Geography is our first big social studies topic of the year, and I have found that poems are an invaluable resource in our unit. Many of my favorite geography poems come from A World of Wonders: Geographic Travels in Verse and Rhyme by J. Patrick Lewis.
This week, we shared three different poems from the book: the opening poem called Places and Names: a Traveler's Guide, The Circle and the Poles, and my personal favorite, How to Tell Latitude from Longitude. If you are a teacher who does anything related to latitude and longitude with students, you need to share this poem. Immediately, if possible. It is so short, so catchy, and so useful.
My students usually laugh at the poem and especially the word "flatitude," but I always smile about how many times during the rest of that lesson and the ones that follow do I hear mutterings of "latitude, flatitude" as students lean on the poem to help them remember which is which.
How do you integrate poetry?
This week's Poetry Friday Roundup is being curated by Amy at The Poem Farm. See the whole list of hosts at Poetry Friday by Kitlitosphere.
This week, we shared three different poems from the book: the opening poem called Places and Names: a Traveler's Guide, The Circle and the Poles, and my personal favorite, How to Tell Latitude from Longitude. If you are a teacher who does anything related to latitude and longitude with students, you need to share this poem. Immediately, if possible. It is so short, so catchy, and so useful.
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| Screen shot from SmartNotebook, showing my added drawings of the two |
My students usually laugh at the poem and especially the word "flatitude," but I always smile about how many times during the rest of that lesson and the ones that follow do I hear mutterings of "latitude, flatitude" as students lean on the poem to help them remember which is which.
How do you integrate poetry?
This week's Poetry Friday Roundup is being curated by Amy at The Poem Farm. See the whole list of hosts at Poetry Friday by Kitlitosphere.
"Lean on poetry." I love this and lean on poetry in so many ways, especially to not feel alone and to just roll around in the beauty of it all!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this gem by Pat. I imagine I'll be muttering it to myself throughout this Poetry Friday! :)
Thank you so much, Amy, and thank you also for hosting! I think poetry can have endless applications, and I love your description of you how you 'lean on poetry' too.
DeleteSo fun. I must look for A World of Wonders :).
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! It's a fun book and a great resource.
DeleteSo clever! The cover and illustration are great, too.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tabatha! It really is a very clever book, and the illustrations support the poems well.
DeleteOh another JPL title I must have! Thanks for sharing, Katie!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, Bridget. This might be my favorite one of his, though his recent edited collection of animals poems with National Geographic photographs is amazing too.
DeleteAnother J. Patrick Lewis book to find, Katie. Thanks for sharing this & how wonderful it is to connect it with your geography lesson, too. Much fun!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Linda. I love showing kids that poetry is very multifaceted.
DeleteSmart teacher-lucky kids!
ReplyDeleteAww, thanks Joyce!
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