National Poetry Month, STEM Style

You might think that poetry and STEM are polar opposites.  But, you can integrate both of them.  

Read Poems about Science, Engineering, and Math

Draw inspiration from some accomplished science and nature poets using resources from your library. 

http://books.simonandschuster.com/Spectacular-Science/Lee-Bennett-Hopkins/9780689851209

http://start-engineering.com/kids-book/

http://books.simonandschuster.com/Marvelous-Math/Lee-Bennett-Hopkins/9780689844423 

For a list of great resources, check out BookListOnline. 

Write Science-based Haikus

ReadWriteThink.org has great resources to get you started. 
Don't worry if you aren't sure how to teach the crafting of poetry. 
ReadWriteThink has lesson plans, templates, examplars, etc. 

ReadWriteThink.org 

Create a Video Poem

 "Future engineers, it's our time and we got to own it.

If you've got the Force to go the Distance, than it's your moment."

Even if your students don't write/film their own video poem, analyzing this poem/song/spoken word video would be a great lesson. Did you catch all the engineering references?

Write a Science-inspired Parody

Recently, our students wrote parodies for their ROCK Concert. The concert focused on the Science concepts of landforms, weathering/erosion, and rock types. The students worked with the Music teacher (STEAM teacher) to replace the lyrics but keep the rhythm, meter, and rhyme schemes of the original songs. I am EXTREMELY proud of the creativity of the students. As you read some of the lyrics below, see if you can tell which song they parody.

"The lava glows red on the mountain tonight,
Not a footprint to be seen.
A kingdom of isolation
And it looks like I'm the lava queen.

...

Let it flow, let it flow.
Can't hold it back anymore.
Let it flow, let if flow.
Let it go from it's core.
I don't care where it's going to stay.
Let the lava rage on,
The heat never bothered me anyway."

"It's a hard rock life for us.
It's a hard rock life for us.
'Stead of treated, we get tricked.
'Stead of paychecks, we get picks.
It's a hard rock life.

Metamorphic rocks we break,
It's the hard rock life they make.
...
It's a hard rock life."


I would love to showcase your STEM-inspired poetry here. Please email me at STEAMingAheadWithSusan@gmail.com