STEM Poetry - Who Knew?

 April is National Poetry Month and we are having a (surprisingly) exciting time with this in the library. For me this year it does not get more simple than the question on my blog header: How does MEDIA support STEM education?

To this end I am constantly planning through this lens. I really thought Poetry would be a time I would take a break from STEM.... WRONG, how great! Science Verse by John Scieszka and Lane Smith totally fit the bill in many ways. And really, a whole book about Science Poems? Hilarious, Informative and Engaging! Case in Point: 1st Grade has the privilege of having Meal Worms in their classrooms. This metamorphosis is fascinating for the kids to watch and they take away loads of knowledge.

Enter Science Verse: the poem Changes is all about that metamorphosis a meal worm undertakes. The kids could not BELIEVE that someone else knows about meal worms and created a poem from the meal worm's (and later beetle's) point of view.

The first graders first heard Changes (on CD, even more fun) on Tuesday. This Friday when they came to check out I was delighted when 3 of my kids had a surprise poem for me. During centers and their recess time they created a "sequel" poem to Changes. The boys read their poem to me together and it was a perfect fit with the original. That is some fun stuff, STEM or not.