Module 4-Biographical Poetry/LS 5663-20

Angelou,Maya. Poetry for Young People. Edwin G. Wilson. New York: Sterling, 2007. ISBN 978-1-4027-2023-9
Maya Angelou is considered to be one the most well-known poet of our time. She has been the recipient of many honors and awards. In this book, many of her most important poems are highlighted and shared, each one tied to meaningful experiences in her life.
Each of the poems shared in the book reinforce the purpose of sharing the intimate moments of Maya Angelou’s life. Through her words, the reader is better able to understand how different events in her life shaped her writing. She has overcomes many obstacles throughout her life, racial prejudice, discrimination, and hatred. She choses to channel the pain and turmoil into reaching people with her words. The following poem encourages the reader to open up their mind and their heart to fully appreciate the words.
A conceit
Give me your hand.
Make room for me
To lead and follow
You
Beyond this rage of poetry.
Let others have
The privacy of
Touching words
And love of loss
Of love.
For me
Give me your hand.
Each poem shared in the book has an introduction to explain the significance of the words in the poet’s life and different vocabulary words are explained to help the reader better understand and appreciate the poem. The words shared in each of the following poems touch many different feeling and senses. Maya Angelou use language that will be understood and appreciated by the reader, yet it also encourages the reader to stretch their linguistic abilities.
I would use any of the poems during the month of February, Black History Month. Maya Angelou is considered to be a very influential figure in the area of writing. Children of all ages and ethnicities can benefit from her writing style. I would also use her work to share during National Poetry Month.

Module 4-Social Studies Poetry-LS 5663-20

I never saw another butterfly, Children's drawings and poems from Terezin Concentration Camp, 1942-1944. Hana Volavkova. New York: Schocken Books, 1993. ISBN 978-0-8052-1015-6
The topic of the Holocaust is a very difficult one to share about due to the graphic nature of the treatment of the Jewish people. The poetry created and shared by the children of the Terezin Concentration Camp gives the reader a first hand glimpse into the oppressive life and seeing death all around them each day.
The introduction to the book is from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and it is filled with important information to help the reader understand the history behind this specific concentration camp. Terezin was a Jewish ghetto for what one could call privileged Jews: war heroes, intellectuals, artists, half-Jews, and Jews married to Aryans. This model community was to prepared the Jewish people for Palestine, as it was presented to the community. This was not to be the case and many in the community were sent on to Auschwitz, where they were later killed or left to die.
One brave artist felt that the children of Terizin would benefit from art therapy. Her name was Friedl Dicker-Brandeis. She felt that art could be the release for the escape the daily chaos and turmoil of their lives. The materials for these lessons were often office supplies, scrap paper, or wrapping paper. She would encourage students to express their feelings through art or their words. Each of the poems are accompanied by the artwork of the students. Many of these drawings were saved by a former student of Mrs. Dicker-Brandeis and were eventually shared with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, where the artwork is on display today.
Each of the poems included in this book reinforce the purpose of the book, which is to share the story of the children who lived in the ghetto of Terezin. Many of these children chose to see the brighter side of life in a concentration camp. Many used their words and their art to express frustration, fear and even anger.
The following poem shares the hope of one of the residents of Terrezin. The poet uses very descriptive language to describe the colors of the sun as it disappears, just as the regular life of a Jewish child disappeared during the terroristic reign of the Third Reich.
The Butterfly
The last, the very last ,
So richly, brightly dazzlingly yellow.
Perhaps if the sun’s teach would sing
Against a white stone……..
Such, such a yellow
Is carried lightly ‘way up high.
It went away I’m sure because it wished to
Kiss the world good-bye.
For seven weeks I’ve lived in here,
Penned up inside this ghetto.
But I have found what I love here.
The dandelions call to me
And the white chestnut branches in the court.
Only I never saw another butterfly.
That butterfly was the last one.
Butterflies don’t live in here,
In the ghetto.
-Pavel Friedman 4.6.1942
I would use this poem to share with students as part of a study of the Holocaust. I feel that it would be important to summarize the history of Terezin, as it shared in the introduction of the book. My daughter was able to read this book of poetry during her sixth grade year. The teachers at this grade level were able to obtain a trunk from the National Holocaust Memorial Museum to use as part of the curriculum. This trunk is filled with vast amounts of literature, pictures and other artifacts. One of the activities that each of the sixth grade students is able to participate in is to create their own butterfly in honor of Jewish children who were in a concentration camp. The students are responsible for researching the lives of the Jewish children. At the end of the study, the butterflies are sent back to be displayed in Washington, D.C. at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Module 4-Science Poetry/LS 5663-20

Module 4-Science Poetry
Florian,Douglas. Comets, stars, the moon and Mars. Orlando: Harcourt, Inc., 2007. ISBN 978-0-15-205372-7
Space…the final frontier. As adults, we grew up hearing this on television and we have never lost our fascination for space travel.
Space is an abstract subject that many can only read about, until the day that space travel is possible for everyone. The poems shared in this book give the reader a short description of the planets, the stars, the moon and other space related topics. Each of the poems reinforce the purpose to share information about space in a fun and informative way.
Each of the poems in this book share information about planets, the moon, and the stars in a way that students will want to know more. The author writes in a rhyming format and each of the poems has a natural flow while including an abundance of information. The following poem is the first one in the book and gives the reader an glimpse of what is to come.
Skywatch
On a clear night you might try
To gaze upon the starry sky.
A telescope or binoculars are
Great aids to observe a star.
To find your way it’s good to sight
Upon a star that’s very bright,
Like Sirius or Canopus,
Alpha Centauri or Arcturus.
You may see a planet or
A flash of light from a meteor.
Use a constellation chart
To help you tell the stars apart.
Start out when the day is done.
Most of all: Have lots of fun!
Each of the poems would be an excellent source of material to introduce the concept of webbing to younger readers. As a class, I would have my students create a web of information with the material given in the poems and then encourage the students to continue to research the topics further. I would poem use the poem, Skywatch, to introduce a thematic unit on Space and Space Pioneers. Each of the poems use descriptive language and encourages the reader to expand their vocabulary as they extend their research beyond what is presented in the book.