there are several poems meant to be performed by multiple people (Shooting Stars has three roles).  The collection includes notes about each poem with some notes as brief as one sentence and others as long as a paragraph.  There is also a glossary of space terms, a list of resources, and information on each space topic found in the back of the book.

Use

The Sun Did Not Go Down Today

No matter what the poets say,

the sun did not go down today!

The sun did not go down today!

It only just appeared that way.

I’ll tell you what real facts is:

the Earth is turning on an axis!

The Earth turns on its axis

like a dizzy, spinning, tilted top.

Each year, three hundred sixty five

complete rotations without stop.

And as it spins, we all stand firm

and ride it round with every turn.

The sun remains there in the sky

and waves at use as we go by

on our spherical, miracle merry-go-round.

So next time you notice the sun “going down,”

watch in awe, but don’t forget:

The sun stays put, it’s you who’s set.

This poem is a good example of the simple rhyming poems found in the book.  It provides factual information on the sun and gives students good vocabulary like “axis” and compares it to a top.  The illustrations by Bryan even show the Earth spinning like a top.  This poem would be best introduced during a science unit discussing season, how the Earth rotates, and/or the sun.  After reading this poem out loud students could take turns coming up and creating different motions for each line of information or for specific parts (“all stand firm”, “dizzy spinning top”).  Students could take turns acting it out with one student pretending to be the sun and the other pretending to be the Earth. 

Poetry by Kids

Bibliography

Nye, Naomi Shihab, Bryan, Ashley ill. Salting the Ocean: 100 Poems by Young People. New York: Greenwillow Books, 2000. ISBN 9780688161934

Summary/Analysis

Salting the Ocean is collection of 100 poems compiled by Naomi Shihab Nye.  The poems are in a variety of forms with most being free verse and were written by students in grade 1 all the way up to grade 12. This anthology is organized into four sections that focus on oneself, surroundings, family members, and the “wide imagination.”  Each section has between 20 and 30 poems on that topic.  Ashley Bryan’s illustrations are bright and do a good job holding the reader’s interest. The book includes Nye’s explanation of how she obtained the poems and a note to teachers, librarians, and parents who might use the book.  IT also contains a thank-you section to the poets that were featured.  This is a great collection to use when introducing poetry and allows for students to see work done by their peers. 

Use

I like to:

collect rocks on Venus

dance on Mars

eat on Pluto

buy rings on Saturn

ride a bike to Mercury

swim in the desert

write in fire

By Jeffrey Trevino

This poem is a great example of some of the great poetry found in this collection.  This would be a great poem to read aloud and then read aloud again and have students create a different motion for each line (“buy rings on Saturn” could motion paying someone).  After reading the poem one activity could be creating their own poem with the same style.  Have students keep the verb in each line and have students come up with the rest of the line.  Students seeing a collection of kid’s poetry published in a book is an amazing thing to inspire them.  Have students create their own poem and create a finished product with an illustration.  If possible bind the books and add it to the library collection.  Another option would be to use Book Creator to make a digital book and publish (for free) on Amazon and add to the library’s digital collection.  

Janeczko Poems

Firefly July: A year of Very Short Poems

 

Bibliography:

Janeczko, Paul B., and Melissa Sweet. 2014. Firefly July: a year of very short poems. Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press. ISBN 978-0763648428

Summary/Analysis:

Firefly July is a collection of poems compiled by Paul Janeczko.  The collection features 36 very short poems that are by well known poets and are all focused on the seasons.  The poems are light in tone and the poems in this collection are well suited for all ages in elementary school and a great resource for simple poems that can be easily understood by younger students.  The poems are free verse, haiku, and some are rhyming while all staying very concise.  The vocabulary in some poems will need some explanation before students read them, but this collection is a good addition for any classroom library.  Melissa Sweet’s illustrations support the poems and help the reader get into the season that the poems are “in.” Most illustrations contain images, animals,  and items that are mentioned in the poems.  This collection could benefit by including a larger variety of poetic forms, but still does a good job of keeping the poems simple and concise.  

Use:

The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams

so much depends

upon

a red wheel

barrow

glazed with rain

water

beside the white

chickens.

This poem by William Carlos Williams is a good example of a short poem that is full of imagery and by a notable poet.  It is found in the “spring” section of the collection, but nothing necessarily makes the reader think of spring besides the rain found in the poem.  The accompanying illustrations by Melissa Sweet show the rain, wheel barrow, and chickens mentioned in the poem.  This is a great poem to read aloud and have students hear how the pauses between lines help the poem “speak.” This poem would also make a great intro into the famous poet.  Students could use the poem’s topic and style and create their own “So much depends upon” poem.  After students create their own poem and research the poet they could also read another famous poem by William Carlos Williams titled “This is Just to Say” and create their own poem based off of that style.  

