Classroom Resource

Earth Verse: Using Science in Poetry

Subject Area

English Language Arts

Grade(s)

3, 4, 5

Overview

This lesson is a great way to teach both scientific and English content to a class, although the teacher can easily choose another book and subject area. In this lesson, students listen to poems in the book Science Verse by Jon Scieszka. Students then create diamante, acrostic, or theme poems with illustrations. To help increase fluency, students read their poems to the class. Finally, students create original poems using facts they have learned in the current science curriculum.

Content Standards

English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 3

ELA21.3.R3
Expand background knowledge and build vocabulary through discussion, reading, and writing.

Unpacked Content

Vocabulary

Background knowledge
Vocabulary
Discussion

Knowledge

Students know:

Relating experiences through discussions, reading, and writing will help build background knowledge and improve vocabulary.

Skills

Students are able to:

Connect new concepts to prior experiences to increase background knowledge through discussions, reading, and writing.
Construct the meaning of words through discussions, reading, and writing.

Understanding

Students understand that:

Background knowledge can increase by relating experiences to new ideas, topics, and words while participating in discussions, reading, and writing.
Vocabulary will increase by constructing the meaning of words while participating in discussions, reading, and writing.

English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 3

ELA21.3.11
Read and reread grade-appropriate poetry, practicing phrasing, rhythm, rhyme, and meaningful expression.

Unpacked Content

Vocabulary

Reread
Grade-appropriate poetry
Phrasing
Rhythm
Rhyme
Meaningful expression

Knowledge

Students know:

The features of poetry include phrasing, rhythm, and rhyme.
Words rhyme if their vowel and ending sounds are the same (example: ham, Sam).
Rhythm is a steady beat made by stressed syllables in spoken words.
A phrase is a group of words.
Strategies to show meaningful expression, including making appropriate changes in voice, pitch, and expression while reading poetry orally.

Skills

Students are able to:

Read and reread grade-appropriate poetry.
Practice rhyming, stressing syllables that create rhythm, grouping together words in phrases, and meaningful expression when reading poetry.

Understanding

Students understand that:

Poetry is a genre of text that uses distinctive style and rhythm to aid in the expression of feelings.
They can reread poetry to practice their use of phrasing, rhythm, rhyme, and meaningful expression.

English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 4

ELA21.4.5
Demonstrate fluency when reading grade-level text and when responding through writing or speaking.

Unpacked Content

Vocabulary

Demonstrate
Fluency
Reading
Responding
Writing
Speaking

Knowledge

Students know:

Fluency is the ability to read, write, or speak at a pace that does not negatively impact meaning or understanding.

Skills

Students are able to:

Read grade-level text fluently.
Demonstrate fluency when writing.
Demonstrate fluent speech.

Understanding

Students understand that:

The ability to read fluently supports comprehension, or understanding, of the text.
The ability to write and speak fluently helps clearly communicate with others.

English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 4

ELA21.4.25
Explain how the form of a poem contributes to its meaning.

Unpacked Content

Vocabulary

Poem
Form

Knowledge

Students know:

Poetry can be written in different formats.

Skills

Students are able to:

Identify the form of a poem.
Describe how a poem's form helps convey its meaning.

Understanding

Students understand that:

Poems have varying forms that can be used to convey different meanings.

English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 4

ELA21.4.26
Analyze how rhythm and rhyme in poetry contribute to meaning.

Unpacked Content

Vocabulary

Rhythm
Rhyme

Knowledge

Students know:

Poetry is a genre of text that uses distinctive style and rhythm to aid in the expression of feelings.
Words rhyme if their vowel and ending sounds are the same.
Rhythm is a steady beat made by stressed syllables in spoken words.

Skills

Students are able to:

Identify rhythm and rhyme in poetry.
Describe how rhythm and rhyme convey meaning in a poem.

Understanding

Students understand that:

Authors of poetry select particular rhyme and rhythm schemes to convey meaning.

English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 5

ELA21.5.5
Demonstrate fluency when independently reading, writing, and speaking in response to grade-level literary and informational text, including stories, dramas, poetry, and cross-curricular texts.

Unpacked Content

Vocabulary

Fluency
Independently
Literary text
Informational text
Stories
Dramas
Poetry
Cross-curricular texts

Knowledge

Students know:

Fluency is the ability to read, write, or speak at a pace that does not negatively impact meaning or understanding.
Responding to text through writing and speaking demonstrates comprehension.

