Writing Poetry Through the Eyes of Science: A Teacher's Guide to Scientific Literacy and Poetic Response(Frameworks for Writing)

"Writing Poetry Through the Eyes of Science" presents a unique and effective interdisciplinary approach to teaching science poems and science poetry writing in secondary English and science classrooms. A collaboration between two award-winning teachers, one in English, the other in science, this crossover work demonstrates how scientific literacy, knowledge, and methods can inform and inspire poetic response in the classroom and in the field. "Writing Poetry Through the Eyes of Science" illustrates how students can utilize field research, observations, sensory data gathering, poetic writing strategies, and model science poems by poets, scientists, students, and teachers to produce skillful and creative science poetry. The authors explore the commonalities shared by the domains of science and poetry as well as the potentials for intersections and interactions across those two domains. As the science teacher raises scientific questions and suggests technical vocabulary to further language specificity and precision, the poetry teacher demonstrates multiple poetic stances enabling imaginative poetic responses. The active, hands-on, collaborative nature of the classroom atmosphere motivates students to write inspired poems, and students who have never before written poetry can become excited, engaged, and productive. "Writing Poetry Through the Eyes of Science" is built on original field data gathered by Colfax from expeditions to Iceland and other locations around the world as well as the original poetry and poetry teaching techniques of Gorrell. It illustrates basic science poetry writing exercises useful for students of all levels and abilities, and includes student work as well as commentary and feedback on their science poems in each chapter. It then moves to advanced exercises designed to teach the inspired poems of awe, empathy, outrage, protest, meditation, speculation, and perplexity. In the final section of the work, the authors present sample lesson plans specifically designed for the advanced English language and composition curriculum as well as for advanced science courses in research, ecology, and the environment.

Table of Contents:
PROLEGOMENON: (What is Being Said First) Connections: Bridging the Cultural Divide PROLOGUE: Dances with StarsA": How I Wrote My First Science Poem INTRODUCTION: ENTERING COMMON GROUND: LET SCIENCE POETRY LEAD THE WAY SECTION ONE: FOUNDATION: PRINCIPLES, ISSUES, AND PEDAGOGY CHAPTER 1: HIDE AND SEEK: MULTIPLE WAYS OF SEEING TREESA" CHAPTER 2: WHAT IS POETRY?: DEVELOPING THE POETIC EYE CHAPTER 3: WHAT IS SCIENCE?: DEVELOPING THE SCIENTIFIC EYE CHAPTER 4: WHAT IS SCIENCE POETRY?: MAKING CONNECTIONS: A TSUNAMIA" OF POSSIBILITY CHAPTER 5: HOW TO TEACH SCIENCE POETRY WRITING: TEACHER AS CHEMICAL ARTISTA" SECTION TWO: FUNDAMENTALS: BASIC LESSONS FOR SCIENCE POETRY WRITING CHAPTER 6: IT'S A GEM!: ROCKS AND MINERALS CHAPTER 7: WHAT'S BUGGIN' YOU?: INSECTS AND OTHER LIVING THINGS CHAPTER 8: INTO THE FIELD: IT'S ONLY NATURAL SECTION THREE FUSION: ADVANCED LESSONS FOR SCIENCE POETRY WRITING CHAPTER 9: WRITING FROM AWE, WONDER, REVERENCE, AND EMPATHY CHAPTER 10: WRITING FROM OUTRAGE, PROTEST, PERPLEXITY, AND SPECULATION SECTION FOUR: FORGING COMMON GROUND: INTERDISCIPLINARY CURRICULUM CHAPTER 11: WALKING IN THIS WORLD WITH OUR STUDENTS AND COLLEAGUES CHAPTER 12: HOW TO ASSESS STUDENT SCIENCE POETRY: THE ART OF RESPONSE CONCLUSION: TOWARD A NEW INTERDISCIPLINARY LITERACY EPILOGUE: WHAT IS BEING SAID LAST APPENDIX A: RECOMMENDED TIMELYA" COURSE DESIGN APPENDIX B: RECOMMENDED COURSE DESIGN: A TWO-WEEK UNIT PLAN APPENDIX C: SCIENCE POETRY RESOURCES FOR THE TEACHER APPENDIX D: FURTHER READING FOR THE TEACHER

About the Author :
Nancy Gorrell is an English teacher, poet, and award-winning author of numerous articles on the teaching of poetry in the English Journal. Her poetry has appeared in English Journal, Rockford Review, BlueLINE: A Literary Magazine of the Adirondacks, and Footwork: Paterson Literary Review, among others. A former New Jersey State Teacher of the Year, in 2001 she was awarded Outstanding English Language Arts Educator by the New Jersey Council of Teachers of English, and she received a Governor's Award in Arts Education from the State of New Jersey. Erin Colfax is a science teacher and research explorer who has spent the past several years traveling throughout the seven continents while conducting five international research projects designed to enlighten her students and enhance their education of "real world science." Colfax has been named Teacher of the Year by the New Jersey Council of Teachers of English, was a New Jersey Business / Industry / Science Education Consortium Scholar, and was identified as an Up and Coming Female Legend.

Review :
'When a terrific teacher of poetry intersects with the great and grand subject of science, a practical and intriguing book is born. Writing Poetry through the Eyes of Science is useable, interesting, and filled with specific and helpful suggestions for the teacher who wishes to meld poetic response and scientific literacy.' Dr. Leila Christenbury, Commonwealth Professor, English Education, Department of Teaching and Learning/School of Education/Virginia Commonwealth University 'The book is an innovative attempt at fusing interdisciplinary learning between English and science, especially between English poetic literacy and science literacy. It is also an attempt at fusing academic knowledge and practical pedagogy. The book draws substantially on the existing literature of science poetry and the author's personal experience of science, poetry and science poetry. It also provides practical pedagogical suggestions including the learning materials used for teachers who are interested. All in all, the book is an innovation into an area of teaching and learning that is much called for in terms of interdisciplinary learning.' Stella Kong, Hong Kong Institute of Education