Sidman Poetry

Sidman Poetry

Bibliography

Sidman, J. 2010. Dark emperor and other poems of the night. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Illustrated by Rick Allen. ISBN:9780547152288

Summary/Analysis

“Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night” is a collection of 12 poems by Joyce Sidman.  Sidman uses lyrical, rhyming (variety of schemes), concrete, and verse forms to create poems about animals and other things of the night.  Each poem is easy to follow and Sidman tailors the mood of the poem to the subject she is focusing on.  Each poem and illustration takes up a double page spread and is accompanied by a paragraph of factual information on the subject.  The illustrations by Rick Allen assist the poems and really help the reader understand the mood and tone of each poem while also reinforcing the facts found in the poems.  The book contain a table of contents and also a glossary featuring some of the scientific terms found in the book.

Use

Welcome to the Night

To all of you who crawl and creep,

who buzz and chirp and hoot and peep,

who wake at dusk and throw off sleep:

Welcome to the night.

To you who make the forest sing,

who dip and dodge on silent wing,

who flutter, hover, clasp, and cling:

Welcome to the night!

Come feel the cool and shadowed breeze,

come smell your way among the trees,

come touch rough bark and leathered leaves:

Welcome to the night.

The night's a sea of dappled dark,

the night's a feast of sound and spark,

the night's a wild, enchanted park.

Welcome to the night!

This rhyming poem is the first poem that Sidman uses to introduce the other poems and subject of this book.  After reading the poem out loud I would have students come up with examples of animals that would go with specific lines of the poem.  For the line “to you who make the forest sing” I would have students think of examples of animals that “sing” in the forest at night.  I would do this activity for each line (smells, touch, etc.) and have students share any other ideas for future lines of the poem.  This poem could also be read in the dark with ambient forest sounds playing in the background.  Do both and have students discuss the different experiences and how they both changed the way they heard or experienced the poems.

Hopkins Poetry

Hopkins Poetry

Bibliography

Coombs, Kate. 2012. Water Sings Blue. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN  978-0-8118-7284-3.

Summary/Analysis

“Water Sings Blue” is a sea themed collection of 23 poems by Kate Coombs.  A majority of the poems are rhyming but there is one haiku and one free verse poem.  The subjects vary, but they all focus on the ocean theme.  There are a range of poetic forms and each subject features a unique perspective or detail.   The vivid imagery and figurative language found in the poems pairs nicely with Meilo So’s wonderful and vibrant watercolor illustrations.  The poems are consistent in quality and the tone varies from serious and informational to light and humorous. This themed collection would pair great with elementary science curriculum and other sea and/or beach related lessons.  

Use

Sea Urchin

The sea urchin fell in love with a fork.

With a tremble of purple spines,

She told her mother, “He’s tall, not a ball,

But just look at his wonderful tines!”

This rhyming poem is a good example of the humorous and informational poems found in this collection.  This poem would be great to use during a sea unit when talking about lesser known creatures.  Before reading the poem I would show the class images of sea urchins and then introduce the vocabulary word “tine.”  I would have students talk about how the fork and sea urchin are similar and why it chose to fall in love with a fork instead of a spoon.  After reading the poem the class could decide on what animal in the book (or other sea book) would want to fall in love with a spoon. Another idea would be to use Google Expeditions (virtual reality) and have students “go” underwater near the galapagos islands.  Have them write a poem about the experience or pick an animal to focus their poem on. 

Performance Poetry

Performance Poetry

Bibliography

Greenfield, Eloise. 2006. The Friendly Four. Ill. by Jan Spivey Gilchrist. New York, NY: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-000760-7

Summary/Analysis

“The Friendly Four” is a collection of 34 poems that go together to tell the story of four friends and their summertime adventures.  The most distinctive feature of this collection by Eloise Greenfield is that these poems are written for performance.  The lines are color-coded to designate the different characters speaking and black text is used for lines to be read by all of the characters.  The language used is straightforward and easily understandable for most elementary students.  Some poems are rhyming while most tend to be free verse and narrative. Repetition, alliteration, and rhythm are used throughout the poems as well as everyday, conversational speech.  

Use

Playground

All: We’re running,

Dorene: we’re sliding,

Louis: swinging,

Rae: sweating.

All: Water drips from our faces.

Drum: Our backs are wet.

Louis: Get out the bottles of water.

All: Find some shade.

Rae: Sit.

Dorene: Drink.

Louis: Flop.

Drum: Rest.

All: Ahhhhh.

This poem does a good job demonstrating the simple language and dialogue used in most of the narrative poems. Weather permitting this would be a great poem to read outside near or on the playground.  The whole class could take turns or just have the class share in the response for the “all” part.  The speakers could act out the parts or there could be a seperate group acting out the motions of the poem.  Also because of the simple four parts the class could be split into groups of four and read with each group taking a different part. Have students work in groups to come up with their own poem that has multiple roles.  Have copies of You Read to Me and I’ll Read to You for students to reference and get ideas.