Poetry for STEM curricula and common core standards

April is National Poetry Month and Booklist (April 2012) offers lots of ideas for utilizing poetry to support and enhance lesson plans.
Poetry to support STEM curricula:
Bug Off!Creepy, Crawly Poems . By Jane Yolen. Illus. by Jason Stemple. 2012. 32p. Boyds Mills/Wordsong, $16.95 (9781590788622) 811. Gr. 1–5.
Incredible Inventions. Ed. by Lee Bennett Hopkins. Illus. by Julia Sarcone-Roach. 2009. 32p. Greenwillow, $17.99 (9780060872458). 811. Gr. 1–5.
A Leaf Can Be . . . By Laura Purdie Salas. Illus. by Violeta Dabija. 2012. 32p. Millbrook, $17.95 (9780761362036). K–Gr. 3.
One Big Rain:Poems for Rainy Days . Ed. by Rita Gray. Illus. by Ryan O’Rourke. 2010. 32p. Charlesbridge, $9.95 (9781570917165). 811.008. Gr. 2–4.
Steady Hands: Poems about Work. By Tracie Vaughn Zimmer. Illus. by Megan Halsey. 2009. 48p. Clarion, $16 (9780618903511). 811. Gr. 4–7.
Step Inside! A Look inside Animal Homes. By Catherine Ham. 2012. 32p. illus. EarlyLight, $14.95 (9780983201427). 591.56. K–Gr. 3.
Track That Scat! By Lisa Morlock. Illus. by Carrie Anne Bradshaw. 2012. 32p. Sleeping Bear, $15.95 (9781585365364). 591.479. Gr. 1–4.
Water Sings Blue:Ocean Poems . By Kate Coombs. Illus. by Meilo So. 2012. 32p. Chronicle, $16.99 (9780811872843). 811.6. Gr. 2–6.
What’s Looking at You, Kid? By J. Patrick Lewis. Illus. by Renee Graef. 2012. 32p. Sleeping Bear, $14.95 (9781585367931). PreS–K.
UnBEElievables: Honeybee Poems and Paintings. By Douglas Florian. Illus. by the author. 2012. 32p. Simon & Schuster/Beach Lane, $16.99 (9781442426528). 811. Gr. 2–5. 
Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature. By Nicola Davies. Illus. by Mark Hearld. 2012. 108p. Candlewick, $19.99 (9780763655495). 808.81. PreS–Gr. 2.
Out of This World: Poems and Facts about Space. By Amy E. Sklansky. Illus. by Stacey Schuett. 2012. 40p. Knopf, $17.99 (9780375864599); lib. ed., $20.99 (9780375964596). 811. Gr. 3–5. Swirl by Swirl. By Joyce Sidman. Illus. by Beth Krommes. 2011. 32p. Houghton, $16.99 (9780547315836). PreS–Gr. 3
A Mirror to Nature:Poems about Reflection . By Jane Yolen. Illus. by Jason Stemple. 2009. 31p. Boyds Mills/Wordsong, $17.95 (9781590786246). Gr. 2–5. 
Edgar Allan Poe's Pie: Math Puzzlers in Classic Poems. By J. Patrick Lewis. Illus. by Michael Slack. 2012. 40p. Harcourt, $16.99 (9780547513386). 811. Gr. 3–5.



Poetry to facilitate teaching Core Curriculum: (RL.1.4—RL.6.4)
RL.1.4. Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
In the Wild. By David Elliott. Illus. by Holly Meade. 2010. 32p. Candlewick, $16.99 (9780763644970). PreS–Gr. 2.

Peaceful Pieces: Poems and Quilts about Peace. By Anna Grossnickle Hines. Illus. by the author. 2011. 32p. Holt, $16.99 (9780805089967). Gr. 2–5.
Swirl by Swirl. By Joyce Sidman. Illus. by Beth Krommes. 2011. 32p. Houghton, $16.99 (9780547315836). PreS–Gr. 3.

RL.4.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including those that allude to significant characters found in mythology.
Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night. By Joyce Sidman. Illus. by Rick Allen. 2010. 32p. Houghton, $16.99 (9780547152288). 811. Gr. 3–6.

A Foot in the Mouth: Poems to Speak, Sing, and Shout. Ed. by Paul B. Janeczko. Illus. by Chris Raschka. 2009. 61p. Candlewick, $17.99 (9780763606633). 811. Gr. 4–7.

A Mirror to Nature:Poems about Reflection . By Jane Yolen. Illus. by Jason Stemple. 2009. 31p. Boyds Mills/Wordsong, $17.95 (9781590786246). Gr. 2–5.


RL.6.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.
Lemonadeand Other Poems Squeezed from a Single Word . By Bob Raczka. Illus. by Nancy Doniger. 2011. 48p. Roaring Brook, $16.99 (9781596435414). 811. Gr. 2–5.
Under the Mambo Moon. By Julia Durango. Illus. by Fabricio VandenBroeck. 2011. 48p. Charlesbridge, $12.95 (9781570917233). 811. Gr. 3–5.

Sweethearts of Rhythm: The Story of the Greatest All-Girl Swing Band in the World. By Marilyn Nelson. Illus. by Jerry Pinkney. 2009. 80p. Dial, $21.99 (9780803731875). 811. Gr. 5–8.
 

Lots of new lesson planning sites...

I've added a lot of new links for lesson planning resources to the Education Guide: http://guides.library.unlv.edu/content.php?pid=9423&sid=61979
The Education Guide is intended to support your teaching and your students, so please suggest additions that you think would be useful.

Awesome Stories: Media resources for educators

We are said to learn best from stories and the Awesome Stories web site puts that strategy to good use by offering narratives about people, events, history and more. Each narrative is enriched with audio and video clips, images, and primary documents. There are databases for all the media that are freely available to teachers once you sign up . Lesson plans are offered as is a monthly newsletter that highlights current events. This month there's the story behind the story of the movie "The Soloist" which talks about music and about schizophrenia. Great resource.