Skills

Students are able to:

Independently read grade-level literary and informational text fluently.
Demonstrate fluency when writing.
Demonstrate fluent speech.

Understanding

Students understand that:

The ability to read fluently supports comprehension, or understanding, of the text.
The ability to write and speak fluently helps clearly communicate with others.
One way to demonstrate comprehension of literary and informational text is to respond in writing or through speaking.

English Language Arts (2021) Grade(s): 5

ELA21.5.6
Read grade-level text orally with accuracy, automaticity, appropriate prosody or expression, purpose, and understanding, self-correcting and rereading as necessary.

Unpacked Content

Vocabulary

Accuracy
Automaticity
Prosody
Expression
Purpose
Understanding
Self-correcting
Rereading

Knowledge

Students know:

Accurately means reading without mistakes, and automatically means knowing the words immediately without sounding them out.
Prosody is reading aloud with appropriate changes in voice, pitch, and expression.
Reading can occur for different purposes and setting a purpose for reading can improve comprehension.
Rereading is a strategy that aids in word recognition and comprehension.

Skills

Students are able to:

Set a purpose prior to reading aloud.
Read aloud accurately, automatically, while using appropriate expression.
Self-correct and reread when necessary.

Understanding

Students understand that:

Identifying their purpose for reading prior to beginning to read can improve their comprehension of the text.
Fluent readers are accurate, automatic, and use appropriate voice expression.
If a word is misread, they need to self-correct and reread.
If their comprehension begins to break down, they need to reread to improve their understanding.

Interdisciplinary Connection(s)

Link to Resource

http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/earth-verse-usin…

Content Type / Source

CR Resource Type

Lesson/Unit Plan

Resource Provider

ReadWriteThink

Accessibility

License

License Type

Custom

Custom License Type (URL)

http://www.readwritethink.org/util/legal.html

Approved Date

2019-05-21

Curated by

raulstoncg

Learning Resource Type

Earth Verse: Using Science in Poetry

Subject Area

Grade(s)

Overview

ELA21.3.R3 Expand background knowledge and build vocabulary through discussion, reading, and writing.

Vocabulary

Knowledge

Skills

Understanding

ELA21.3.11 Read and reread grade-appropriate poetry, practicing phrasing, rhythm, rhyme, and meaningful expression.

Vocabulary

Knowledge

Skills

Understanding

ELA21.4.5 Demonstrate fluency when reading grade-level text and when responding through writing or speaking.

Vocabulary

Knowledge

Skills

Understanding

ELA21.4.25 Explain how the form of a poem contributes to its meaning.

Vocabulary

Knowledge

Skills

Understanding

ELA21.4.26 Analyze how rhythm and rhyme in poetry contribute to meaning.

Vocabulary

Knowledge

Skills

Understanding

ELA21.5.5 Demonstrate fluency when independently reading, writing, and speaking in response to grade-level literary and informational text, including stories, dramas, poetry, and cross-curricular texts.

Vocabulary

Knowledge

Skills

Understanding

ELA21.5.6 Read grade-level text orally with accuracy, automaticity, appropriate prosody or expression, purpose, and understanding, self-correcting and rereading as necessary.

Vocabulary

Knowledge

Skills

Understanding

URL (web address)

CR Resource Type

Resource Provider

License Type

Custom License Type (URL)

Approved Date

ELA21.3.R3
Expand background knowledge and build vocabulary through discussion, reading, and writing.

ELA21.3.11
Read and reread grade-appropriate poetry, practicing phrasing, rhythm, rhyme, and meaningful expression.

ELA21.4.5
Demonstrate fluency when reading grade-level text and when responding through writing or speaking.

ELA21.4.25
Explain how the form of a poem contributes to its meaning.

ELA21.4.26
Analyze how rhythm and rhyme in poetry contribute to meaning.

ELA21.5.5
Demonstrate fluency when independently reading, writing, and speaking in response to grade-level literary and informational text, including stories, dramas, poetry, and cross-curricular texts.

ELA21.5.6
Read grade-level text orally with accuracy, automaticity, appropriate prosody or expression, purpose, and understanding, self-correcting and rereading as necessary.