Comets, Stars, the Moon and Mars is a whimsical approach to outer space written in lyrical prose and lends itself to an integrated science and language arts lesson. In addition to it's eclectic illustration, this book is a gem because it utilizes poetry to relay particular information on a broad spectrum, spanning from specific planets to black holes, constellations, the universe, and more. It also provides further reading for each content area in an informational glossary, which is great because kids don't have to go far to indulge in any curiosity mustered up by the poems. Also, because the poems vary in structure, this book can also be used to study cadence, structural, and other elements of poetry.
I would use this book in a few different ways. Obviously, it could be used as an introduction to a unit on outer space or even planets specifically. It could be read all at once or in sections; this book is so rich that section could seriously be expanded into a lesson on it's own. In a perfect world without lesson time limits and standardized teaching practices, I would definitely expand each section of this book and use each poem as a springboard for new learning while incorporating poetic form into the conveying of new learning. For example, I might read the poem with my class about Venus. We would then jot down the facts we learned from reading the poem, and I would ask, "What else do you wonder about? What else would you like to know?" (Not to mention, this specific poem even poses the question, "Why was it named for the goddess of love?") The great thing about the way this book is illustrated is that the pictures also lend themselves well to inquiry- sticking with the Venus example, I might ask, "What is the significance of the words Sedna, Beta, LeDa, Sif, Phoebe, Sappho, Aphrodite, Aino, Dione, and all the numbers written inside the picture of Venus?" Now the students are provided with enough questions to conduct research, share findings, formulate new questions, and so on. Students could then go on to write about their new findings in poetic form (providing for student assessment).
If a teacher wanted to engage their class in a deeper exploration of poetry, different poems from this book could be examined in relation to each other in order to find similarities and differences. The class could then go on to define the different kinds of poems comprised in this book, and practice writing within certain set structures. In regards to the expanded investigation of each poem scientifically, students could be prompted to report their new findings in a poetic style similar to that which was used to describe the content their are studying.
I would use this book in a few different ways. Obviously, it could be used as an introduction to a unit on outer space or even planets specifically. It could be read all at once or in sections; this book is so rich that section could seriously be expanded into a lesson on it's own. In a perfect world without lesson time limits and standardized teaching practices, I would definitely expand each section of this book and use each poem as a springboard for new learning while incorporating poetic form into the conveying of new learning. For example, I might read the poem with my class about Venus. We would then jot down the facts we learned from reading the poem, and I would ask, "What else do you wonder about? What else would you like to know?" (Not to mention, this specific poem even poses the question, "Why was it named for the goddess of love?") The great thing about the way this book is illustrated is that the pictures also lend themselves well to inquiry- sticking with the Venus example, I might ask, "What is the significance of the words Sedna, Beta, LeDa, Sif, Phoebe, Sappho, Aphrodite, Aino, Dione, and all the numbers written inside the picture of Venus?" Now the students are provided with enough questions to conduct research, share findings, formulate new questions, and so on. Students could then go on to write about their new findings in poetic form (providing for student assessment).
If a teacher wanted to engage their class in a deeper exploration of poetry, different poems from this book could be examined in relation to each other in order to find similarities and differences. The class could then go on to define the different kinds of poems comprised in this book, and practice writing within certain set structures. In regards to the expanded investigation of each poem scientifically, students could be prompted to report their new findings in a poetic style similar to that which was used to describe the content their are studying.
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